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October 2, 2026

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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

Flydubai

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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

President Nelson Mandela exchanges views with former Israeli Prime Minister Shimon Peres after their meeting in Cape Town, October 20. Peres is in the country for a short visit ahead of Mandela's scheduled trip to the Middle East. - RTXGGFI

Mandela's legacy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Nelson Mandela opened the way to reconciliation between Israel and South Africa, though true mending of the relationship might depend on ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves upon arrival for a meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in the West Bank city of Ramallah 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/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX164OT

Europe plays its hand in Israeli-Palestinian talks

With European threats of sanctioning both sides in the background, US Secretary of State John Kerry will try again to convince Palestinians and Israelis to make concessions before it's too late.

Egyptian novel enjoys rare publication in Hebrew

The Hebrew publication of the hit novel Azazeel by Egyptian writer Youssef Ziedan is a positive step in the backward cultural relations between Egypt and Israel.

Lebanon's Hezbollah members and relatives carry the coffin of commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley December 4, 2013. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in an attack which the militant Shi'ite group blamed on Israel. Israel denied any role in the killing of Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath dist

Laqis assassination reveals crack in Hezbollah’s ‘security fortress’

The Dec. 4 assassination of a leading Hezbollah figure in Beirut occurred when the organization was in a state of heightened vigilance.

Foreign and Palestinian activists hold Palestinian flags as they march through a supermarket in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit October 24, 2012. Some 50 activists marched through the supermarket and tried to block a road in the settlement on Wednesday during a protest against Jewish settlements and in a call to boycott settlement products. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST FOOD TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR39IM8

Israeli leaders oblivious to Europe's message on boycott

The Israeli leadership risks boycotts beyond West Bank products with its failure to fully appreciate the extent to which the EU distrusts Israel's stated desire for a peace settlement.

Members of the Bedouin community gesture during a protest outside a court in the southern city of Beersheba, calling to release people who were arrested last Saturday in protests against a government plan to force 40,000 Bedouins living in the southern Negev region to leave their villages, December 5, 2013. Hundreds of Bedouin Arabs and their supporters clashed with Israeli forces on Saturday in the protests, in which, according to an Israeli police spokesman, at least 28 people had been arrested. REUTERS/A

Palestinian activism evolves in Prawer protests

Nonpartisan Palestinian youths have taken the lead in nationwide protests against Israel's Prawer Plan, breaking away from traditional Palestinian political forces.

Lebanon's Hezbollah boy scouts carry a picture of Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley December 4, 2013. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in an attack which the militant Shi'ite group blamed on Israel. Israel denied any role in the killing of Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath distri

Assassinated Hezbollah leader key to technology, drone operations

A source said Hassan al-Laqis was one of Imad Mughniyeh’s “smart students.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a flower on the coffin of legendary Israeli singer Arik Einstein during his memorial service in the Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv, on November 27, 2013. Einstein, 74, died at Ichilov hospital after being taken there earlier in the week due to heart complications, the director of the Tel Aviv medical centre said. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu slammed for exploiting late singer to defend lifestyle

It was a mistake for the prime minister's advisers to invoke late Israeli singer Arik Einstein's modesty in trying to defend Netanyahu's extravagant expenditures.

The shadows of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men are cast on the ground as they arrive to Samuel's Tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem on May 12, 2010. Thousands of Jews marked the anniversary of biblical prophet Samuel's death. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel exploits nature, archaeology for settlement expansion

Israeli authorities are exploiting archeological sites and nature reserves to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Sign posts are seen in front of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem November 13, 2013. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday his peace negotiators had resigned over the lack of progress in U.S.-brokered statehood talks clouded by Israeli settlement building. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15BNL

Kerry will find pessimism in Palestine

On an upcoming visit to the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry will find that the Palestinians have little faith in the ongoing peace talks

The sandals of a Palestinian bedouin lie in a tent south of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Mishor Adumim in the Judean Desert August 19, 2009. Many bedouins living in Israel and the occupied West Bank retain a traditional and nomadic way of life, raising livestock and farming arid land. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR26VZK

Israeli Bedouin and the limits of tolerating intolerance

The debate over relocating Bedouin settlements in Israel raises the issue of how far a liberal, multicultural society should go in tolerating the values of different communities when those values are destructive to the communities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) arrives for talks over Iran's nuclear programme in Geneva November 22, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX15OC8

The other Iranian breakthrough

The rhetoric from Iran about Israel is still unacceptable, but the nuclear deal, while not perfect, offers Israel a chance for a diminished Iranian threat.