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Israel

May 20, 2026

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NICOSIA, CYPRUS - APRIL 24: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for an informal meeting of European Union leaders on April 24, 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The EU heads of state and government are meeting over two days to discuss the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the effects of high fuel prices, and how Europe may contribute to de-escalation and a peace agreement. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)

Syria's Sharaa renews ban on Israeli imports in customs law: What to know

The renewal comes even as Damascus pursues US-backed security talks with Israel aimed at reducing tensions along the border.

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Somaliland's first ambassador to Israel announces embassy in Jerusalem: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

Israel’s preferred strategy, sources told Al-Monitor, calls for a comprehensive naval, economic, land and air blockade of Iran, alongside tighter sanctions and covert activity aimed at destabilizing the regime.

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

Men gather around the husk of a destroyed pickup truck that was driven by a local shepherd who was reportedly struck by Israeli forces and buried by locals at a grave nearby, in the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq, on May 12, 2026.

What we know about secret Israeli bases in Iraq

Iraqi authorities have said there are no longer any hostile forces operating in its territory.

Latest News

Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

talks

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

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

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

A sign declares the National Archive is closed due to a partial federal government shutdown in Washington, U.S., December 22, 2018. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1AE6EAC290

Israel anti-boycott bill becomes partisan casualty in first vote of new Senate

Senate Republicans’ first bill in the new Congress draws AIPAC into a partisan political squabble while forcing a Democratic reckoning over the Israel boycott movement.

Brigadier-General Hossein Ashtari, the chief commander of the Islamic Republic's police force, addresses ambassadors and representatives of international organisations based in Tehran on October 10, 2018. - Ashtari called for further international cooperation for fighting terrorism, drug trafficking and cyber crimes. (Photo by ATTA KENARE / AFP) (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iran ups rhetoric with talk of training Palestinian fighters

Iran has been supporting and instructing Palestinian resistance factions for years on the down low, but now it's bragging about it.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 6, 2019. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC1851386D20

Analysis: Israel’s dirty election campaign kicks off

Shortly after announcing early elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is targeting his rivals with rumors, accusations and even fake news, especially former IDF chief Benny Gantz.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons annual meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC112D918F90

Rival fiefdoms emerge in scramble over Trump's Syria withdrawal

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have offered different messages about President Donald Trump’s intentions for a Syria withdrawal.

A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas stands guard at the gate of Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC16B100DC80

Intel: How cooperation at Gaza-Egypt border fell victim to Palestinian infighting

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah attends a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC1E163FE170

Kuwait breaks from GCC on warming up to Israel

While Kuwait is joining its fellow GCC nations in terms of supporting Syria's return to the Arab League, Kuwaiti officials want nothing to do with Israel.

Netanyahu’s Golan statement ignores new Syria reality

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partnering with the far-right and proclaiming sovereignty over the Golan Heights is more important than aspiring to regional alliances with Muslim and Arab countries.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli politicians cower before Jewish terror

The political outcry over settler youths arrested for causing the death of a Palestinian woman reflects the Israeli leadership's fear of the settlers’ political power.

Zionist Camp split reveals ethnic divide among Israeli left

The dissolution of the Zionist Camp is about much more than a rift between Labor head Avi Gabbay and Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni; it shows that the long years of bitterness between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews are far from over.

How Israeli senior officials deal with an unpredictable Trump

The decisions by President Donald Trump to pull out of the Iranian nuke agreement, and recently to exit Syria, worry Israeli senior officials.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the Zionist Union addresses attendees at the "Haaretz Q: with New Israel Fund" event at The Roosevelt Hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 13, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly - GF10000264652

Unclear future for Livni's daring diplomatic agenda

After the dismantling of the Zionist Camp, Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua Party is almost the only party for which the diplomatic process remains at the top of its platform, and which doesn’t lean to the right or speak in vague terms.

Israel’s dangerous game on conditions of Palestinian prisoners

The declaration by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan about worsening Palestinian prisoners’ conditions would only generate unrest in prisons and on the Palestinian street.