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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 11, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:41 am

28°C

Alex Wong/Getty Images

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

Latest News

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

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

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

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

Men work on the roof of a house under construction in the unauthorised Jewish settler outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus November 5, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Tuesday the three-month-old peace talks pressed on them by Washington are going nowhere, painting a grim picture for a visit this week by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Both sides have been airing their frustration over a lack of progress in the U.S.-brokered talks aimed at resolving core issues su

Negotiators must treat Israeli settlements as barriers to peace

David Makovsky, the newest member of the US secretary of state's negotiating team, must realize that the settlement enterprise remains an "intentional, clear and winning" Israeli policy.

Women and girls mourn during the funerals of Palestinian Moussa Makhamra and Khalid al-Najjar in the West Bank village of Yatta, near Hebron November 27, 2013. Israeli security officials said their forces killed three Palestinian militants, including Makhamra and al-Najjar, on Tuesday who were part of an al Qaeda-linked network in the West Bank. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX15UU4

Israeli media miscasts Hebron clashes

The Israeli media has painted a recent confrontation in Hebron as the result of growing radical Islamism in the West Bank despite the lack of evidence for such a cause.

Khader Adnan (C), a member of Islamic Jihad, stands in a vehicle upon his arrival in the West Bank village of Arabe near Jenin after his release from an Israeli prison April 17, 2012. Adnan, a prisoner who refused food for 66 days before agreeing to a deal under which he was released late on Tuesday, was greeted by hundreds of supporters when he reached his hometown in the West Bank. Picture taken April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30VOO

Islamic Jihad accuses Palestinian Authority of collusion with Israel

In the aftermath of a security sweep, Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank say the Palestinian Authority is working with Israel to crack down on its activities in Jenin.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) lays a rose on the coffin of Israeli singer Arik Einstein, depicted in the placard, during a memorial ceremony before his funeral at Rabin square in Tel Aviv November 27, 2013. For many Israelis, nothing symbolised home more than singer Einstein, and on Wednesday a nation mourned the death of its king of cool. Einstein died of a ruptured aneurysm on Tuesday night at the age of 74. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT OBITUARY SOCIETY) - RTX15UZ9

Israeli musical giant Arik Einstein mourned by Israel

Singer Arik Einstein symbolized to Israelis all that was and is beautiful, pure, modest and creative in the country.

A placard depicting Israeli singer Arik Einstein is placed atop his coffin ahead of a memorial ceremony before his funeral at Rabin square in Tel Aviv November 27, 2013. For many Israelis, nothing symbolised home more than singer Einstein, and on Wednesday a nation mourned the death of its king of cool. Einstein died of a ruptured aneurysm on Tuesday night at the age of 74. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: SOCIETY ENTERTAINMENT OBITUARY) - RTX15UZH

Singer Arik Einstein: a synonym for all things Israeli

Israelis grieve the sudden passing away of singer Arik Einstein, an indispensable part of Israel's music heritage; "Einstein is dead and something has also died in each and every one of us."

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks to Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor at a plenary session during the Nuclear Security Summit at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in Seoul March 27, 2012. The man at centre at an unidentified member of the U.S. delegation. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2ZXN6

Former Israeli intel minister says US-Israel ties critical in dealing with Iran

In an interview with Al-Monitor, former Minister of Intelligence and Atomic Energy Dan Meridor says Israel should join the global campaign against Iran rather than attacking the first-step agreement.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement at his office in Jerusalem November 24, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday denounced the world powers' nuclear agreement with Iran as a historic mistake that left the production of atomic weapons within Tehran's reach. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15R0G

Netanyahu plays the Iran card in Israeli politics

Can Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adjust to the possible change offered by the agreement with Iran?

Abu Aziz stands outside his tent in the village of al-Arakib, one of the dozens of ramshackle Bedouin Arab communities in the Negev desert which are not recognised by the Israeli state, in southern Israel August 18, 2013. For decades Arab Bedouins have eked out a meagre existence in the Negev desert, largely under the Israeli government's radar, but now many will have to make way for new developments. Israel has already invested around $5.6 billion to build military bases in the Negev desert and plans to bu

Israeli Bedouin on strike against relocation bill

Israeli Bedouin reject the Prawer Plan, aimed at regularizing their illegally constructed localities in the south of Israel by tearing down homes and relocating them in crowded ''Bedouin towns.''

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and army chief Lieutenant-General Gabi Ashkenazi (L) observe a military exercise at Elyakim military base near the northern city of Haifa May 11, 2010. QUALITY FROM SOURCE. REUTERS/Eran Yuppy Cohen/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2DQUY

Netanyahu's alarm about Iran balanced by military chiefs

Contrary to the alarmist stance of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, past and present chiefs of Israel's Defense Establishment do not reject the agreement signed with Iran.

UNDATED FILE PHOTO - Hamas political leaders Khaled Meshal (R), Mousa Abu Marzouk (C) and Mohammad Nazal. Jordan will announce November 20 a decision to expel three jailed leaders of the militiant Palestinian group Hamas, after efforts to secure their release failed.

AJ - RTRSKTV

Hamas mixed on Iran nuclear deal

Senior Hamas official Mousa Abu Marzouk has criticized Iran for signing a nuclear deal with the West, but some of his colleagues believe the deal will have a positive effect on Hamas.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry speaks to the media about the deal that has been reached between six world powers and Iran at the International Conference Centre of Geneva in Geneva November 24, 2013. Iran and six world powers reached a breakthrough deal early on Sunday to curb Tehran's nuclear programme in exchange for limited sanctions relief, in what could be the first sign of an emerging rapprochement between the Islamic state and the West. REUTERS/Carolyn Kaster/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS EN

Obama going big in the Middle East

The "first step agreement" with Iran is a giant step toward recasting the strategic landscape in the Middle East for the better, including for US allies Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. Putin said after talks that both sides hoped a "mutually acceptable resolution" could soon be found over Iran's nuclear ambitions. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15M33

Netanyahu's nuclear blind spot

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reaction to the Iran nuclear deal shows a blind spot in his thinking — and a bit of hypocrisy.