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Israel

August 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:09 am

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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

A man carries gas masks kits which he collected from a distribution centre in Jerusalem August 29, 2013. Israel ordered a small-scale mobilisation of reservists on Wednesday and strengthened its missile defences as precautions against possible Syrian attack should Western powers carry out threatened strikes on Syria. Many Israelis continued to queue up for gas masks at distribution centres on Thursday. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTX1302E

Israel's Routine: Movies, Video Games And Gas Masks

Israelis bear in their collective memory the sounds of sirens announcing the fall of a rocket, fearing a missile with a chemical warhead.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks out with his children after collecting gas mask kits at a distribution point in Jerusalem August 28, 2013. Thousands of Israelis on Wednesday continued to queue up for gas masks or ordered them by phone, spurred on by fears that any Western military response to last week's alleged chemical weapons attack in Syria could ensnare their own country in war. Israel also deploying all of its missile defences as a precaution against possible Syrian retaliatory attacks should Weste

Israel Prepares for Syria Strike

As Israel stations an Iron Dome anti-missile battery in Tel Aviv, Israelis fear missile attacks on their major cities and wonder: Will Israel be prepared?

U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as President Shimon Peres (L) watches on, before Obama's departure from Tel Aviv International Airport, March 22, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FBUO

Syria Provides Opening for Closer Obama-Netanyahu Ties

The expected US strike presents an opportunity for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to rebuild his relations with President Barack Obama — an imperative when dealing with the Iranian threat.

Israeli soldiers look across the border to Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights August 30, 2013. Israel ordered a small-scale mobilisation of reservists on Wednesday and strengthened its missile defences as precautions against possible Syrian attack should Western powers carry out threatened strikes on Syria. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (MILITARY POLITICS) - RTX131QH

Israel Waits on Syria Strike, Focuses on Iran

The prolonged American debates over whether to strike Syria have weakened its deterrence, rendering any such attack inefficient, and while all watch Damascus, the real threat lurks in Tehran.

Vice Premier Shaul Mofaz, head of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's largest coalition partner Kadima, attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 8, 2012. Netanyahu gave the green light on Sunday to reforms that would end blanket military exemptions for ultra-Orthodox Jewish men, in an about-face only hours after 20,000 Israelis marched for change. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR34Q84

Shaul Mofaz Slams Decision By Netanyahu on Gas Masks

Former Israeli Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz slams Israeli Premier Benjamin Netanyahu: "It was a mistake not to provide gas masks to the entire population."

A Jewish worshipper covers himself and a young boy with a prayer shawl as they recite the priestly blessing at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, during the holiday of Sukkot in Jerusalem's Old City October 3, 2012.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR38QJY

Israelis Pray for People of Syria

Israelis are showing their sympathy for Syrian civilians who have died in the war and by the presumed use of chemical weapons.

Tzipi Livni (R), Israel's Justice Minister and chief negotiator for renewed peace talks with the Palestinians, gives a joint statement with France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius before their meeting in Jerusalem August 25, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12VTP

Peace Talks Continue Despite Rising Mideast Tensions

The world is looking at Syria and Egypt while Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in Washington continue discreetly.

A man carries gas masks kits which he collected from a distribution centre in Jerusalem August 29, 2013. Israel ordered a small-scale mobilisation of reservists on Wednesday and strengthened its missile defences as precautions against possible Syrian attack should Western powers carry out threatened strikes on Syria. Many Israelis continued to queue up for gas masks at distribution centres on Thursday. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTX1302E

Israel Should Heed Syrian Lessons In Dealing with Iran

The Obama administration's inaction and discourse on Syria must serve as a warning sign to Israel when dealing with the Iranian threat.

Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan (R) shakes hands with Yusuf Islam, formerly known as Cat Stevens, as they meet in Ankara August 2, 2013. REUTERS/Adem Altan/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTX1288Q

Erdogan’s Fateful Season

The real danger for the Turkish prime minister is in the warning signs of the economy.

Netanel, an Israeli Jewish settler, works the land outside his home in the unauthorised Jewish settler outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus July 29, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the W

Is There a Place for Jews In Future Palestinian State?

Anyone who expects Palestinians to welcome Jewish settlements with open arms in their future state should first examine Israel’s attitude toward the Palestinian minority in its own.

Battle to Lead Labor Party Begins in Israel

Knesset member Isaac Herzog, running for Labor Party leadership, claims that the public is looking for a new diplomatic alternative.

An Israeli Postal Service employee shows a man how to adjust a gas mask at a distribution point at a shopping mall in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem August 26, 2013. Thousands of Israelis lined up for gas masks at nationwide distribution centers or phoned in orders fearing a deadly chemical weapons attack in Syria may wind up ensnaring their own nation in conflict, officials and analysts said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) -

Israel Must Take Clear Stand on Syria

An operation against Syria carries the potential for escalation that could lead to Armageddon, yet the United States must make it clear: Using weapons of mass destruction is not an option.