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Israel

September 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:06 am

24°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

An Israeli border police officer gestures towards a Palestinian farmer during the removal of water pipes from their farm near the West Bank city of Hebron October 29, 2009. A confrontation erupted during the removal of the pipes by Israeli authorities that illegally divert water, an Israeli border police spokesman said on Thursday. REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK CONFLICT POLITICS) - RTXQ4KQ

Palestine’s lingering water crisis

Water resources in Palestine are threatened, and in the absence of an outline for a tangible agreement with Israel, the future does not look promising.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) attends a meeting with the Palestinian Liberation Organization's (PLO) central council in the West Bank City of Ramallah April 26, 2014. Abbas said on Saturday he was still ready to extend stalled peace talks with Israel, as long as it met his long-standing demands to free prisoners and halt building on occupied land. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3MPN5

PLO not buying Netanyahu’s ‘peace’ offerings

The Palestine Liberation Organization has dismissed Israel's release of withheld tax monies as public relations maneuvering while also documenting ongoing Israeli occupation activities and destruction of Palestinian property and land.

A Palestinian employee inspects damages at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, in the central Gaza Strip, after the building was shelled by the Israeli army on July 21, 2014, killing five people and wounding at least 70. World efforts to end two weeks of deadly violence in and around Gaza stepped up a gear as the UN chief arrived in Cairo and the top US diplomat was awaited. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images)

Rafah in dire need of central hospital

Activists have begun a campaign calling for construction of a bigger hospital in Gaza's Rafah, where the only hospital has been unable to meet the needs of the residents in times of peace and war.

Syrian women walk along an agriculture field after finishing their work in the Lebanese village of Ammiq in west Bekaa March 2, 2015. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT AGRICULTURE) - RTR4RSZD

Al-Monitor highlights diversity of Islamic feminism

Al-Monitor’s monthlong series on women concludes; Lebanese foreign minister appeals to UN Security Council for protection of Christians; members of Congress seek "formal dialogue" on future of Turkish democracy; the fault lines in Aleppo; have Israeli elections sparked long-stalled Palestinian reconciliation?; Ali Hashem profiles self-proclaimed Islamic State Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks 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 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's party. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TGPH

Netanyahu looks for way out of rightist coalition

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs a diplomatic process with the Palestinians to appease the international community, but the parties with which he is negotiating a coalition government are not challenging him on this issue.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) receives a folder from Israeli President Reuven Rivlin during a ceremony in Jerusalem March 25, 2015. Netanyahu, grappling with fierce White House disapproval, won consent from Israel's president on Wednesday to try to form a new coalition government. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTR4UVGJ

Netanyahu's coalition headache

Even before negotiations have started, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must struggle with his future right-wing coalition partners, a situation which might encourage him to further explore the possibility of a unity government.

Israeli soldiers walk near military vehicles near Israel's border with Lebanon January 28, 2015. At least 22 shells fired from Israel hit open farmland in southern Lebanon close to the frontier, a Lebanese security source in the area said on Wednesday. Earlier in the day an anti-tank missile was fired at an Israeli military vehicle near the frontier with Lebanon, an Israeli army spokesman said. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4NA14

Israel takes Hezbollah threats seriously

The Israel Defense Forces have altered the topographical contours of the Western Galilee to create a steep cliff adjacent to the border with Lebanon, with the objective of turning the ground into a strategic advantage against Hezbollah.

An Israeli Arab stands behind a voting booth before casting her ballot at a polling station in the northern town of Umm el-Fahm March 17, 2015. Millions of Israelis turned out to vote on Tuesday in a tightly-fought election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the centre-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office. In a possible sign of edginess, Netanyahu took to Facebook to denounce what he said was an effort by left-wing non-profit groups

Israel Arabs will look to Bibi's actions, not words

Arab Israelis wait for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to prove his regret over his insulting statement on Election Day, and to allocate the needed resources to improve their situation.

Palestinian worshippers walk past the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City January 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Awad(JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR4LPDM

European consuls: Israel deepens hold on East Jerusalem

Security officials and European diplomats all warn of the volatile situation in Jerusalem, where the government continues its occupation policy and discrimination of Palestinian residents in contradiction with international law.

Israeli Zionist Camp lost the periphery towns

The Zionist Camp's election loss can be explained by its choice to embrace a Tel Aviv-Ashkenazi image, instead of investing time and resources in periphery towns.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands next to his wife Sara as he delivers a speech to supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv March 18, 2015. 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. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TRPI

Post-election Netanyahu tries to make amends

In the week since the elections, Benjamin Netanyahu has been trying to erase what he did during the campaign, expressing worries about US backing of Israel and international reactions.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stands behind a booth as he votes in the parliamentary election at a polling station in Jerusalem January 22, 2013. Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election that is expected to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu win a third term in office, pushing the Jewish state further to the right, away from peace with the Palestinians and towards a showdown with Iran. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CSDF

Israeli ultra-Orthodox parties may tip the balance

Demographic tendencies indicate there will be a continuing growth of the Israeli Arab and ultra-Orthodox populations, thus guaranteeing their sectorial parties more political power in next elections.