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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 2, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:19 am

23°C

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Rights, faith groups urge Congress to block $2.8B bomb sale to Israel

If the Trump administration moves forward with the transfer, dozens of groups are urging lawmakers to seek a joint resolution of disapproval.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Erik Marmor/Getty Images

West Bank settlers attack Israeli activists as Netanyahu claims 'hoax'

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attention surrounding settler violence was a “tremendous hoax.”

Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images

Israel-UAE flights disrupted as airlines plan rescue flights: What to know

Israeli carriers are preparing repatriation flights from Dubai starting on Friday, subject to security approval.

United Arab Emirates

MOHAMMED ATTAR/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

FlyDubai incident recalls decades of Middle East airline hijackings: What to know

In 1968, the PFLP hijacked an El Al flight from Rome to Tel Aviv, marking the first political hijacking of an aircraft tied to the Middle East.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Explainer

FlyDubai incident spotlights key global link for Israeli travelers

Israelis pick up their luggage upon arrival from Tel Aviv to the Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 26, 2020, on the first scheduled commercial flight operated by budget airline flydubai.

Live Updates

FlyDubai flight lands in Tel Aviv after distress alert, Saudi diversion

Flydubai

Exclusive

Inside Netanyahu’s relentless push for meeting with UAE’s MBZ

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after speaking during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on Sept. 24, 2026.

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

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

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

Hezbollah contemplates next move

Israel’s president extends a hand to Iran, putting the ball in Hezbollah and Tehran's court.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prays during a meeting of the Fatah Revolutionary Council in the West Bank city of Ramallah September 1, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX133QU

At Mandela funeral, Abbas says he opposes boycott of Israel

Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' public criticism of the international movement of boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) of Israel reveals an absence of any clear strategy within his government.

The handcuffs of inmates are seen during a play at a public theatre in Lima, June 20, 2012. About 20 young inmates of Ancon prison put on stage their own theatrical script, based on their testimonies in jail, outside prison after four months of rehearsal. The event, organized by prison authorities, aims to help them reintegrate into society when they get released in future. REUTERS/Enrique Castro-Mendivil (PERU - Tags: SOCIETY CRIME LAW) - RTR33Y1I

Israeli criminals make their way to Morocco

Lacking an extradition treaty with Israel, Morocco has become an unlikely sanctuary for Israeli mobsters looking to make money or avoid police investigations.

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. John Allen (R) waits to testify, as he sits next to Navy Vice Admiral William McRaven (C) and Army General James Thurman (L), before the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on his nomination to serve as the next commander of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan, on Capitol Hill in Washington June 28, 2011. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2O7DR

Allen security plan stuck in start

Will Gen. John Allen’s ideas about the US role in addressing Israel’s security concerns help or hinder the Israeli-Palestinian talks?

Israeli soldiers pull a Palestinian off a truck loaded with items European diplomats wanted to deliver to locals in the West Bank herding community of Khirbet al-Makhul, in the Jordan Valley September 20, 2013. Israeli soldiers manhandled European diplomats on Friday and seized the truck full of tents and emergency aid they had been trying to deliver to Palestinians whose homes were demolished earlier this week. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTX13SH3

US, EU pressure Palestinians to accept security plan

The Palestinian government is resisting a US security plan it considers biased toward Israel, allowing the Israelis to maintain a military presence in the Jordan Valley.

U.S. President Barack Obama (L) takes questions from the audience after a conversation with Israeli-American media tycoon Haim Saban about negotiations with Iran in Washington December 7, 2013. REUTERS/James Lawler Duggan (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MEDIA) - RTX168MN

US security guarantees can reassure Israeli public on Iran

American security guarantees can protect Israel from an Iranian nuclear threat, reassuring the Israeli public and opening the way to meaningful negotiations with the Palestinians.

Former South African president Nelson Mandela (R) speaks to journalists
next to Israeli Deputy Prime Minister Shimon Peres (L) outside his
office after their meeting in Johannesburg, September 3, 2002, during
the World Summit on Sustainable Development. REUTERS/Juda Ngwenya

JN/CRB - RTR9RLR

Israel's constituency of conscience

Israel's "constituency of conscience" emerges when its leaders eulogize Nelson Mandela while Palestinian residents are oppressed and dispossessed — and that is a hopeful sign for the future.

Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal speaks during a joint news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) in Riyadh November 4, 2013. Kerry on Monday played down any rift with Saudi Arabia, saying relations between the two countries were strategic and enduring and that both agreed negotiations were the only way to stop Syria's civil war. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser (SAUDI ARABIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX14ZTC

Israel's silent partner?

There may be common interests shared by Jerusalem and Riyadh, but there is no "alliance" on the horizon.

A participant touches his kippah, or skullcap, during the 12th annual gay pride parade in Jerusalem August 1, 2013. Some 2500 people on Thursday took part in the annual parade in Jerusalem. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTX127G7

HaBayit HaYehudi blocks Israeli gay revolution

Meretz Knesset member Nitzan Horowitz says the HaBayit HaYehudi Party, which was thought to be civic-minded and liberal, is obstructing legislation to prevent discrimination against gays time after time.

01 Animal Carts Al-Monitor.jpg

Animal carts collect Gaza's garbage due to siege

A lack of fuel has sidelined garbage trucks in Gaza, prompting officials to switch to animal carts for collection.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) during a news conference following a meeting at Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem December 5, 2013. Kerry said on Thursday that some progress had been made in Israeli-Palestinian peace talks and that he had presented Israel with ideas for improving its security under any future accord. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX164NX

Kerry, evangelist of Israeli security and Palestinian peace

Secretary of State John Kerry employs all the US expertise to first resolve the security problem between Israelis and Palestinians, hoping that such a compromise will allow discussion of the core issues.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (L) and Defence Minister Fayez Ghosn arrive to attend a military parade to celebrate the 70th anniversary of Lebanon's independence in downtown Beirut November 22, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: ANNIVERSARY POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX15OFG

Suleiman: Parliament should not boycott presidential election

Lebanese President Michel Suleiman criticized Hezbollah for going to fight in Syria and called for fixing some of the constitution’s flaws.