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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 25, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:04 pm

25°C

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

The absence of a Trump meeting would have been awkward for Netanyahu, who has long portrayed himself to Israeli voters as uniquely close to the US president.

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

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu waves to delegates leaving before his UN speech

Delegates walk out as Netanyahu touts Iran war, slams Qatar and Turkey at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's statement that the Golan Heights will "remain Syrian territory," while praising US President Donald Trump, whom he did not meet on the trip.

Leader of the Arab Israeli party Ra'am (United Arab List) Mansour Abbas (R) and Israeli politician Yoav Segalovitz (L) attend a news conference in Nazareth on August 31, 2026. Abbas announced that Segalovitz, an Israeli Jew, will join his party for the upcoming Israeli elections. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

Israel election committee bars two Arab lists from upcoming vote: What to know

Israel's Central Elections Committee barred the Arab-majority Raam party, the Arab joint list party and two Arab politicians from participating in the Oct. 27 elections.

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

Latest News

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

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

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

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

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

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)

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

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

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

A Palestinian man smokes a cigarette as he sits near his belongings after the Israeli army demolished his shanty, that his family lives in, near the Israeli West Bank settlement of Maale Adumim, near Jerusalem January 6, 2016. The owners of the shanty said they were informed by the Israeli army that the demolition was carried out because they did not have Israeli-issued permits to reside in the area. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2199M

Why isn't IDF razing homes of Jewish terrorists?

Family members of Jewish terrorists can rest assured that the Israeli government won't subject them to the same policy of demolitions as punishment it uses against Palestinians.

Israeli police officers cordon off the scene of a shooting incident in Tel Aviv, Israel January 1, 2016. One person was killed and several were wounded in a shooting incident in central Tel Aviv on Friday, Israeli media said. A police spokesman confirmed there had been several casualties but would not say if anyone was killed in the incident on Dizengoff Street. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RTX20PRI

What happened to the mighty Shin Bet?

Neshat Melhem, who carried out a terror attack on Jan. 1 in Tel Aviv, has managed so far to fool the Israeli security apparatus and escape the scene.

A police cordon is seen near the scene of a shooting incident in Tel Aviv, Israel January 1, 2016. A gunman killed two people and wounded at least three others in central Tel Aviv on Friday before fleeing, Israeli police said, adding that the motive for the attack was unclear. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RTX20PWU

'Normal' life under fire in Tel Aviv

Despite its security bluster, the Israeli leadership is increasingly leaving it to Israelis to defend themselves as the wave of violence penetrates the Tel Aviv "bubble."

The Palestinian Authority's plan to dismantle itself

The Palestinian leadership has a tentative strategy in place for the dismantlement of the Palestinian Authority and the establishment of a state under Israeli occupation.

Gilad Shalit (2nd R) walks with his father Noam (R), Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Defence Minister Ehud Barak (L) at Tel Nof air base in central Israel in this handout released by the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) October 18, 2011. Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit returned home to a national outpouring of joy on Tuesday after five years in captivity as hundreds of Palestinian prisoners exchanged for him were greeted with kisses from Hamas leaders in the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/PMO/Handout (ISRAEL

The truth about Gilad Shalit's five years in captivity

A video released by Hamas appears to show that abducted Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit was kept in humane conditions, yet questions remain about the motive behind the decision to release the clip.

Why the Israeli right wants to ban books, persecute NGOs

Israeli Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked says funding by European states to NGOs advances foreign interests; yet millions of euros have also been transferred from the EU to Israeli government agencies.

Why Palestinian housewives are taking lead in boycott campaigns

Palestinian women have recently been joining the global BDS movement by launching their own local campaigns to encourage people to refrain from buying Israeli goods.

Protesters lock horns with government over crusader battlefield

History lovers and environmental activists are battling state plans to build a Druze settlement at the ancient battlefield Horns of Hattin, where crusaders confronted Saladin's army in 1187.

On its 51st anniversary, is Fatah facing identity crisis?

The leading Palestinian movement is facing an internal challenge in terms of its identity and how to bring about national liberation.

Netanyahu's strategy of hopelessness

Instead of reassuring the public after the recent Tel Aviv shooting, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu expertly stoked the public's fears.

Israeli Arabs fear stigmatization following Tel Aviv shooting

The great majority of Israeli Arabs condemns and rejects terror acts, such as the shooting on Friday at a Tel Aviv pub, but this does not prevent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from blaming them all.

Court security guards watch as Israeli ultranationalists (R) protest against interrogation methods used by Israel's domestic security service, against suspects in a fatal arson attack in a West Bank village five months ago, during a court hearing in the case in Petah Tikva, Israel December 28, 2015. With Israel hinting indictments over the arson in the village of Duma, which killed 18-month-old Ali Dawabshe and his parents, may be imminent, some of the suspects' lawyers have accused the security agency - al

Shin Bet uncovers Jewish extremist plot to destroy state

A lengthy investigation by the Shin Bet and Israeli Police has uncovered a plot to destroy the State of Israel and led to the indictment of two "hilltop youth" suspects in the murder of the Dawabsha family.