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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:08 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

File photograph of Palestinian President Arafat, Israel's Perez and Israeli Prime Minister Rabin showing their Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat was in a coma and in critical condition in the intensive care unit at a French military hospital after his health suddenly deteriorated, aides said November 4, 2004. Palestinian President Yasser Arafat, (L) Israel's Shimon Perez (C) and Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin show their Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo in this December 10, 1994

Evaluating the Oslo Accords: 20 Years Later

The inability of Israelis to decide whether the Oslo Accords were an achievement or a failure may be proof that peace is not likely to arrive very soon.

The Dome of the Rock (L), the Western Wall (C) and the Mughrabi Gate (R) entrance to the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, are seen in Jerusalem's Old City March 7, 2011. Israel has given preliminary approval for renovations at the contested holy site in East Jerusalem where rebuilding has triggered violence in the past, a city official said on Sunday. Municipal planners last week approved the project to repair an earthen ramp near the Mughrabi Gate connecting the

Will Jerusalem Derail Talks Again?

As secretive Palestinian-Israeli negotiations continue, the final status of Jerusalem remains the thorniest of issues.

An Israeli flag (L) flutters next to an Egyptian one at the Nitzana crossing, along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai desert, as seen from the Israeli side August 20, 2013. Egypt began three days of official mourning for 25 policemen killed on Monday by suspected Islamist militants in the Sinai near the desert border with Israel. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12RGM

Israel Needs Better Grasp Of US Concerns on Egypt

Israel’s efforts to get the Obama administration to hold back on its response to the killing of hundreds of demonstrators in Egypt signifies a dearth of any deep understanding behind US policy and its underlying values.

Tourists enjoy the hot weather at Vari beach, some 30 km (19 miles) southeast of Athens July 21, 2013. Foreign tourists are returning to Greece's sun-drenched islands and ancient temples, central bank data showed on Friday, boosting hopes that the key sector may help the crisis-hit country pull itself out of a severe economic recession. REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (GREECE - Tags: ENVIRONMENT BUSINESS TRAVEL SOCIETY) - RTX11TYN

Keeping Sane During an Israeli Summer

For Israelis, traveling abroad equals a therapeutic exercise, leaving behind the habit of constantly listening to news casts and the burden of an ongoing existential stress.

Ultra-Orthodox and Left-Wing Israelis Join Forces in Opposition

The odd-couple collaboration between the opposition ultra-Orthodox Yahadut HaTorah and left-wing Meretz might someday expand from their social justice struggle to diplomatic issues as well.

Destroyed Egyptian armour lines the sides of a Sinai road after it was hit by Israeli jet fighters during the 1967 Six Day War. [In six days Israel took control of the West Bank, the Gaza Strip, Sinai and the Golan Heights as well as "unifying" Jerusalem by capturing East Jerusalem and the Old City, thus increasing Israel's land mass dramatically. It also became burdened with hundreds of thousands of Palestinians along with the land it captured.] Israel celebrates its 50th Golden Jubilee anniversary on Apr

Peace Is Israel's Best Security Guarantee

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should look back to the peace agreement with Egypt, which proves that compromise strengthens Israel's borders and guarantees its security.

A funeral convoy carrying the bodies of four Islamist militants, drives through Sheikh Zuweid, in the north of the Sinai peninsula August 10, 2013. The four Islamist militants were killed by an air strike that their comrades said had been done by an Israeli drone but which state media said was the work of an Egyptian army helicopter. REUTERS/ Stringer (EGYPT - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTX12G55

Will the US Join Egyptian Coalition Bandwagon?

Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi’s struggle against the Muslim Brotherhood has given rise to a rare coalition: the new transitional Egyptian leadership, the Arab world and Israel.

Palestinians ride on a horse cart in the Gaza valley area, flooded after heavy rain overnight, in central Gaza Strip December 29, 2006. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA) - RTR1KQKE

Gaza Valley Faces Environmental Disaster

Once a vibrant natural reserve, Wadi Gaza is suffering from local neglect and Israel's blockade.

Palestinian members of security forces loyal to Hamas stand guard on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip July 5, 2013. Egyptian security forces closed the Rafah border crossing and state media said it would reopen on Saturday. Security sources said Islamist gunmen opened fire on El-Arish airport, close to the border with the Gaza Strip and Israel and at three military checkpoints. A police station in Rafah on the Gaza border was hit by rockets, wounding several soldiers. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu M

Has Hamas Abandoned Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood?

The Hamas leadership would find it hard to explain abandoning their "mother movement" — the Muslim Brotherhood — to its fate, without even a vocal protest.

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat, Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L-R) announce further peace talks at a news conference at the State Department in Washington July 30, 2013. Israel and the Palestinians will seek to reach a peace agreement within nine months and negotiators will meet again within two weeks after holding a "positive" first round of talks, Kerry said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1250T

Palestinian-Israeli Talks Remaining Low Profile

Amid ongoing regional turmoil, the peace talks brokered by the United States are out of the spotlight.

A protester supporting ousted Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi carries an injured demonstrator (R) during clashes outside Azbkya police station at Ramses Square in Cairo, August 16, 2013. About 50 people were killed in protests in Cairo on Friday, security officials said. Thousands of supporters of deposed President Mohamed Mursi have been staging nationwide protests against a security crackdown on Islamists. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX12NQA

The Muslim Brotherhood’s Final Card?

Al-Monitor’s coverage of the bloodshed in Egypt.

Lebanese army soldiers, military policemen, security forces and Hezbollah members inspect the site of a car bomb that occurred on Thursday in Beirut's southern suburbs, August 16, 2013. The death toll from a car bomb which ripped through the southern Beirut stronghold of Lebanon's militant group Hezbollah rose on Friday to 24, and the government said it was investigating whether the blast was a suicide attack. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY MILITARY) - RT

Lebanese Officials Speculate On Israeli Role in Beirut Bombing

After the blast that killed more than 20 people in Beirut’s southern suburbs on Aug. 15, several Lebanese politicians have accused Israel of being involved.