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Israel

August 9, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:53 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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he speaks during a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 19, 2014. Israeli forces traded gunfire with Palestinians on Thursday, the military said, in the fiercest street battles in the occupied West Bank since a search began for three Israeli teenagers missing for a week. Abbas roundly condemned the kidnappers on Wednesday and promised to hold to account those responsible. His words in turn were denounced by Hamas and other factions, who accused hi

Hamas gains in backlash to Abbas speech

President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech in which he emphasized security coordination with Israel has seen a fierce backlash from the Palestinian street, givng Hamas a likely poll boost.

Masked Palestinians supporting Hamas gestures "three" as a reference to Israeli teenagers who went missing during a rally in support of Palestinians in the West Bank and against an arrest campaign by Israeli troops, in the central Gaza Strip June 20, 2014. Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank on Friday and arrested 25 people, pursuing a weeklong crackdown against Islamist militants and house-to-house searches for three Israeli teenagers who went missing eight days ago. REUT

Israel deputy minister: Abbas heads a terrorist government

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis blames Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the unsolved abductions of the three Israeli students.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) and Mohammad Nazzal, a member of the Hamas leadership, speak to media after their meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman January 28, 2013. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3D30A

Israel blames Hamas political leaders for abductions

Israel is no longer buying the distinction between Hamas' political and military divisions.

The mother of Palestinian Mohammed Attallah mourns his death at a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 22, 2014. Israeli troops killed two Palestinians on Sunday, one of them Attallah, Palestinian medics and a militant group said, as Israel pressed on with its crackdown on Hamas, the Islamist group it accuses of abducting three Israeli teens. In Ramallah, the Islamic Jihad militant group said one of its members was killed by Israeli gunfire.The Israeli military said it was "not familiar" with th

Palestinians blame PA for Israeli crackdown in West Bank

The Israeli military response in the West Bank following the kidnapping of three teenagers has raised serious fears of a popular revolt in the occupied territories.

(L-R) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Francis and Israeli President Shimon Peres arrive in the Vatican Gardens to pray together at the Vatican June 8, 2014. REUTERS/Max Rossi (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3SRQM

Israel should back Mahmoud Abbas to deter ISIS

While the United States and Europe try to strengthen moderate Arab countries as a counterbalance to global jihad extremists in Iraq and elsewhere, Israel continues to diminish moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Youths sit on a bench after a parade for the Jewish holiday of Purim at the Bialik Rogozin school in south Tel Aviv March 14, 2014. At Bialik Rogozin, children of migrant workers and refugees are educated alongside native Israelis. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR3H3KV

Israel's Generation Y 'brainwashed' by social networks

Founders of an Internet site dedicated to Israelis in their 20s say that today's young people are reluctant to grow up, concentrating on self-fulfillment rather than on responsibility.

Israeli soldiers take part in searches for three Israeli teenagers believed to have been abducted by Palestinians near the West Bank City of Hebron June 21, 2014. Israel sent more troops to the occupied West Bank on Saturday to search for three missing teenagers it says were abducted by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner(WEST BANK - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR3UZBB

Palestinian officials fear 'regional crisis' with Israel over kidnappings

The kidnappers of three Israeli teenagers have successfully hidden their tracks, frustrating Israeli and Palestinian efforts to find them.

Jordanian military helicopters fly near Ruweished, near Jordan's eastern border with Iraq, east of Amman June 23, 2014. Sunni tribesmen took control of a border crossing between Iraq and Jordan after Iraq's army pulled out of the area following clashes with rebels, Iraqi and Jordanian intelligence sources said on Monday. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3V9QN

Israel sees Jordan as buffer against regional 'madness'

Most Israeli security officials wonder how much longer Jordan can cope with the threats on its other borders.

An African migrant receives food from a volunteer at Levinsky park in South Tel Aviv June 6, 2012. About 60,000 Africans have crossed into Israel across its porous border with Egypt in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are job seekers, disputing arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum. Picture taken June 6, 2012. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION FOOD) - RTR33VHG

Lapid's response tepid to report about rising Israeli poverty

The recommendations of the Elalouf Committee to Reduce Poverty are too ambitious to be fulfilled, and at the same time ignore the core structural problems that brought Israel to this situation.

A Jewish settler reacts as she stands atop the roof of a temporary structure before Israeli policemen demolish it in the West Bank Jewish settler outpost of Maale Rehavam, near Bethlehem May 14, 2014. Some seven structures were razed on Wednesday by Israeli border police officers and no injuries or arrests were made during the incidences, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. The structures were demolished as part of Israel's continuing effort to remove settlements built without government authorization. R

Kidnapping highlights Israelis' surrender to settlers

It is natural that the kidnapping of three Israeli youths would generate solidarity among the public, but it also raises the question of why peace-loving secular Israelis have let themselves be dragged along for years, from clash to clash, by a nationalistic messianic minority.

Israelis take part in a mass prayer at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, for the return of three teenagers who were abducted June 15, 2014. Israel said on Sunday that Hamas militants had abducted three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank, warning of "serious consequences" as it pressed on with a search and detained dozens of Palestinians. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3TX4G

Knesset takes action on kidnappings

Legislation introduced in the Knesset to prevent future kidnappings may just be to please constituencies on Israel's right.

Israeli soldiers block a side entrance into the West Bank City of Hebron during an operation to locate three Israeli teens June 17, 2014. Israel decided on Tuesday to widen a crackdown on Hamas in the West Bank after troops detained more than 40 members of the Palestinian Islamist group in sweeps conducted in tandem with a search for the three missing Jewish teenagers. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3UAVZ

Hamas fears Israel will deport its leaders

Hamas leaders are also concerned that Israel will launch a military campaign if the kidnapped boys are not found.