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

Israel cover image

Israel

November 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:13 am

16°C

Marco Longari / AFP via Getty Images

France denies Israeli settler leader entry: What to know

The head of Israel's Samaria Regional Council settler organization claims that France turned him back at the Paris airport.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's opposition to advance anti-Netanyahu government measures as soon as Knesset convenes Tuesday, without waiting for a new cabinet to take shape.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Analysis

Trump officials look past Netanyahu, push Eisenkot to form government quickly

Associates of President Donald Trump are urging opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government, but one of his partners, Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, is blocking the path to resolving the political deadlock.

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

Former Israeli army chief of staff and Yashar Party leader, Gadi Eisenkot, greets supporters

Explainer

Uphill battle: Gadi Eisenkot's 3 paths to forming Israel's next government

When President Isaac Herzog tasks Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government, he will have three options for building a coalition, each fraught with obstacles.

Latest News

Explainer

Arab parties' backing gives Eisenkot edge over Netanyahu for PM: What to know

Tomer Neuberg / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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 Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman and U.S. Defense Secretary James Mattis (not seen) hold a joint news conference at the Ministry of Defense in Tel Aviv, Israel, April 21, 2017 REUTERS/Heidi Levine/ Pool - RTS139P0

Settlers pressure Netanyahu to reject Palestinian building plan

Settler leaders rebuke Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's already approved plan for 14,000 housing units to be built at the West Bank Palestinian Qalqilya refugee camp.

Israeli soldiers from the Golani Brigade take part in a military training exercise in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights near the border with Syria on January 19, 2015. Iran confirmed today that a general of its elite Revolutionary Guards died in an Israeli strike on Syria that also killed six members of Lebanese militant group Hezbollah. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

IDF prepares for future of war in region

After conducting military exercises in Cyprus, the Israel Defense Forces are trying to anticipate all possibilities of warfare on Israel's borders, including a ground confrontation in Lebanon with Hezbollah.

A boy looks at Palestinians as they ride a horse cart on a street flooded with sewage water from a sewage treatment facility in Gaza City November 14, 2013. Gaza municipality said they could not operate the sewage treatment facility due to shortages in fuel and power. Gaza's lone power plant shut its generators on November 1, 2013 due to a fuel shortage, a move that will likely increase already long blackout hours in the impoverished coastal territory run by the Islamist Hamas group. Power is provided to di

Gaza's ticking sewage bomb

Israeli expert and professor Eilon Adar warns that the electricity crisis in Gaza could provoke an ecological disaster both in the Strip and in Israel.

LONDON, ENGLAND - JUNE 14: Author, David Grossman (Israel) poses for a photo after being announced the winner of the Man Booker International Prize 2017 for his book 'A Horse Walks into a Bar' at Victoria & Albert Museum on June 14, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Tim P. Whitby/Getty Images)

Netanyahu critic wins prestigious literary award

Winner of the 2017 Man Booker International Prize, Israeli writer David Grossman has battled the occupation for decades.

Israeli soldiers stand guard near the entrance to Allenby Bridge, a crossing point between Jordan and the occupied West Bank, near the West Bank town of Jericho March 10, 2014. Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Palestinian on Monday at the crossing point, Israeli and Palestinian security officials said. The Israeli military said the man had tried to seize a soldier's gun at the Allenby bridge, which spans the Jordan River, and that troops had then shot him. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS

Palestinians optimistic as Jordan border crossing set to open 24/7

Israel has agreed to open the Allenby (King Hussein) border crossing into Jordan around the clock following bilateral negotiations with the Palestinians.

BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 19: In this handout image supplied by the Palestinian President's Office (PPO), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel on April 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Abbas is meeting with Merkel as well as other European leaders and Vladimir Putin of Russia in an effort to gain support for the Mideast peace process. Abbas is next scheduled to travel to New York to attend peace talks at the United Nations. (Photo by Thaer Ghanaim/PP

Abbas eyes Merkel as Plan B if Trump fails on Mideast peace

Should President Donald Trump fail to deliver his ultimate regional deal, the Palestinians could opt for German Chancellor Angela Merkel to take the lead on relaunching peace talks with Israel.

Netanyahu spearheads populist 'madness'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has changed strategy, and instead of operating behind the scenes he is now spearheading efforts to adopt a law against foreign donations to NGOs.

Yahya Sinwar, the new leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, attends the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. / AFP / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Sinwar and Dahlan's Cairo face-to-face

Fatah's dismissed senior official Mohammed Dahlan met June 11 in Cairo with Hamas Gaza leader Yahya Sinwar in an attempt to advance a solution for Gaza’s economic crisis.

Members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas ride a truck outside a Hamas-run military court where alleged collaborators with Israel are prosecuted, in Gaza City May 21, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX36SVG

Hamas crisis could present an opportunity for Israel

According to Israeli assessment, the record-low point in which Hamas finds itself currently could either lead to a confrontation with Israel or to more moderate policies.

New Israeli pro-diplomacy lobby hopes to avoid another Gaza war

Yesh Atid Knesset member Haim Jelin promotes a new lobby for offering Gaza residents a diplomatic horizon and hope in the form of developing infrastructure and addressing the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian Football Association (PFA) President Jibril Rajoub speaks to the media ahead of the 67th FIFA Congress in Manama, Bahrain May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed - RTS15TON

Palestinian official comes under fire over Jerusalem comments

The response to comments by Jibril Rajoub shows how difficult it is to publicly address contentious issues involving the holy sites in Jerusalem.

Israeli Culture Minister Miri Regev arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem October 9, 2016. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool - RTSRFK0

Culture war takes center stage at Israeli theater festival

Israeli artists widely condemn the decision by the Acre Festival of Alternative Theater to exclude Einat Weitzman's play about Palestinian prisoners, saying the move is part of a dangerous trend of self-censorship in Israel.