Sarah Michelle Gellar feared being 'Star Search' mean judge. It passed

LOS ANGELES —"Star Search"judgeSarah Michelle Gellardoes not throw around top scores willy-nilly onNetflix's rebooted talent competition.

While fellow judgesJelly RollandChrissy Teigenstarted tossing out perfect five-star marks judging the live show that premiered Jan. 20, the"Cruel Intentions"star, 48, held out.

"I don't take five stars lightly. I waited to give that five-star," Gellar tells USA TODAY. "I actually felt badly because both other judges had given fives and I hadn't. It was like 'Am I just the mean judge?'"

Gellar didn't set aSimon Cowell-esque streakon "Star Search," which streams live Tuesdays and Wednesdays (9 ET/6 PT) through the Feb. 17 finale.

'Star Search' revival is hereHow to watch, vote. See judges, cast.

Sarah Michelle Gellar is a judge on Netflix's

The "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" actress bestowed her first five-star rating to the last performer on the Jan. 21 Episode 2 — singer Bear Bailey, whose version of "Hard Fought Hallelujah" brought Jelly Roll (the song's co-writer) to tears.

"When Bear came on stage, I was like, 'That's why I waited!' Because that was a five-star performance," says Gellar. "That performance was the first one that I'd seen this season where I was like, 'Oh, he's ready to win this right now.'"

Bear was eliminated in Episode 4, but Gellar can rely on decades of "Star Search" experience to spot talent. She was a diehard fan of the OG "Star Search," famously hosted by Ed McMahon, during the syndicated show's run from 1983 to 1995 that featured young up-and-coming stars like Beyoncé, Britney Spears and Justin Timberlake.

"Britney Spears, I always remember for some reason. I could always pinpoint her look, the song. But there were so many, like the comedians that I wasn't supposed to watch," says Gellar, who didn't even know her good friend and"All My Children"co-star Lindsay Price also appeared on "Star Search" until researching the show.

Jelly Roll and Sarah Michelle Gellar in

"And I was watching the acting category the other day, and there was a contestant namedMitzi Kapture,who was later on 'Silk Stockings,'" says Gellar. "There are people that you don't even realize were on the show."

How Sarah Michelle Gellar was nearly on the original 'Star Search'

Not Gellar, however. The child actress who starred in 1980s Burger King commercials auditioned unsuccessfully for the TV talent show.

"In the original 'Star Search,' there was an acting category where they'd have two performers start the scene, and then two performers end the scene," says Gellar. "I think I was five. But I'd been working for a while by then. And alas, I didn't make it."

<p style=The Emmy-nominated star of "Euphoria" and "The White Lotus," Sydney Sweeney, has made a name for herself in prestige television, on silver screens in horror flicks or romantic comedies and as a fashion darling on red carpets like the Met Gala.

Scroll through for more photos of her life and career.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends a Refinery29 event on Dec. 6, 2017, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney starred as Emaline on the Netflix series "Everything Sucks!" in 2018.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the premiere of Hulu's "The Handmaid's Tale" Season 2 at TCL Chinese Theatre on April 19, 2018, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney played Eden in the second season of "The Handmaid's Tale" on Hulu.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 70th Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on Sept. 17, 2018, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Jonathan Davino, left, and Sydney Sweeney attend an InStyle event on Oct. 23, 2018, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Harry Shum Jr. and Sydney Sweeney walk the red carpet at the 25th annual Screen Actors Guild Awards at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles on Jan. 27, 2019.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends The 2020 InStyle And Warner Bros. 77th annual Golden Globe Awards Post-Party at The Beverly Hilton Hotel on Jan. 5, 2020, in Beverly Hills, California.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney received an Emmy nomination in 2022 for her part in the first season of HBO's "The White Lotus."

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney appeared in the 2021 film <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends an InStyle event on Nov. 14, 2021, in West Hollywood, California.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney was nominated for an Emmy in 2022 for her role as Cassie on the HBO series "Euphoria."

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 2022 Vanity Fair Oscar Party following the 94th Oscars at the The Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, on March 27, 2022.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney poses for a photo session during the 5th edition of the Cannes International Series Festival in Cannes, southern France on April 2, 2022. <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 2022 Met Gala.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Maude Apatow and Sydney Sweeney attend the "Bones and All" red carpet at the 79th Venice International Film Festival on Sept. 2, 2022, in Venice, Italy.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends ELLE's 29th annual Women in Hollywood celebration on Oct. 17, 2022, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 2022 LACMA ART+FILM Gala on Nov. 05, 2022, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the GQ Men Of The Year Awards 2022 on Nov. 16, 2022, in London.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 2023 Met Gala.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney starred as Reality Winner in the 2023 film <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends a screening of HBO Films' "Reality" at Museum of Modern Art on May 16, 2023, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney and Aja Naomi King attend a Miu Miu event during the 76th Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2023, in Cannes, France.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends Variety Power of Young Hollywood at NeueHouse on Aug. 10, 2023, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney and her cousin Lucille Hancock attend the Miu Miu fashion show as part of Paris Fashion Week on Oct. 3, 2023, in Paris, France.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends Columbia Pictures' "Anyone But You" New York Premiere on Dec. 11, 2023, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Glen Powell, left, and Sydney Sweeney in the 2023 film "Anyone But You."

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the screening of "Anyone But You" at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter on Dec. 18, 2023, in Sydney, Australia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney greets fans at the screening of "Anyone But You" at Hoyts Entertainment Quarter on Dec. 18, 2023, in Sydney, Australia.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Dakota Johnson and Sydney Sweeney attend the World Premiere of Sony Pictures' "Madame Web" on Feb. 12, 2024, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson, center) races through New York City to keep Anya Corazon (Isabela Merced), Julia Cornwall (Sydney Sweeney) and Mattie Franklin (Celeste O'Connor) safe in a scene from the film Sydney Sweeney attends the Vanity Fair Oscars Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, on March 10, 2024. <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 35th GLAAD Media Awards at The Beverly Hilton on March 14, 2024, in Beverly Hills, California.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the premiere of Neon's "Immaculate" during Beyond Fest at The Egyptian Theatre Hollywood on March 15, 2024, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney stars in the religious horror movie <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends Met Gala celebrating "Sleeping Beauties: Reawakening Fashion" at The Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 6, 2024, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the premiere of "Eden" during the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on September 7, 2024, in Toronto.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, 2025. Sydney Sweeney attends the Vanity Fair Oscar Party at the Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts in Beverly Hills, California, on March 2, 2025. <p style=Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney attend CinemaCon 2025 on April 1, 2025, in Las Vegas.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 2025 Met Gala Celebrating "Superfine: Tailoring Black Style" at Metropolitan Museum of Art on May 5, 2025, in New York City.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney attends the Sydney Sweeney and Julianne Moore share a moment together at the Sydney Sweeney and 2025 Inductee Manny Pacquiao pose for a photo during the Boxing Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at the International Boxing Hall of Fame on June 8, 2025 in Canastota, New York. Sydney Sweeney is helped with her dress as she arrives to pose on the red carpet for the Sydney Sweeney poses for pictures with a fan at the Sydney Sweeney attends the Sydney Sweeney attends a Los Angeles screening for her Western film Sydney Sweeney appears on a New York City billboard for her American Eagle ad campaign on Aug. 4, 2025. Sydney Sweeney poses on the red carpet for the Sydney Sweeney, left, and Christy Martin attend the premiere of Sydney Sweeney attends the 2025 Road to the Golden Globes Party at the Four Seasons Toronto during the Toronto International Film Festival on Sept. 6, 2025. <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards at Peacock Theater on Sept. 14, 2025, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney poses on the red carpet at the 77th Primetime Emmy Awards in Los Angeles, Sept. 14, 2025. <p style=Sydney Sweeney underwent a weeklong transformation before debuting her most shocking hairstyle yet. She arrived at the Oct. 25, 2025, "Christy" premiere during the annual AFI Fest sporting an icy blonde bob, her shortest 'do yet.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style="Sydney was looking for a change and wanted to have a big hair moment for the red carpet to support her new movie," hair colorist Jacob Schwartz told Vogue.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney poses for a portrait at the 28th SCAD Savannah Film Festival on Oct. 27, 2025 in Savannah, Ga. <p style=Sydney Sweeney made headlines after donning a sheer, silver, floor-length Christian Cowandress at Variety's 2025 Power of Women Los Angeles event, where she was an honoree, on Oct. 29, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney walks onstage during pre-race ceremonies prior to the Nascar Cup Series Championship at Phoenix Raceway on Nov. 2, 2025, in Avondale, Arizona.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Sydney Sweeney attends the 2025 GQ Men of the Year party at Chateau Marmont on Nov. 13, 2025 in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> Sydney Sweeney attends the 16th Governors Awards at the Ray Dolby Ballroom at Ovation Hollywood in Los Angeles on Nov. 16, 2025. Sydney Sweeney attends <p style=Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney attend the Los Angeles premiere of "The Housemaid" on Dec. 15, 2025.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" /> <p style=Amanda Seyfried and Sydney Sweeney attend W Magazine's annual Best Performances Party at Chateau Marmont on Jan. 10, 2026, in Los Angeles.

" style="max-width:100%; height:auto; border-radius:6px; margin:10px 0;" loading="lazy" />

Sydney Sweeney photos: Look back at the 'Euphoria' star's best looks, career

The Emmy-nominated star of"Euphoria"and"The White Lotus," Sydney Sweeney, has made a name for herself in prestige television, on silver screens in horror flicks or romantic comedies and as a fashion darling on red carpets like theMet Gala.Scroll through for more photos of her life and career.

The Hollywood vet, who landed her first big role as a teen soap star on "All My Children," eventually found stardom, and even other performers who also had star careers after not making the "Star Search" cut.

"I'm not alone in my club. I've found out that John Legend also did not make it on," says Gellar of Teigen's EGOT-winning husband. "So we have a support group now, and we help each other through the difficult times. But it shows that you can't give up on your dreams. It might take a while, but I wound up on 'Star Search.'"

"The Voice" coach Legend also gave some helpful advice to the judging newbie.

"He said to find your own voice. It has to be authentic," says Gellar, who says the show is unique. "We're looking for a star, not the most talented singer or model or dancer. It's just this combination of things that makes magic."

Gellar has the opportunity to bring out the enchanting sparkle in her outfits and daring heeled boots, despite the potential peril of tripping during live shows.

(L to R) Chrissy Teigen, Jelly Roll, Sarah Michelle Gellar in

"It's just fun and silly excuse to wear the things you would never normally wear," says Gellar. "I'm scared every show that I'm going to be the one who falls."

During the live viewing, viewers worldwide can vote for their favorite performers in the global Netflix showcase, a reach that was never possible on the original.

"The viewers are the fourth judge," says Gellar. "I talk to Jelly and Chrissy about this all the time. I was in this industry for a long time before I performed for a worldwide audience. Every contestant on this show has that opportunity. That's huge."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY:Netflix 'Star Search' puts lethal heels on judge Sarah Michelle Geller

byCosmopolite
in , , , ,
February 10, 2026

Sarah Michelle Gellar feared being 'Star Search' mean judge. It passed

LOS ANGELES —"Star Search"judgeSarah Michelle Gellardoes not throw around top scores willy-nilly onNetflix...
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Village in southern Lebanon buries a child and father killed in Israeli drone strike

YANOUH, Lebanon (AP) — Mourners in southernLebanonon Tuesday buried a father and his young son killed in an Israeli drone strike that targeted aHezbollahmember.

Associated Press Mourners carry the coffins of the child Ali Jaber, 4 who was killed with his father policeman Hassan, 38, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) The father of policeman Hassan Jaber, 38, who was killed with his son Ali, 4, on Monday by an Israeli drone attack, mourns during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) Lebanese special forces policemen carry the coffins of their comrade Hassan Jaber, 38, who was killed on Monday with his son Ali, 4, by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) Mourners carry the coffins of policeman Hassan Jaber, 38, and his son Ali, 4, who were killed on Monday by an Israeli drone attack, during their funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari) Relatives of policeman Hassan Jaber, 38, who was killed on Monday by an Israeli drone attack, mourn over his coffin during his funeral procession in Yanouh village, south Lebanon, Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)

Lebanon Israel

Hassan Jaber, a police officer, and his child, Ali, were on foot when the strike on Monday hit a passing car in the center of their town, Yanouh, relatives said. Lebanon's health ministry said the boy was 3 years old. Both were killed at the scene along with the car driver, Ahmad Salami, who the Israeli military said in a statement was an artillery official with the Lebanese militant group.

It said it was aware of a "claim that uninvolved civilians were killed" and that the case is under review, adding it "makes every effort to reduce the likelihood of harm" to civilians.

Salami, also from Yanouh, was buried in the village Tuesday along with the father and son.

"There are always people here, it's a crowded area," with coffee shops and corner stores, a Shiite religious gathering hall, the municipality building and a civil defense center, a cousin of the boy's father, also named Hassan Jaber, told The Associated Press.

When the boy and his father were struck, he said, they were going to a bakery making Lebanese breakfast flatbread known as manakish to see how it was made. They were standing only about 5 meters (5.5 yards) from the car when it was struck, the cousin said.

"It is not new for the Israeli enemy to carry out such actions," he said. "There was a car they wanted to hit and they struck it in the middle of this crowded place."

Jaber said the little boy, Ali, had not yet entered school but "showed signs of unusual intelligence."

"What did this innocent child do wrong, this angel?" asked Ghazaleh Haider, the wife of the boy's uncle. "Was he a fighter or a jihadi?"

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Attendees at the funeral carried photos of Ali, a striking child with large green eyes and blond hair. Some also carried flags of Hezbollah or Amal, a Shiite party that is allied with but also sometimes a rival of Hezbollah.

Lebanon's Internal Security Forces, of which the child's father was a member, said in a statement that the 37-year-old father of three had joined in 2013 and reached the rank of first sergeant.

The strike came as Israel has stepped up its campaign against Hezbollah and its allies in Lebanon.

The night before the strike in Yanouh, Israeli forces launched a rareground raidin the Lebanese village of Hebbarieh, several kilometers (miles) from the border, in which they seized a local official with the Sunni Islamist group al-Jamaa al-Islamiya, or the Islamic Group in English. The group is allied with Hezbollah and the Palestinian militant groupHamas.

After the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas-led attack on Israel triggered war in Gaza, Hezbollah began firing rockets from Lebanon into Israel in support of Hamas and the Palestinians.

Israel responded with airstrikes and shelling. The low-level conflict escalated into full-scale war in September 2024, later reined in but not fully stopped by a U.S.-brokered ceasefire two months later.

Since then, Israel has accused Hezbollah of trying to rebuild and has carried out near-daily strikes in Lebanon that it says target Hezbollah militants and facilities.

Israeli forces also continue to occupy five hilltop points on the Lebanese side of the border. Hezbollah has claimed one strike against Israel since the ceasefire.

Associated Press writer Abby Sewell in Beirut contributed to this report.

byCosmopolite
in , , , ,
February 10, 2026

Village in southern Lebanon buries a child and father killed in Israeli drone strike

YANOUH, Lebanon (AP) — Mourners in southernLebanonon Tuesday buried a father and his young son killed in an Israeli dron...
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Israeli government adopts measures increasing civil control of West Bank

LONDON and TEL AVIV -- The Israeli government adopted a series of significant, bureaucratically complex measures that would allow Israelis and Jews abroad to more easily purchase and build on land in the West Bank, consolidating Israeli control in the area that would potentially serve as the heartland for a future Palestinian state.

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The measures, which were approved over the weekend, are likely to be challenged in the Israeli Supreme Court. But they represent the most far-reaching attempts by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing government to advance a de-facto annexation of the West Bank.

The Palestinian Authority, the governing body for Palestinians that already has only limited powers in the West Bank, described the moves as an "unprecedented escalation" and "illegal," views echoed by regional Arab states.

Mussa Qawasma/Reuters - PHOTO: A Palestinian man puts on a keffiyeh as an Israeli soldier stands guard in the old city in Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, Feb. 9, 2026.

U.S. President Donald Trump has previously said the U.S. opposes attempts by Israel to annex the West Bank, a long-held dream of some settler groups and far-right ministers who now hold powerful positions in Netanyahu's government.

The newly adopted measures are expected to deepen Israeli civil -- as opposed to military -- control of new areas within the West Bank, including key religious sites in Hebron, and are designed to make it easier for Israelis to buy land in the territory.

Israel's Security Cabinet, headed by Netanyahu, approved on Sunday a series of new measures that would lift a ban on the sale of land to private Israeli Jews, transfer construction authority at religious and sensitive sites in the city of Hebron to the Israeli government, and declassify land registry records.

Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: Palestinian boys look out over the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron from a rooftop on Feb. 9, 2026.

The United Nations condemned the measures, with a spokesperson for the secretary-general saying ina statementthat "all Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and their associated regime and infrastructure, have no legal validity and are in flagrant violation of international law, including relevant United Nations resolutions."

The measures would allow the Israeli government to operate under the guise of civilian issues in Palestinian areas A and B for the first time, which contravenes the Oslo Accords. Under the Oslo Accords, the Palestinian Authority is the sole authority responsible for civilian matters in Area A and B. Israel, in contrast, has full Israeli civil and security control over Area C, which represents about 60% of the West Bank.

Bezalel Smotrich, Israel's far-right, pro-settlement finance minister, hailed the move as an "historic day for settlement for Judea and Samaria," as parts of the West Bank are known in Hebrew.

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He said the changes would "fundamentally change the legal and civil reality." He boasted that it would end the prospects for a potential Palestinian State.

Netanyahu has vowed that a Palestinian state "will not be established," even as Western countries, including France, Canada and the United Kingdom, have moved to recognize a Palestinian state.

Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: A Palestinian woman stands in the yard of her home as shops and homes belonging to Palestinian families in Beit Aawa, west the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Feb. 5, 2026.

The office of the Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, issued a statement condemning the measures as "dangerous decisions" designed to "deepen attempts to annex the occupied West Bank."

The president's office said the move was a "blatant violation" of the Oslo Accords, which divided the West Bank into Areas A, B and C, adding that the move represents an "unprecedented escalation targeting the Palestinian presence and its national and historical rights throughout the Palestinian territory."

Abbas' office described the move as illegal and called for the U.S. and the European Union to intervene.

​A joint statement by the foreign ministers of eight Muslim countries condemned the new measures.

The foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Qatar, Indonesia, Egypt, Turkey, Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates said ina statementposted on social media that they collectively "condemned in the strongest terms the illegal Israeli decisions and measures aimed at imposing unlawful Israeli sovereignty, entrenching settlement activity, and enforcing a new legal and administrative reality in the occupied West Bank, thereby accelerating attempts at its illegal annexation and the displacement of the Palestinian people."

Hazem Bader/AFP via Getty Images - PHOTO: This picture shows an Israeli flag fluttering above the Israeli settlement of Beit Romano (unseen), with Palestinian buildings in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Feb. 9, 2026.

"They reaffirmed that Israel has no sovereignty over the occupied Palestinian territories," the statement added.

According to Peace Now, an Israeli settlement watchdog and activist nongovernmental organization, the measures adopted over the weekend would effectively mean that Israeli authorities can now carry out legal demolitions of Palestinian property in Areas A and B, which comprise around 40% of the West Bank and which under the Oslo accords have been governed by the Palestinian Authority.

While the Israeli military could operate in those areas as the occupying power, the "government is now seeking to ignore its international commitments and begin administrative operations inside areas of the Palestinian Authority. Under the Oslo Accords, Israel has operated militarily in PA areas since the early 2000s," the watchdog said.

byCosmopolite
in , , , ,
February 10, 2026

Israeli government adopts measures increasing civil control of West Bank

LONDON and TEL AVIV -- The Israeli government adopted a series of significant, bureaucratically complex measures that wo...
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