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June 19, 2026

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EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

President Donald Trump insisted he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but criticized the scale of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon.

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir takes part in the Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 14, 2026, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Explainer

Ben-Gvir's move to run separately in Israel elections revives debate over party alliances

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right Jewish Power party, has refused to merge with the far-right Religious Zionism party ahead of the elections.

Latest News

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Squeezed by Trump and Iran war, how vulnerable is Netanyahu in polls?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House, Washington, DC, July 7, 2025.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

'Pilot zones' offer litmus test for Lebanon to clear Israel border of Hezbollah

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon close to the Beaufort Castle as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel on June 4, 2026.

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

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JEAN-LUC RENAUDIE - Men read Israeli newspapers, paying daily Yedioth Aharonot (L) and free daily Israel HaYom (R) in Jerusalem, on February 25, 2015. As politicians intensify their campaigning for Israeli snap elections, an equally ferocious battle is playing out between two media tycoons -- a friend and a foe of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu's victory is the Israeli media's failure

The Israeli media chose to ignore political realities and to build up the image of Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog instead of taking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign seriously.

Moshe Kahlon (C), head of the new centrist party Kulanu (All of Us), addresses supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv March 18, 2015. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's election on Tuesday after exit polls showed he had erased his center-left rivals' lead with a hard rightward shift that saw him disavow a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state. A new centrist party led by former communications minister Kahlon could be the kingmaker in coalition talks. REUTERS/Stringer

Israel's diplomatic future in Kahlon's hands

When considering whether to join a Netanyahu-led coalition, Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon must bear in mind his party's political platform, which calls for advancing an arrangement with the Palestinians.

<<enter caption here>> on September 16, 2014 in New York City.

Is there hope for long-term truce between Hamas, Israel?

There is talk about implementing the initiative proposed by UN special coordinator Robert Serry to impose a long-term truce between Hamas and Israel, in return of ending the Israeli siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since 2007.

ABU GUSH, ISRAEL - MARCH 17: Arab Israeli women stand outside a polling station on election day on March 17, 2015 in Abu Gush, Israel. Israel's general election voting has begun today as polls show on that Chairman of the Zionist Union party, Isaac Herzog stands as the only rival to current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Israeli Arab party poised to reshape country's politics

Many Israeli Arabs believe that the unification of the Arab parties into one joint list and the momentum this move has generated will be translated into high voter turnout in the Arab sector and real change.

Isaac Herzog (C), co-leader of the centre-left Zionist Union party, speaks to the media after voting for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Tel Aviv March 17, 2015. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's march towards becoming the longest-serving leader of Israel could be halted on Tuesday in an election that has exposed public fatigue with his stress on national security rather than socio-economic problems. Surging rhetoric against Iran and the Palestinians has done little to close Net

Europe prepares for post-election Israel

Indications that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might lose the elections have driven some 200 foreign correspondents to Israel as the European Union follows closely.

Pedestrians cross a street in front of a Likud party campaign billboard depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv March 16, 2015. Netanyahu, in a final bid to shore up right-wing support ahead of a knife-edge vote on Tuesday, said he would not permit a Palestinian state to be created under his watch if he is re-elected. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TKW3

Netanyahu narrows gap with Herzog

Just hours before the polls open in Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promises that if he is elected, there will be no Palestinian state, and manages to obliterate the Zionist Camp’s lead in the polls almost entirely.

Israeli activists stand near tents on a main boulevard in the coastal city of Tel Aviv March 1, 2015. Dozens of Israeli social activists pitched tents in Tel Aviv on Sunday protesting about a housing shortage which is a key issue in campaigning for a March 17 election. The protest was reminiscent of a similar demonstration against a housing shortage in 2011 that ignited social protests of unprecedented size in Israel. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4RNTC

Netanyahu ignored socio-economic issues

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoyed a reputation of a strong-willed finance minister who can change the system, but has failed in harnessing these capabilities into confronting the dire socio-economic situation.

Fliers depicting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are seen on the ground during a right-wing rally in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square March 15, 2015. Israel's centre-left opposition is poised for an upset victory in the upcoming parliamentary election, with the last opinion polls before Tuesday's vote giving it a solid lead over Netanyahu's party. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TGF7

Israel's election focuses on politics of fear

With right-wing politicians calling Arab Israelis a fifth column, and a Joint List candidate comparing Zionism to the Islamic State, it seems that the common denominator in the Israeli elections is hatred of the other.

A picture taken on February 8, 2014 near Ein Gedi, in Israel shows the Dead Sea shoreline shaped by the decline in water levels as a result of the drying up. The Dead Sea, 400 meters below sea level, is the lowest point on earth and its mineral-rich waters and shores have been celebrated for their cleansing, healing and therapeutic properties. In the background is the Jordanian coast. AFP PHOTO THOMAS COEX (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Canal project from Dead Sea to Red Sea makes waves

The Bahrain canal project to link the Dead Sea to the Red Sea seems to be of great benefit to Israel, while Palestinians will mostly be affected negatively, politically and environmentally.

Israel's Agricultural Minister Ariel Sharon (3rd R) shakes hands with Egypt's President Anwar Sadat in the northern city of Haifa in this handout file picture taken September 4, 1979 and released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO).
REUTERS/Yaacov Saar/GPO/Handout/Files (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. ISRAE

Mazal Mualem on why she writes

Al-Monitor contributor Mazal Mualem shares her thoughts on journalism.

Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) fighters and foreign fighters (R) who joined the YPG, man their weapons during what the YPG said was an offensive against them by Islamic State fighters, in the western countryside of Ras al-Ain March 10, 2015. Picture taken March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Rodi Said (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTR4SVQX

US 'working through' extent of support for Syrian rebels

The resolution being considered by Congress does not address protection of vetted Syrian rebels against Syrian government forces; nuclear talks with Iran enter decisive phase amid challenges by Republicans in Congress; Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani determines fate of reconciliation in Iraq; Israeli election is verdict on Benjamin Netanyahu.

Workers hold freshly printed campaign banners in Arabic that depict Isaac Herzog (L), who heads the centre-left Zionist Union alliance with former cabinet minister Tzipi Livni, and Zehava Galon (R), chair of the left-wing Meretz party, at a printing factory in the Arab village of Baqa al-Gharbiya in northern Israel March 2, 2015. Opinions polls show a tight race ahead of the March 17 election, campaigning for which has been dominated by economic issues like high living costs and workers wages. REUTERS/Ammar

Meretz chairwoman: Herzog will need us to form coalition

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Meretz Party Chairwoman Zehava Gal-On calls upon leftist voters not to fall for the Zionist Camp's machinations, which threaten her party and the chances for a left-wing coalition.