2020 US election

US President Donald Trump and Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu participate in a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House on Sept. 15, 2020, in Washington, DC.

Netanyahu first foreign leader to meet Trump Tuesday: What to expect

While President Donald trump is expected to push Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to go through with the second phase of the hostage deal, the Israeli leader is expected to ask the American president to turn up the heat on Tehran.

WEST PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 06: Republican presidential nominee, former U.S. President Donald Trump waves to supporters with former first lady Melania Trump and Barron Trump during an election night event at the Palm Beach Convention Center on November 06, 2024 in West Palm Beach, Florida. Americans cast their ballots today in the presidential race between Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as multiple state elections that will determine the ba

Donald Trump wins US presidency, signaling major shifts for Middle East

Donald Trump on Wednesday won the race by securing key swing states of Pennsylvania, Georgia and North Carolina.

Large billboards bearing the flags of the US and Israel with a message in support of US presidential candidate Donald Trump, hang against buildings in Tel Aviv on October 30, 2024. An opinion poll conducted in September by Mitvim, the Israel Institute for Regional Foreign Policies, said 68 percent of Israelis see Trump as the candidate who will best serve Israel's interests. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Beyond Jerusalem, what's behind Israeli embrace of Donald Trump?

Despite President Joe Biden’s standing by Israel since Oct. 7, only Israelis identified with the political left support presidential candidate Vice President Kamala Harris.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

Kamala Harris

Analysis

Israel's far-right ministers dig deeper hole in Washington by attacking Harris

After provocations on the part of National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, Minister of National Missions Orit Strook and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen was the one to clash this week with the Biden administration.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Latest News

Biden and the Middle East: Year one review

Biden

US charges two Iranians over campaign to influence 2020 election

Empty voting booths are seen in Flint, Michigan at the Berston Fieldhouse polling place on Nov. 3, 2020.

US Iron Dome funding holdup feeds internal Israeli political dispute

PAUL HANDLEY/AFP via Getty Images

The Takeaway: Israel: Deja vu, all over again

Likud party supporters wave flags bearing the party's leader, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as they react at their party campaign headquarters in Jerusalem on March 23, 2021

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 30: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden addresses the 4th National J Street Conference at the Washington Convention Center September 30, 2013 in Washington, D.C. J Street is a nonprofit advocacy group made up primarily of Jews based in the U.S. which says it aims to promote American leadership in ending the Arab-Israeli and Israel-Palestinian conflicts through diplomacy. (Photo by Ron Sachs-Pool/Getty Images)

Intel: J Street launches push to include Palestinian rights in Democratic Party platform

The left-leaning lobby group J street endorsed a letter today featuring 32 foreign policy professionals urging the Democratic National Committee to make Palestinian rights part of its 2020 platform.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during a primary night speech at The National Constitution Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S., March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC2FHF943RPX

Intel: Key Biden adviser slams 'sheer hypocrisy' of Trump gambit to extend Iran arms embargo

The Joe Biden campaign’s chief foreign policy adviser slammed the Donald Trump administration for relying on a mechanism in the 2015 nuclear deal to reinstate multilateral sanctions on Iran should the United Nations fail to extend an arms embargo on Tehran, which is set to expire in October.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks about the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic at an event in Wilmington, Delaware, U.S., March 12, 2020. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC2HIF91AUNH

Intel: Biden vows to back Armenian genocide resolution as president

Former Vice President Joe Biden marked Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day on Friday with a pledge to back a resolution recognizing the Ottoman Empire’s massacre of more than 1 million mostly Christian Armenians as a genocide.

WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES - MARCH 12, 2020: Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) speaks about the Coronavirus and the response to it at the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, DE.- PHOTOGRAPH BY Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/ Barcroft Studios / Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Meet Joe Biden’s foreign policy advisers

Al-Monitor's walk-through of the views of the individuals tasked with crafting presidential candidate Joe Biden’s Middle East policies

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - HP1EG3G048LEH

Intel: J Street endorsement sets up battle with AIPAC for Biden’s ear

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, accepted a major endorsement from the lobbying group J Street today, setting up a battle for the former vice president’s ear with the left-leaning organization’s main rival, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - HP1EG3G058XET

Intel: Joe Biden uses coronavirus crisis to push for Iran sanctions relief

Former Vice President Joe Biden, the overwhelming favorite to become the Democratic presidential nominee, came out in favor of humanitarian sanctions relief for Iran to help the embattled country cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

Patients with coronavirus disease (COVID-19) lie in beds at the ICU of Sasan Hospital, in Tehran, Iran March 30, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2GUF9M2YGL

How will the COVID-19 crisis impact US-Iran tensions?

If Iran can hold out long enough against COVID-19, Tehran and Washington might be able to come to terms.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - HP1EG3G03W5EF

Intel: Bernie Sanders uses coronavirus crisis to push for Iran sanctions relief

Presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., called on the Donald Trump administration to ease its Iran sanctions regime as Tehran struggles to cope with the coronavirus pandemic.

US SECRETARY OF STATE COLIN POWELL WITH SENATORS JOSEPH BIDEN AND
RICHARD LUGAR AT THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE HEARING.

U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, (C) shares a laugh with Senator
Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, (L) and Senator Richard Lugar (R-IN) before
testifying at a hearing on the Moscow Treaty and strategic offensive
reductions on Capitol Hill, July 9, 2002. The committee is reviewing
details of the Moscow Treaty. REUTERS/Hy

Historical context: Biden’s 2002 vote on Iraq war

Congress passed a new resolution on the use of force in the Middle East; the United States retaliates against Iran-backed militias in Iraq; and an 18-year-old debate returns.

Head of the Guardian Council Ahmad Jannati delivers a sermon during Tehran's Friday prayers August 21, 2009. Hardline Iranian cleric Jannati urged the judiciary on Friday to arrest the leaders of post-election unrest, in what appeared to be a reference to defeated moderate presidential candidates Mirhossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karoubi. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN POLITICS RELIGION) - GM1E58L1HAE01

US sanctions Iranian Guardian Council members, holds off on UN snapback penalties

The Trump administration is coming under pressure from anti-Iran deal advocates to find a way to trigger the "snapback" of UN sanctions this year.

U.S. Democratic 2020 presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders waves to the audience at a campaign rally in the Tacoma Dome in Tacoma, Washington, U.S. February 17, 2020. REUTERS/Jason Redmond - RC2T2F9VBSY2

Meet the AIPAC leaders bankrolling the Bernie Sanders attack ads

Several high-profile AIPAC donors are bankrolling ads against Bernie Sanders’ presidential bid as the lobbying group tackles the growing criticism of Israel among Democrats.

South Bend Mayor Pete Buttigieg and former Vice President Joe Biden talk during a commercial break during the second night of the first Democratic presidential candidates debate in Miami, Florida, U.S. June 27, 2019. REUTERS/Mike Segar - HP1EF6S07RAKM

Trump’s Mideast peace plan puts heat on Biden, Buttigieg ahead of Iowa caucuses

Pro-Palestinian activists are urging Joe Biden and Pete Buttigieg to push for a cut Israeli military aid in the crucial days before the Iowa caucuses.