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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:59 pm

33°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 takes part in a ceremony in which Israel declared its "David's Sling" intermediate-range air defence shield fully operational, at Hatzor air base in southern Israel April 2, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX33QI6

Eyes roll in Tel Aviv at Netanyahu's one-man band

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is quick to appropriate the achievements of his ministers, and the habit has become a running joke in political circles.

Yehuda Glick, an activist of the "temple mount faithful" group, poses for a photo in Jerusalem June 30, 2011. Glick was shot and severely wounded in Jerusalem on October 29, 2014 as he left a conference promoting a Jewish campaign to permit praying at a compound in the Old City that that has become a flashpoint as both Jews and Muslims regard it as a holy site, Israeli officials said. Israeli police shot dead a Palestinian on Thursday after he fired at them resisting arrest in East Jerusalem hours after the

Why this Likud MK presents unique challenge to Netanyahu

Knesset member Yehuda Glick advocates for the right of Jews to pray at the Temple Mount, but at the same time he champions liberal values such as freedom of the press.

The political scenarios to defeat Netanyahu in early elections

With the prospect for early elections in Israel, the Zionist Camp must decide whether to join forces with left-wing Meretz and its liberal-humanist ideology or tag along with Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man dips cooking utensils in boiling water to remove remains of leaven in preparation for the Jewish holiday of Passover in the city of Ashdod April 5, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX3497Q

Israeli chefs get creative during Passover

Israeli chefs recount to Al-Monitor how Passover restrictions force them to become more innovative than ever before in their cooking and baking.

Israeli soldiers of the Caracal battalion rest after finishing a 20-kilometre march in Israel's Negev desert, near Kibbutz Sde Boker, marking the end of their training, May 29, 2014. The "Caracal" battalion, two-thirds of whose members are women, was established in 2004 with the purpose of incorporating female soldiers in combat units. The main mission of Caracal is routine patrols on Israel's border with Egypt to intercept infiltrators and smuggling from the Sinai desert. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags:

How religious female soldiers are transforming the IDF

Female commanders of combat units in the Israel Defense Forces, especially religious women, are provoking apprehension among religious Zionist leaders in Israel.

Could an offshore seaport be Gaza's salvation?

Israeli Transportation and Intelligence Minister Israel Katz continues to promote his idea of an artificial island and port off the Gaza coast and recently pitched it to President Donald Trump’s envoy.

U.S. President Donald Trump waits to welcome Denmark's Prime Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen at the White House in Washington, U.S. March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RTX33FJG

Trump's envoy pushing two-state solution as Abbas' US visit nears

US President Donald Trump's stance on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has been vague so far, but initial signs indicate that an attempt at an Israeli-Palestinian deal is not out of the question.

Orthodox Christian worshippers hold crosses before a procession along the Via Dolorosa on Good Friday during Holy Week in Jerusalem's Old City April 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2C6DI

Jerusalem's Old City braces for massive Easter crowds

The Old City of Jerusalem is expected to be extremely crowded this year as all the churches will celebrate Easter on the same schedule, renovations have attracted a higher pilgrim turnout and Passover visitors will add to the throngs.

How Palestinians plan to overcome electricty shortages

The Palestinian government is establishing a "new electricity market" that will draw power from various sources but will be supervised by a government-owned company.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid attends a women's committee convention in Tel Aviv March 1, 2015. The era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ending, with Israeli voters clearly more concerned about economic and social issues than about security or fears over Iran, a leading election candidate said on Monday. Lapid, a telegenic former news anchor and TV host, leads the centrist, secular Yesh Atid party ("There's a Future"), which emerged out of the cost-of-living protests that swept Israel in 2011. Picture

Operation seduction: Lapid captures Israel’s mainstream support

Contrary to opposition leader Isaac Herzog, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid has chosen to stay stately and not to attack Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally.

How Israel's culture minister threatens national film industry, democracy

Culture Minister Miri Regev is examining state funding of Israeli films with the intention of withholding support to productions she considers anti-Israeli.

An employee sorts freshly harvested cannabis buds at a medical marijuana plantation in northern Israel March 21, 2017. Picture taken March 21, 2017. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RTX32D71

How some Israelis plan to cash in with cannabis

As the Knesset considers a bill to legalize exporting medical cannabis, dozens of Israeli kibbutzim are getting in on the lucrative industry.