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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 2, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:48 am

22°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

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande (not pictured) at his residence in Jerusalem November 17, 2013. President Hollande assured Israel on Sunday that France would continue to oppose an easing of economic sanctions against Iran until it was convinced Tehran had ended a pursuit of nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Alain Jocard/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15HKF

Israeli public closes ranks with Netanyahu on Iran

Israeli media fails to inform the public on the alternative interpretation of the Iran nuke deal.

A pedestrian walks outside a branch of Bank Hapoalim in Jerusalem March 26, 2009. Bank Hapoalim, Israel's largest lender in terms of assets, should return to profitability in the first quarter after posting a loss in the
fourth quarter, its chairman said on Thursday.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM BUSINESS) - RTXD7YQ

Leading Israeli bank involved in nuclear missiles industry

While many countries and companies avoid investing in companies that develop weapons of mass destruction, a Dutch organization reveals the funding sources of the global nuclear weapons industry.

Palestinian Hamas militants stand next to M-75 home made rocket as they take part in a military parade marking the first anniversary of the eight-day conflict with Israel, in Gaza City November 14, 2013. Eight days of Israeli air strikes on Gaza and cross-border Palestinian rocket attacks in November last year ended in an Egyptian-brokered truce agreement calling on Israel to ease restrictions on the territory. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY CONFLICT MILITARY) - RTX15DKU

Gazans want electricity, not Hamas military parades

Hamas' show of force on the streets of Gaza is not resonating with a population enduring a severe electricity and economic crisis.

Soldiers, policemen and medical personnel gather at the site of explosions near the Iranian embassy (L) in Beirut November 19, 2013. Two explosions targeting the Iranian embassy hit the Lebanese capital Beirut on Tuesday, security sources said, killing at least seven people and damaging buildings in the embassy compound. REUTERS/ Mohamed Azakir (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX15JOF

Lebanon enters 'third stage' of suicide bombings

Tuesday’s suicide attack on the Iranian Embassy in Beirut represents a new stage of violence in Lebanon, with Lebanese citizens targeting their compatriots at home.

U.S. President Barack Obama walks out after speaking about the violence in Egypt while at his rental vacation home on the Massachusetts island of Martha's Vineyard in Chilmark August 15, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12MDQ

Israel, Egypt, Gulf fear US betrayal

Israel has become part of an unexpected alliance with the Gulf countries, Egypt and Jordan, all disappointed by the US administration's lack of Middle East understanding.

Iran’s Twitter offensive

Iran's Twitter blitz is designed to create the conditions for a nuclear deal with Iran.

Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande (not pictured) at his residence in Jerusalem November 17, 2013. President Hollande assured Israel on Sunday that France would continue to oppose an easing of economic sanctions against Iran until it was convinced Tehran had ended a pursuit of nuclear weapons. REUTERS/Alain Jocard/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15HKI

Netanyahu's coalition stable but paralyzed

With personal aspirations and sectorial interests keeping Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's coalition together, no socioeconomic or diplomatic reform is on the horizon.

A Palestinian man warms himself by a fire inside his makeshift shelter during a power cut in the northern Gaza Strip November 11, 2013. Gaza's lone power plant shut its generators on November 1, 2013 due to a fuel shortage, a move that will likely increase already long blackout hours in the impoverished coastal territory run by the Islamist Hamas group. Power has been provided to different areas in the territory in six-hour shifts since the closure. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: ENERGY) - RTX159HC

Fixing Gaza's electricity crisis

Poor management and dubious contracts by the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are making an electricity crisis in Gaza worse.

A Israeli border police officer looks as a municipality worker washes off graffiti sprayed on a wall in the Arab neighborhood of Beit Hanina in East Jerusalem June 24, 2013. Graffiti was sprayed and tires were slashed on 21 cars overnight in Beit Hanina in what appeared to be another in a series of "Price Tag" attacks by suspected Jewish militants. Police opened an investigation. The graffiti read: "We will not remain silent in the face of the stone-throwing". REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS

Israeli police neglect crime in Israeli Arab sector

Israeli police dedicate vast resources to fight organized crime in central cities, but little effort fighting violence and crime in the Arab Israeli sector.

EDITORS' NOTE: Reuters and other foreign media are subject to Iranian restrictions on leaving the office to report, film or take pictures in Tehran.
Iranian students hold up their hands as a sign of unity as they form a human chain around the Uranium Conversion Facility (UCF) to show their support for Iran's nuclear program in Isfahan, 450 km (280 miles) south of Tehran November 15, 2011. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY EDUCATION) - RTR2U1ID

Fathoming Iran's nuclear intentions

Iran is already a civilian nuclear power; international safeguards should be enough to prevent it from getting the bomb.

Saudi film captivates Israeli moviegoers

"Wadjda" opens a window into Saudi society and the phenomenon of feminism there, unknown to the Israeli public.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (R) speaks next to European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton during a news conference at the end of the Iranian nuclear talks in Geneva November 10, 2013. Zarif and Ashton said on Sunday they hoped Iran and six world powers would reach an agreement when they gather again in 10 days, adding that the latest round of talks on Tehran's nuclear programme was something all delegations can build on.REUTERS/Jason Reed (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX157

Saving the Iran deal – and the Syrian state

Ratcheting up sanctions on Iran risks a chance to end the war in Syria.