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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 6, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:39 pm

31°C

Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah (Western Zawtar) on August 2, 2026. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed in June, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy. The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East with rocket fire at Israel in suppo

Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday

The Israeli delegation asked the American representatives to suspend the direct talks with Lebanon for a few hours over alleged leaks by Beirut.

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza double game: Back Trump, reassure Israel’s right

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to both give the impression that Israel retains total freedom of action in Gaza while allowing the Board of Peace to move ahead with President Donald Trump’s peace plan.

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

Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images

What to know about Lebanon-Israel 7th round of talks held in Rome

The US, Israel and Lebanon have sent expanded delegations to the talks, set to continue for three days and expected to focus on security arrangements, border issues and reconstruction.

Latest News

Analysis

Lacking leverage over Trump, Israel stays quiet on US-Iran talks

US President Donald Trump (C) is welcomed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport on Oct. 13, 2025 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How strike on Damietta port exposes Egypt's energy infrastructure risks

An Egyptian man looks at the Qatari Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) carrier "Duhail" as its passes through the Suez Canal near the Egyptian port city of Ismailia on April 1, 2008. The vessel has a capacity of 210,100 cu.m making it one of the largest LNG carriers constructed to date. AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP via Getty Images)

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

No Iran commitment, no Trump endorsement: Netanyahu leaves US empty-handed

US President Donald Trump walks to board Marine One on the Ellipse near the White House in Washington, DC, on July 31, 2026. President Trump is traveling to Camp David in Maryland to hold a cabinet meeting and later to Bedminster, New Jersey to spend the weekend at his golf club. (Photo by Oliver Contreras / AFP via Getty Images)

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

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

People sit under a television broadcasting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech to the U.S. Congress, at a kiosk in the southern city of Ashkelon March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWZN

Focused on Iran, Bibi ignores Israel's economic crisis

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke eloquently to Congress about Iran and the reception he received was warm, but now he has to win the support of an Israeli electorate struggling financially and increasingly alienated from him.

Labour party candidate Stav Shaffir poses on Rothschild Avenue in Tel Aviv, the site of a 2011 protest against high housing costs, December 5, 2012. The leaders of a grassroots social protest movement that swept Israel in 2011, one of them Shaffir, have shot to the top of a rejuvenated Labour party that polls say will at least double its power in a Jan. 22 general election that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud is forecast to win. Picture taken December 5, 2012. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAE

Two women shape Israel's politics

Young female Knesset members Ayelet Shaked from HaBayit HaYehudi and Stav Shaffir from the Labor Party have both gained top spots on their respective slates, ready to reshape Israeli politics.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) addresses a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 3, 2015. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWM9

Will US-Israel rift benefit Palestinians?

The Palestinians hope that the growing rift between the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government will signal to Europeans and others that the United States might be less forceful in diplomatically defending Israel.

MITZPE RAMON, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 16: (ISRAEL OUT) Israeli Prison Service bus carrying Palestinians prisoners leaves Nafha prison on October 16, 2011. in Mitzpe Ramon, Israel. IDF soldier Gilad Shalit is to be freed from 5 years of captivity in Gaza in an exchange deal which will see the release of 477 Palestinian prisoners in an initial deal with another 550 to freed after the return of Shalit. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Palestinian protests in Ramon Prison set to spread

Palestinian prisoners have staged protests in Ramon Prison in Israel, and during March protests are expected to expand to other prisoners and the broader Palestinian community.

Soldiers maneuver close to an helicopter aboard the Italian aircraft carrier "Giuseppe Garibaldi" during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) operation codenamed "Unified Protectors" on June 15, 2011 in the Mediterranean sea. AFP PHOTO/ MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO (Photo credit should read MARCELLO PATERNOSTRO/AFP/Getty Images)

US persuaded Turkey to include Israel in NATO drills

Leaked emails between the Obama administration and Turkish senior officials reflect US efforts at reconciling Israel and Turkey — when the latter objected to Israel's participation at a NATO sea drill.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington, March 2, 2015. Netanyahu said on Monday that the alliance between his country and the United States is "stronger than ever" and will continue to improve. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RS6O

US, EU battle Netanyahu for public's trust on Iran

Israeli leader sees Congress as crucial backstop against "bad deal."

Israeli MP and chairperson of center-right Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, delivers a speech outlining the Yesh Atid campaign and presenting the party's list for the 20th Knesset, on January 26, 2015 in the Israeli city of Rishon Letzion, ahead of the March 17 general elections. AFP PHOTO /JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Lapid soars in Israel's pre-election polls

With the spirit of the 2011 social justice protests still alive, Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid succeeds in overcoming the negative image of his performance as finance minister, and gathers momentum ahead of the elections.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) listens as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the media from the Colonnade outside the Oval Office of the White House in Washington September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2HSTC

What is Obama's secret weapon against Bibi?

It’s hard to understand why President Barack Obama doesn’t translate the criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s congressional speech into action, such as hinting at a change in his position on the Israeli nuclear program.

Here comes Bibi!

Congress turns its attention away from other business this week as it prepares for the addres of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Director of U.S. National Intelligence James Clapper (R) and CIA Director John Brennan (L) listen to opening remarks at the House Intelligence Committee on "Worldwide Threats", in Washington February 4, 2014. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: CRIME LAW POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX187SF

Turkey has 'other priorities' than battling Islamic State

US Director of National Intelligence James Clapper does not expect Turkey to become "more engaged" in the anti-Islamic State coalition; are al-Qaeda and the Islamic State, or Assad and Hezbollah, a greater threat to Israel?; Israeli prime minister expects to "cash in" on Iran nuclear deal on March 17; Al-Monitor launches a series focused on women in the Middle East.

Televised debate reveals torn, divided Israel

The latest TV Channel 2 election debate exposed the growing schism within Israeli society, with party leaders trading accusations and insults.

People pray during the funeral of 20-year-old Palestinian man Jihad al-Jaafari in the West Bank city of Bethlehem February 24, 2015. Israeli soldiers shot dead al-Jaafari in the occupied West Bank on Tuesday, the military and a Palestinian hospital official said. Residents of the Deheishe refugee camp in Bethlehem said Palestinians threw stones at Israeli soldiers who had entered the area and the troops opened fire. An Israeli military spokeswoman said the Palestinians hurled rocks, blocks and firebombs at

Shooting of Fatah activist could doom security cooperation

The security coordination between Israel and the Palestinian Authority is in jeopardy after Israeli soldiers shot and killed a Fatah activist in the Dheisheh refugee camp.