Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

September 13, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:19 pm

31°C

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

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

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Jack Dutton

Chief Business Correspondent

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Ben Caspit

Israel Columnist

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

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Gantz caught in Trump and Netanyahu's peace plan ambush

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have been invited to the White House on the same day the Knesset is set to discuss Netanyahu’s request for immunity involving corruption charges.

U.S. Speaker of the House Pelosi during the Fifth World Holocaust Forum at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial museum in Jerusalem, January 23, 2020. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC2RLE9UGDN3

Intel: Pelosi seeks to reassure Israel as Democrats debate military aid

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is leading a congressional delegation to Israel this week amid an intraparty debate over conditioning military aid to the close US ally and Democratic efforts to limit President Donald Trump’s ability to attack Iran.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the World Holocaust Forum marking 75 years since the liberation of the Nazi extermination camp Auschwitz, at Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial centre in Jerusalem January 23, 2020. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC2PLE9YZH3Y

Holocaust remembrance event turns into 'election festival'

Dozens of world leaders who arrived in Jerusalem to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz were turned into extras on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's election stage.

An aerial view shows the newly arrived foundation platform of Leviathan natural gas field, in the Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Haifa, Israel January 31, 2019. Marc Israel Sellem/Pool via REUTERS - RC19D6F07760

In historic development, Israel exports natural gas to Egypt

Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz explains all the historic aspects of Israel exporting natural gas to Egypt.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos shows off his company's new smartphone, the Fire Phone, at a news conference in Seattle, Washington June 18, 2014. REUTERS/Jason Redmond (UNITED STATES - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY BUSINESS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1EA6J06CN02

UN fingers Israeli spyware firm in Bezos hack

UN investigators say Saudi use of NSO Group software was the “most likely explanation” for the hacking attack against the Amazon CEO.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, and Yair Lapid attend a parliamentary vote for its dissolution and approval of a date for a third national election in less than a year, at the Knesset, or Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem December 11, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2ATD9IHGT9

Israel’s Gantz steers away from Arab voters, seeks soft-right

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz does not realize that if he wants to be prime minister, he will need a high voting rate among the country’s Arab citizens.

Should social media posts disqualify Israeli Arab legislator?

An attempt to block Arab Knesset member Heba Yazbak from running in the March elections for allegedly voicing support for a terrorist raises the issue of whether the same should apply to Otzma Yehudit leader Itamar Ben-Gvir.

Israel-Greece-Cyprus take on Turkey in the Mediterranean

Trilateral cooperation among Israel, Greece and Cyprus to build a natural gas subsea pipeline is setting the stage for more tensions with Turkey in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in an anti-Israel military show in the southern Gaza Strip November 11, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC2Z8D9ZR40Q

Gaza developments portend military escalation with Israel

Israel's political impasse is expected to affect the Palestinians' situation in the Gaza Strip, and Israeli intelligence believes new military confrontations will erupt as the security and humanitarian situation there continues to deteriorate.

Heba Yazbak, Israeli Arab member of the Balad (National Democratic Alliance) party, speaks during a campaign rally for the Joint List political alliance ahead of upcoming September parliamentary elections, in the Arab town of Kafr Yasif in northern Israel on August 23, 2019. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

How strong is Israel’s democracy?

Israeli society must let elected Arab Knesset members speak up, even if what they say angers most Israeli Jews and destabilizes consensus.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party, stands behind a model of Jerusalem's Old City and surrounding areas as he tours "The City of David", a Jewish heritage site in Silwan, East Jerusalem January 14, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2QFE9ITSWC

Israel’s Gantz shifts stance, supports early publication of peace plan

The Blue and White leadership has changed its strategy and is now welcoming an early publication of the Donald Trump administration's peace plan.

Exterior of the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue during its reopening after the completion of a restoration project in Alexandria, Egypt January 10, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC27DE99HAZA

What reopening the Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue means for Egypt

There are hardly enough Jews in Alexandria to form a quorum to hold prayers, making the renovation and reopening of the oldest synagogue in Egypt all the more meaningful to the country's Jewish community.