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Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:56 am

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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

Iraqi fighters from Hashid Shaabi take part in a training at Makhmur camp in Iraq December 11, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2UHUT

What role will Iran-linked militias play once IS leaves Iraq?

Despite Iraqi government attempts to control Shiite militias within the Popular Mobilization Units, the groups still are ready and willing to confront Israel and Saudi Arabia outside of Iraq.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting in Jerusalem March 16, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX319O4

Could 'regional deal' be behind Israel's government crisis?

Following the annual Arab League meeting in Jordan this past weekend, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi will bring up the issue of the Arab Peace Initiative in his upcoming meeting with US President Donald Trump.

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.