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Israel

August 8, 2026

Tel Aviv 6:45 pm

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Analysis

As pro-Palestinian candidates gain ground, will AIPAC's influence wane?

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s influence has weakened in the Democratic Party and may also be at risk among Republicans.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Uncertain how to interpret the American regional redeployment, Israel is focusing on efforts to destabilize the Iranian regime and stop its nuclear program.

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

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Tiziana FABI / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Jewish worshippers walk between images of rabbis offered for sale during an annual pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan-born sage and kabbalist also known as the Baba Sali, on the anniversary of his death in the southern town of Netivot, January 5, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: ANNIVERSARY RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1735D

Israelis feel betrayed by celebrity rabbi’s corruption

Rabbi Yoshiyahu Pinto's plea bargain has exposed the extent of abuse by Israel's popular rabbis, some of whom have made hundreds of millions of shekels in donations from their followers.

An elderly couple walk on a path leading to Jerusalem's Old City February 4, 2012. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR2XB7F

Israel unprepared for its aging population

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Minister of Senior Citizen Affairs Uri Orbach says that Israel is unprepared for the global phenomenon of prolonged lifespans, with too many poor elderly, and must act rapidly to assure pension resources before it's too late.

An Egyptian soldier stands behind a barbed wire fence on the border between Israel and Egypt some 50 km (30 miles) north of Eilat in this November 28, 2010 file photo, after work begun to construct a barrier to seal off part of the border with Egypt's Sinai desert. Arms smuggling by Bedouin tribal networks, mainly by land along Egypt's southern border with Sudan, across the Sinai peninsula and into the Hamas-run Gaza Strip is on the uptick, according to an Egyptian official, who asked not to be named. Sudan

How Israel spies on Sinai

Israel recruits Egyptian smugglers in the Sinai Peninsula to perform various missions for Israeli intelligence.

Members of the Iranian army pray at a university as they attend for Tehran's Friday prayers, April 10, 2009. Reform minded youth see America as the land of opportunity and would like to see ties with the U.S. restored but conservative minded youth see the U.S. as the enemy and feel that the Islamic Revolution?s goals must be kept alive. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTXDXUQ

Iranian conservative says the US needs Iran

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian conservative Amir Mohebian discussed why he believes Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, is pessimistic about the nuclear negotiations, how US policy in the Middle East has benefited Iran and how the United States is now in a position where it needs Iran to deal with regional issues.

Palestinians hold posters depicting President Mahmoud Abbas during a rally in the West Bank town of Bethlehem March 17, 2014. Thousands of Palestinians took to the streets on Monday to show their support for Abbas, who is under heavy pressure as he prepares to meet U.S. President Barack Obama. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTR3HFCL

Will Abbas walk the walk on his threats to Israel?

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will present his plan to end the Israeli occupation at the UN General Assembly, with PA officials warning they will launch a political campaign against Israel should the plan be rebuffed.

Yair Lapid, leader of the Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party, addresses supporters at his party's headquarters in Tel Aviv January 23, 2013. The surprise star of Israel's election on Tuesday is Lapid, a former television news anchor whose centrist party, exit polls showed, soared to second place in the balloting only months after he joined politics. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3CTCL

The new politics of Israel's 'Minister of Facebook Affairs'

Over the last 12 months, social networks have taken over Israeli politics with Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Knesset member Stav Shaffir especially making effective use of communicating with the public in this way.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a conference on counter-terrorism at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv September 11, 2014. Netanyahu said on Thursday he would increase the defence budget to meet growing threats but not let the country's credit rating drop one notch through any excessive spending. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY BUSINESS) - RTR45VNS

Israel prepares for cyberwars

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu established a new espionage organization devoted entirely to cyberwarfare, to prepare Israel for future conflicts.

Senior Hamas leader Khalil al-Hayya (C) speaks to the media upon his return to Gaza City from truce talks in Cairo August 14, 2014. A renewed truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to be holding on Thursday despite a shaky start, after both sides agreed to give Egyptian-brokered talks more time to try to end the Gaza war. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR42EMW

If talks fail, Hamas says it will not return to war

There is little hope a breakthrough will be achieved in the upcoming talks in Cairo between Hamas and Israel, but Hamas officials say they are unlikely to resume armed conflict at this stage.

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands before speaking after a military briefing at U.S. Central Command at MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, September 17, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR46M8H

US continues to curb its involvement in Middle East

US President Barack Obama's speech on attacking the Islamic State reflects the US regional strategy on Iraq, Syria and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict: partial engagement only, since radical Islam and conflicts in the Middle East are first and foremost a regional problem.

Palestinian shoppers browse in a supermarket at a newly opened shopping mall in Gaza City July 20, 2010. The mall, the first of its kind in Gaza, opened to the public last week and contains about 15 shops, including a supermarket and clothing stores. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: SOCIETY BUSINESS POLITICS) - RTR2GK60

Support grows for Gaza's boycott of Israeli goods

The recent Gaza war has seen a boost in support for a local boycott of Israeli goods, but short of alternatives, it is hard to envision how such a boycott campaign will work.

Israel's Education Minister Gideon Saar delivers a speech during the official launch of the European Holocaust Research Infrastructure (EHRI) in Brussels November 16, 2010. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir (BELGIUM - Tags: EDUCATION POLITICS) - RTXUPFM

Saar no match for Netanyahu

Interior Minister Gideon Saar must bear in mind that a political vacuum always fills up, especially when taking into consideration that there are two figures still in the Likud Party who could vie the seat of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Education Minister Gideon Saar attend the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem October 18, 2009. Netanyahu promised a lengthy diplomatic battle to "delegitimise" United Nations charges that Israel committed war crimes in the Gaza Strip, an official said on Saturday. REUTERS/David Silverman/Pool (JERUSALEM POLITICS) - RTXPR7B

Bibi exhausts another political rival

Over the years, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu managed to drive away those who threatened his position, such as Ministers Roni Milo, Moshe Kahlon and now also Likud’s favorite Gideon Saar, leaving the party empty of political stars.