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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 27, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:51 pm

28°C

Trump Netanyahu

On eighth visit, Israel’s Netanyahu seeks to repair ties with Trump

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to focus on Iran in his Tuesday meeting with President Donald Trump, while the US leader is more likely to want to discuss Lebanon and Syria.

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

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a joint declaration with French President Emmanuel Macron at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTX3BO0Y

Why Netanyahu loves playing foreign minister

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dedicates much time and effort to meetings with world leaders while sidelining the most important issue for Israel: the conflict with the Palestinians.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses a joint news conference with U.S. President Donald Trump (R) at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria -TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTSYTXW

Netanyahu puts Trump on notice over Syria

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly challenged US President Donald Trump in announcing his opposition to the cease-fire agreement for southern Syria brokered with Russia.

Israel Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks at the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle - RTSZCHS

Expansion plan for Palestinian town a power test for Liberman

The battle over Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman’s plan to expand the Palestinian town of Qalqilya reflects division within the right-wing camp, ahead of the next elections.

Palestinians pray as Israeli police officers look on by newly installed metal detectors at an entrance to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3BN0P

Israeli judiciary’s double standard on Jewish, Arab terrorists

The Israeli justice system appears to have a double standard on collective punishment for the families of Arabs who commit acts of terror and those of Jews who do the same.

A Palestinian argues with an Israeli border police officer during scuffles that erupted after Palestinians held prayers just outside Jerusalem's Old City in protest over the installation of metal detectors placed at an entrance to the Old City's compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX3BRG8

Israeli-Arab town's residents fear speaking out after Temple Mount attack

Residents of Umm al-Fahm, an Israeli-Arab town that was home to the three perpetrators of Friday's Temple Mount attack, claim that ever since Islamic Movement’s northern branch leader Sheikh Raed Salah was elected mayor, the town has been turning extremely religious.

French President Emmanuel Macron and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu react after making a joint declaration at the Elysee Palace in Paris, France, July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Stephane Mahe - RTX3BNWB

What Netanyahu told Macron in Paris

French President Emmanuel Macron’s warm welcome in Paris of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shouldn’t fool Jerusalem; France will continue to criticize settlement construction and continue the quest for the two-state solution.

An Israeli border police officer guards next to an entrance leading to the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City July 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX3BMMA

Doomsday averted on the Temple Mount, for now

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas set aside their mutual loathing to calm tensions when Israeli Arabs launched a short-lived attack on the Temple Mount.

Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) arrives for a classified briefing on the airstrikes launched against the Syrian military, at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., April 7, 2017. REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein - RTX34MT2

Israel frets over Congress push to slash Palestinian aid over terror payments

US lawmakers' efforts to further condition assistance to the Palestinian Authority is complicated by Israel's reluctance to undermine a key security partner.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 3, 2017. REUTERS/Thomas Coex/Pool - RTS19JBA

Netanyahu’s house of cards not collapsing, for now

So far, despite the many scandals, Likud voters are sticking with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, but for how long?

Pipes that pump water cross through evaporation pools, which today make up the southern part of the Dead Sea, Israel July 27, 2015. The Dead Sea is shrinking, and as its waters vanish at a rate of more than one meter a year, hundreds of sinkholes, some the size of a basketball court, some two storeys deep, are devouring land where the shoreline once stood.Picture taken July 27, 2015. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX1M941

Israeli-Palestinian water deal could chart course for further talks

An agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Authority on the Red Sea-Dead Sea canal project could build some trust between the sides, but the Palestinians are leery of any impact from it going into negotiations.

Israeli opposition leader Isaac Herzog, speaks during a demonstration held by Israeli left-wing group Peace Now, entitled "Two States, One Hope, A demonstration against 50 years of occupation", in Tel Aviv, Israel May 27, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX37WRH

Palestinians disappointed over Israeli Labor primaries

Palestinian leadership in Ramallah is disappointed over Isaac Herzog losing the Labor Party’s primaries, as they were hoping that Herzog would join the Netanyahu government and advance regional negotiations.

A Palestinian supporter of former head of Fatah in Gaza, Mohammed Dahlan, holds a poster depicting Dahlan during a protest against Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in Gaza City December 18, 2014. Dahlan, who lives in exile in the Gulf, is a powerful political foe of Abbas.
REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4IJ7B

Dahlan preps for return to Gaza

Former Fatah senior official Mohammed Dahlan is venerated now in the Gaza Strip as the man who closed the deal with Egypt to renew electricity flow.