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Israel

June 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:27 pm

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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

The Iranian gap between Obama, Bibi

The perception gap between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iranian agreement extends beyond negotiation tactics, with Obama aspiring to rehabilitate relations with Iran.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem February 15, 2015. Netanyahu, who is due to address the U.S. Congress on Iran on March 3 - to the annoyance of the Obama administration - has vowed "to foil this bad and dangerous agreement." REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4PN1Y

Why is Bibi's speech to Congress key for Israel's security?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has headed the battle against nuclear Iran for many years, and his upcoming speech to Congress fits in with his concerns for Israel's existence.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk away after a news conference at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, March 20, 2013. Making his first official visit to Israel, Obama pledged on Wednesday unwavering commitment to the security of the Jewish State where concern over a nuclear-armed Iran has clouded bilateral relations. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F8TR

Israel fears rapprochement between US, Iran

Some officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel fear that the United States aspires to replace its traditional Middle East alliance with a moderate Iran.

Israeli Arab lawmaker Haneen Zoabi (C) speaks to the media as she enters a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem December 27, 2012. Zoabi appealed to the Supreme Court after Israel's electoral authority barred her from re-election on December 19, saying she had supported the nation's enemies by joining a protest ship that tried to break a naval blockade of Gaza. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BXBD

Israeli election discourse tests limits of democracy

The increasingly harsh public discourse in the current election campaign has Israel’s democracy teetering between freedom of expression and freedom to incite.

Palestinian youths hold Palestinian flags during a demonstration against the construction of a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem March 4, 2010. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2B7EQ

Ministry strike leaves East Jerusalemites in limbo

An open-ended staff strike at the Interior Ministry in Jerusalem has left Palestinian residents unable to access critical documents.

Las Vegas gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson attends the second Annual Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala in New York, May 18, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY) - RTR3PQTR

What does it mean to be a friend of Israel?

Some within the Republican Party have turned the Middle East conflict into a focal point of an internal political dispute.

Bibi's opulent lifestyle won't sway voters

The release of the state comptroller's report has confirmed the lavish household expenses of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, but it may not matter on election day.

Palestinian labourers work on a construction site in the new Palestinian town dubbed Rawabi or "The Hills", near the West Bank city of Ramallah October 27, 2013. The crackdown on the Gaza Strip as Egypt demolishes the smuggling tunnels along its sandy border, and stagnation in the West Bank mean the Palestinian economy might shrink this year after average annual growth of about nine percent in 2008-2011. To match Analysis PALESTINIANS-ECONOMY/ REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS

Israel still refuses to run water to Rawabi

In an interview with Al-Monitor, attorney Dov Weissglass deplores the ongoing Israeli refusal to connect the Palestinian town Rawabi to the water network, claiming that the refusal by Ministers Moshe Ya'alon and Silvan Shalom is politically motivated.

JERUSALEM, : Candles burn with the image of the late Brooklyn born Rabbi Meir Kahane as a follower prays at his grave at the Givat Shaul cemetery on the outskirts of Jerusalem 09 November 2006, to mark the 16th anniversary of his assassination by an Arab gunman in Manhattan. The anti-Arab Jewish militant movement founded by Kahane has in the past claimed responsibility for dozens of shootings of Palestinians in the West Bank, including the notorious 1994 massacre of 29 worshippers at a Hebron Mosque. AFP

What the Kahane phenomenon can teach Israelis today

The Israeli far-right prefers to preserve late Meir Kahane as a historical figure, but with his recent production of "Kahane Was Right" playwright Yoav Itamar forces the Israeli public to confront contemporary Israeli stances on Kahane's controversial, far-right ideologies.

Lieutenant-General Gadi Eizenkot (R), the new Israeli Chief of Staff, and outgoing Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz embrace during a handover ceremony at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, in which Eizenkot replaced Gantz, February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4PRN7

Israelis love to love their IDF chief of staff

Israel's chief of staff is treated like a sacred cow, admired and loved by a public tired of corruption and political squabbles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with U.S.congressional pages after his speech before a joint meeting of Congress in Washington, May 24, 2011. Netanyahu's vision for ending conflict with Palestinians put "more obstacles" in front of the Middle East peace process, the spokesman for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2MUB0 - RTXYDJ1

Bibi's speech to Congress could tip electoral scale

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Camp Chair Isaac Herzog are practically in a tie, according to polls, but Netanyahu might tilt the balance with a charismatic speech to Congress.

Former Israeli justice minister and HaTnuah party leader Tzipi Livni delivers a speech election campaign meeting in Tel Aviv, on January 25, 2015 ahead of the March 17 general elections. Oposition Labour party head Isaac Herzog and Livni have made an alliance to contest Israel's snap general election. Most Israelis would like to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replaced after March elections but, paradoxically, he is seen as most suitable for the job, an opinion poll said on December 18, 2014. AFP PH

Zionist Camp pushes Livni to background

The Israeli public has not been convinced by the Zionist Camp's idea of a rotating premiership, which has helped boost Benjamin Netanyahu's changes of re-election.