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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 27, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:05 pm

30°C

JEWEL SAMAD/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why US carriers unlikely to rush back to Beirut as Trump lifts Lebanon flight ban

The White House is set to allow US airlines to fly to Beirut for the first time in decades, but experts say the move is more about politics than planes as Washington creates new openings for Lebanon's battered economy.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Ahead of Trump meeting, Netanyahu lays groundwork for Israel to rejoin Iran war

Reports of an Iranian espionage ring and nuclear centrifuges movement could help Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu make the case to the Israeli public and Donald Trump to rejoin the war, ahead of a critical election in October.

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

Latest News

Explainer

As Turkey rivalry heats up, Greece to acquire $4B Israeli air defense system

David's Sling.

Trump says Saudi nuclear deal 'totally subject' to Israel normalization

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Israel fears US deal would allow Saudi Arabia to enrich uranium

US President Donald Trump (R) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands as they arrive to speak to journalists during a joint press conference at Trump's Mar-a-Lago residence in Palm Beach, Florida, on Dec. 29, 2025.

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

Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant General Gadi Eizenkot speaks at the annual Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv January 18, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX22X9A

Why Israelis have turned against IDF, Shin Bet

Contrary to the past years when Israeli society venerated the leaders of the Israel Defense Force and Shin Bet, many suspect them nowadays of having their own agendas.

Mother of former Israeli soldier Elor Azaria, who was convicted of manslaughter and sentenced to 18 months imprisonment for killing a wounded and incapacitated Palestinian assailant, arrives together with her son to hear the ruling at an Israeli military appeals court in Tel Aviv, Israel July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Dan Balilty/Pool - RTS19QJ1

Netanyahu’s empathy for Hebron shooter reveals a lot about Israel

The support by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his party members for the IDF soldier convicted of manslaughter in Hebron demonstrates the moral decline of the Likud.

UNSPECIFIED - CIRCA 1903: Turkish residents of Nazareth playing checkers and smoking narghiles (Photo by Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

Archives belie Israel's narrative of Palestinian conflict

Early members of the Zionist movement and later Israelis have consistently attempted to control the narrative of the conflict with the Palestinians, including by seizing photographic evidence of Palestine and the Palestinians' history.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 30, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTS19PQE

Netanyahu’s legacy: Dividing Jews and uniting Arabs

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's handling in the recent Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif crisis threatens to turn the Israeli-Palestinian conflict from a nationalist struggle into a religious conflagration.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., July 31, 2017. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RTS19V60

Trump’s plan for Mideast peace fades

Israelis and Palestinians both feel that President Donald Trump and his administration have abandoned his ambitious peace initiative with his focus more on internal affairs.

A general view shows the Israeli Arab city of Umm al-Fahm August 16, 2016. Picture taken August 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2N04G

Residents of Israeli-Arab town anxious about proposed land swap

Residents of the Israeli-Arab town Umm al-Fahm fear that Israel will swap them for West Bank settlement bloc.

People ride bicycles in Tel Aviv on election day March 17, 2015. Millions of Israelis turned out to vote on Tuesday in a tightly-fought election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the centre-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office. REUTERS/Stringer (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS SOCIETY) - RTR4TQ4O

Israel’s recent bike craze met with resistance

The growing trend of biking in Israel has also considerably increased the number of accidents with pedestrians on sidewalks.

On US tour, Israeli finance minister keeps distance from trouble at home

Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon's heavily publicized visit to the United States suggests he is already preparing for the next elections.

Netanyahu's crusade against Al Jazeera in Jerusalem

In an effort to repair the damage to his image caused by the Temple Mount crisis, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he will attempt to shut down Al Jazeera's Israel bureau, again.

The EU, headed by France and Germany, could replace US on Mideast

With US President Donald Trump largely working solo on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the EU is preparing its own initiative, which might be launched next fall.

Embassy killings fuel Jordan-Israel tensions

The entire Israeli Embassy staff was evacuated from Jordan after a guard shot and killed two Jordanians following a dispute on embassy grounds.

Israeli, Turkish chefs hope food can bridge divide

For Israeli food blogger David Dudi Califa, a victim of the IS attack in Istanbul a year ago, the best reply to terrorism is to cook with love.