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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 26, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:04 am

23°C

AAMIR QURESHI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As Pakistan military chief holds Iran talks, Israel's Netanyahu fears being left out

US President Donald Trump's comment that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would do "whatever I want” is troubling the premier's inner circle ahead of the elections in October.

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

Burak Kara/Getty Images

Ireland joins EU push to ban trade with Israeli settlements amid flotilla backlash

European frustration with Israel intensified this week after a far-right Israeli minister posted a video of the mistreatment of international activists detained in the country.

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Israel targets Turkey charity amid Gaza flotilla tensions

The request, published in Israeli media, marks a further escalation in tensions with Turkey amid disputes over Gaza aid operations.

Latest News

Interview

Ahmad Tibi says Arab parties in Israel can block Netanyahu without joining next government

Arab-Israeli Knesset member Ahmed Tibi takes part in a demonstration against rising crime rates against Arab-Israelis in Tel Aviv, Israel, Jan. 31, 2026.

Ahmad Tibi

Ahmad Tibi

Israeli Arab lawmaker

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

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)

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

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.

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

Jordanians really don't want Israel’s gas

Jordan's agreement to buy Israeli natural gas has Jordanians up in arms.

Palestinian members of the Hamas security forces stand guard during the opening of the Sheikh Hamad residential project in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis on January 16, 2016.
One thousand units financed by Qatar were attributed to Gazans whose homes were razed during the Israeli offensive on the enclave in 2014 which displaced thousands of people. Qatar pledged 407 million dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza including the construction of apartments, infrastructure and a hospital. / AFP / M

Gaza real estate sector on the rise

The real estate sector in Gaza is booming in light of a fast-rising population and a small surface area, but will this spur benefit the government?

Houses are seen in this general view of Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood close to Jerusalem's Old City June 29, 2016. Picture taken June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2J0WD

Palestinians get 'right to return' — to Jerusalem

The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that Palestinian residents of Jerusalem cannot be permanently stripped of their residency rights after having lived elsewhere.

A general view of the the holy mosque of Nabi Musa where the tomb of Prophet Moses is placed, surround by the desert near the West Bank town of Jericho 23 November 2002. The tomb is considered holy because it houses the grave of the prophet Moses according to local tradition. Moses is recognized by Moslems as one of the great prophets of Islam. The main body of the present shrine, the mosque, the minaret, and some of the rooms, were built in AD 1269 during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan, Al Dhaher Baybars.

Palestinian government hopes ancient shrine can lure in tourists

The Palestinian ministries of Tourism and Endowments are planning to renovate Jericho’s Shrine of the Prophet Moses to boost tourism and revive the economy.

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

How will ban on national fund affect Palestinians?

Israel’s recent decision to label the Palestinian National Fund, which serves as the PLO’s Ministry of Finance, as a “terror group” raised Palestinian concerns over the future of relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian supporters of Mazen Faqha, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Gaza Strip a day earlier, march during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Tubas on March 25, 2017.
Gunmen in the Gaza Strip on March 24 shot dead a Hamas official who was freed by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, the interior ministry in the Palestinian enclave said. Faqha was released along with more than 1,000 other Palestinians in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier Hamas had detained for five years. / AFP

Assassination of Hamas senior operative won't ensure Passover calm

While Israel tries to prevent attempts by Hamas and other groups to perpetrate attacks during the Passover period, officially Israel did not take responsibility for the killing of Hamas military branch senior operative Mazen Faqha.

EDITORS NOTE: Graphic content / Yahya Sinwar (C-R), the new leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip and senior political leaders of the Islamist movement, Ismail Haniyeh (C-L) and Rawhi Moshtaha (L-2) attend the funeral of Hamas official, Mazen Faqha in Gaza city on March 25, 2017.
Gunmen in the Gaza Strip had shot dead the Hamas official on March 24, 2017, according to Iyad al-Bozum, an interior ministry spokesman in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. Faqha had been released by Israel six years earlier in the 2011 pris

Will Hamas respond to assassination of military leader?

Hamas is blaming Israel for the killing of military commander Mazen Faqha but is waiting on a commission of inquiry before announcing any response.

A staff member removes the Iranian flag from the stage during the Iran nuclear talks in Vienna, Austria July 14, 2015. Carlos Barria: For more than a decade the United States and other world powers have participated in talks to reach an agreement on Iranís nuclear program. They and Iran have spent thousands of hours around a table seeking a solution to what the West sees as a threat to global stability if Iran gains the capability to make a nuclear bomb. The last chapter was in Vienna, where I travelled wit

Iran responds to US with 'reciprocal sanctions'

In response to new US sanctions on Iran’s ballistic missile program, Tehran sanctioned US firms that supply the Israeli government with arms and other equipment to support the settlement enterprise.

Isaac Herzog leader of Zionist Union delivers a statement at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSEWFL

How Israel’s center-left bloc missed another opportunity

Israel's public broadcasting crisis within the government coalition presented the opposition with a golden opportunity to attack the government — an opportunity that the fragmented center-left bloc did not seize.

Jason Greenblatt (L), U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Ministerís Office in Jerusalem March 13, 2017. Picture taken March 13, 2017. Courtesy Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY - RTX319T3

The mystery of Trump envoy's missing yarmulke

Israeli ultra-Orthodox became preoccupied with the faith of US envoy Jason Greenblatt after he made public appearances without a yarmulke.

Jason Greenblatt (L), U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East envoy meets Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Prime Ministerís Office in Jerusalem March 13, 2017. Picture taken March 13, 2017. Courtesy Matty Stern/U.S. Embassy Tel Aviv/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY - RTX319TT

Trump’s envoy surprises Israelis, Palestinians

While the Israeli side was disappointed by the US demands to curb settlement construction, the Palestinian side was pleasantly surprised by the approach of President Donald Trump’s envoy Jason Greenblatt.

Benzion Gopshtein (L), leader of the far-right Israeli group Lehava, gathers with fellow activists in Jerusalem December 25, 2014. A far-right Israeli group that agitates against Arabs in the name of religion and national security is forcing the Jewish state into a legal and political balancing act as it tries to contain sectarian violence. The authorities are under pressure to deal with anyone encouraging Jewish retaliation against Israeli Arabs and Palestinians. Efforts to tackle Lehava, however, may be

Anti-racism coalition claims Israeli extreme-right groups getting state funds

A report by the Israeli Tag-Meir group argues that extreme-right groups that incite hate and violence are receiving state funds both directly and indirectly.