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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:50 am

28°C

lia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan while quietly implementing it

Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he rejects US President Donald Trump’s Gaza reconstruction plan, Israel is advancing its implementation.

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

Sharren Haskel speaks at an event marking 60 years of diplomatic ties between Germany and Israel hosted by the Konrad Adenauer Foundation in Berlin, Oct. 16, 2025.

Interview

Israel's deputy FM, Sharren Haskel, bets on a new right after breaking with Netanyahu

Former Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel resigned from her position shortly before the Knesset dispersed and has formed a new party opposed to exempting ultra-Orthodox men from military service.

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

Latest News

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

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

Bethlehem film - photo 1.jpg

'Bethlehem': Story of an Israeli Agent And His Palestinian Informant

Yuval Adler’s film 'Bethlehem' unveils some of the mystery surrounding the work of Shin Bet officers and their relationship with Palestinian informants and in the process reveals the disillusionment of the Israeli left's Oslo generation.

Aryeh Deri, (L), a political kingmaker and head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, kisses the hand of the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, at a women's conference March 16, a day before an Israeli court is due to rule in his fraud and bribery trial. Israeli Police are preparing for large protests by Shas supporters if the verdict goes against Deri, who has been on trial since 1993 on charges he illegally channelled government funds to Shas-affiliated organisations and pocketed some of the money

The Ailing Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Who Sought to Prevent Wars

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the first rabbi who ruled that preventing bloodshed takes precedence over keeping territories, is fighting for his life.

A Shas supporter, wearing a poster of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef the spiritual leader of the ultra-orthodox Shas party, joins thousands of other supporters outside the Rabbi's home March 27 after Israel's attorney-general ordered police to investigate the Rabbi on suspicion of incitement against a political adversary. [Shas' support is vital to Ehud Barak's hopes of making peace with Syria and the Palestinians. The police probe stems from remarks Yosef made about Education Minister Yossi Sarid, calling him a devil

Can Israeli Shas Party Outlive Its Spiritual Leader?

No man has shaped the face of modern Israel as has the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, the official king of Sephardic Judaism, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the inauguration ceremony of a hi-tech industry park in the southern city of Beersheba September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTX135KM

Netanyahu to Adapt His Position On Changing Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems unable to readjust his conservative position on Iran, when facing President Hassan Rouhani's new approach to the West.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13YDU

Israel Should Put Rouhani to Test

Instead of denigrating the new foreign policy of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Israel should put him to the test and demand concrete, confidence-building action.

No Longer David: The State of Israel As Goliath

In a new book, journalist Max Blumenthal leaves the ''comfort zone'' of the Jewish American community, opening the issue of Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians to critical debate.

The Dome of the Rock, on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City, is seen in the background as Palestinian onlookers survey a protest calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails February 8, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR3DI1Z

Israeli Actions at Al-Aqsa Mosque Raise Palestinian Fears

Palestinians are being increasingly barred from the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound, leading many to question Israel's intentions.

A worker stands in front of his gold jewellery shop at the market of Khan el-Khalili in Old Cairo October 10, 2012. Goldsmiths at the market say they are lacking customers and feeling unsafe, and are asking for a stronger security presence. Picture taken October 10, 2012. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY) - RTR397KI

The Secret Language Of Cairo's Jewelry Merchants

Jewelry merchants of the Khan al-Khalili market in Cairo use a secret code that originates in ancient Hebrew to outsmart their (non-Israeli) customers.

Civilians escape an area at the Westgate Shopping Centre in Nairobi September 21, 2013. Gunmen stormed the shopping mall in Nairobi on Saturday killing at least 20 people in what Kenya's government said could be a terrorist attack, and sending scores fleeing into shops, a cinema and onto the streets in search of safety. Sporadic gun shots could be heard hours after the assault started as soldiers surrounded the mall and police and soldiers combed the building, hunting down the attackers shop by shop. REUTE

Nightmare in Nairobi: What Can West Learn From Israel?

While Israel enjoys a relatively terror-free era, security experts warn of Islamic terror groups spreading across Africa and toward the Middle East as the West avoids dealing with them.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem September 17, 2013. Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on September 30, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, for talks expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13O85

Diplomatic Negotiations Cost Netanyahu His Likud Base

While negotiations with the Palestinians are underway, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces growing distrust and lack of support within his own Likud party.

Slide 3.jpg

Ethiopian Jews Redefine Israeli Beauty

Social entrepreneur Yohannes Azanaw has opened the first Israeli agency for dark-skinned models, challenging misperceptions and racism.

Trucks transporting construction materials are seen through a crack in a police post after entering the Gaza Strip through the Kerem Shalom crossing September 22, 2013. Israel began allowing construction material for private projects into the Gaza Strip on Sunday for the first time in six years, in response to a request from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, an Israeli defence official said. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION REAL ESTATE TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX

Israel Allows Construction Materials To Enter Gaza Under EU Pressure

Israel briefly modified its blockade on Gaza to allow in badly needed construction material, but Gazans say it is not enough to ease the economic crisis.