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Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:25 am

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ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

No meeting has been announced between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York.

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

Gargash

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

Latest News

Serbia opens factory to assemble Israeli-made drones: What to know

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Culture

Israeli show ‘Fauda’ tops Netflix in Lebanon, hits top 10 across Arab states

ISRAEL-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-MASS-MEDIA-D (L to R) Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-creators of the hit Israeli TV show "Fauda", attend a demonstration against the Israeli government's plans to shut-down public broadcaster KAN, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 25, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

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

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.

An Israeli prison guard escorts jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti (C) to a deliberation at Jerusalem Magistrate's court January 25, 2012. Convicted of murder for his role in attacks on Israelis, Barghouti was jailed for life by Israel in 2004.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR2WTIC

Fatah’s Barghouti pushes hunger strike for 3,500 prisoners

Imprisoned Fatah senior leader Marwan Barghouti calls for the group’s prisoners in Israel to start a hunger strike over imprisonment conditions.

A man breathes through an oxygen mask, after what rescue workers described as a suspected gas attack in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib, Syria April 4, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Abdullah - RTX33ZG2

Following gas attack, Israel reassesses Syrian threat

Israeli intelligence branches are reassessing the Syrian threat of weapons of mass destruction following the gas attack in Idlib on April 4.

How Palestine is working to stop antiquities theft

Thousands of artifacts that were smuggled outside the Palestinian territories have been seized in the past years as part of the Palestinian government’s efforts to put a stop to illegal excavations and antiquities trade.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives at a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSW82I

Rift between right, left in Israel reaches new heights

A new study shows that 22.5% of Israeli Jews consider the political left to be "dangerous."

Buildings under construction are seen in this general view picture of the Israeli settlement of Efrat, in the occupied West Bank March 26, 2017. Picture taken March 26, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX33V8P

Does BDS ban hurt Israel?

Jewish organizations in the United States are criticizing the Knesset for banning the entry of those who express support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.

U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, U.S., April 3, 2017. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTX33W8K

Trump welcomes Egypt’s Sisi 'as is'

US President Donald Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi seem to hit it off at the White House, but will Trump come through on the funding Sisi wants?

TOPSHOT - Yahya Sinwar (2nd R), the new leader of the Hamas Islamist movement in the Gaza Strip and senior political leader Ismail Haniyeh (L) sit next to the son of Mazen Faqha, a Hamas leader who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Gaza Strip, during a memorial on March 27, 2017 in Gaza City.
Hamas officials have said the killing bears the hallmarks of Israel's intelligence service Mossad, but Israel has not commented on the shooting. / AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD

Hamas factions quarrel over vengeance for commander's death

Outgoing Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal has vowed to avenge the killing of military leader Mazen Faqha; this may provoke Hamas into another round of violent conflict with Israel.

How these Syrians went from opposition fighters to pro-regime militiamen

Some former members of the Free Syrian Army in southern Syria formed their own group that fights alongside the Syrian regime.

Can Netanyahu outmaneuver Trump?

The decision by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to limit settlement construction is an attempt to make President Donald Trump think that any failure to reach a peace deal is the Palestinians' fault.