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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:32 pm

34°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

Eitan Cabel, an Israeli minister without portfolio and member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet, holds a news conference in Tel Aviv May 1, 2007. Cabel announced he was stepping down on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israel's government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last year's costly Lebanon war. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL) - RTR1P7RE

Israel’s Labor Party Splits Again

Knesset member Eitan Cabel says Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich must go.

A Jewish ultranationalist shouts slogans in front of Israeli police during a rally in Nazareth, Israel's largest Arab town, calling to draft Israeli Arabs July 15, 2012. Military service is a rite of passage for most Israelis, who view the army as a core element of national identity. That is where the problem starts for many Arabs, who associate more closely with the Palestinians and feel alienated in a country created in 1948 that defines itself as a Jewish state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITIC

Mayor of Upper Nazareth on Mission To Rid City of Arabs

Embattled Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso is running his campaign for reelection on expelling the city's Arab residents.

A section of the controversial Israeli barrier snakes around Shuafat refugee camp (R) in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 27, 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 West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and

Is Normalization Possible Before Israel Ends the Occupation?

The resumption of peace talks has again raised the question of whether a people-to-people track should be pursued to boost the chances of peace.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (C), Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) attend a graduation parade for Lebanese officer cadets at a military academy in Fayadyeh, near Beirut, marking the 68th Army Day, August 1, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY MILITARY) - RTX126UK

Lebanon-Israel Border Incident Tests UNIFIL-Hezbollah Ties

Following the Israeli military’s violation of the UN Blue Line this week, the reactions of both UNIFIL and Hezbollah may provide a litmus test for their relationship.

An African migrant sleeps in a playground at Levinsky park in South Tel Aviv June 12, 2012. About 60,000 Africans have crossed into Israel across its porous border with Egypt in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are job seekers, disputing arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum. Picture taken June 12, 2012. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTR33VHH

Israelis Divided on African Immigrants

The African immigrant community sparks bitter disputes within Israeli society between those who sympathize with their hardships and those who advocate their deportation.

Arab foreign ministers attend a bi-annual meeting of the Arab League in Cairo September 9, 2009. Among the issues being discussed is US President Barack Obama's Middle East peace initiative where he has called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity, as a basis for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict. Israel recently authorized construction of hundreds of housing units on occupied Palestinian land. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT POLITICS) - RTR27MDV

Middle East Needs 'Win-Win' Approach to Regional Security

An approach is overdue for regional security that recognizes the interests of Iran, Israel and all the states of West Asia.

North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen (2nd L) gives the opening remarks during the Defense Ministers' Meeting with Deputy Secretary General Alexander "Sandy" Vershbow (L) at the NATO headquarters in Brussels, February 21, 2013. U.S. Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is attending the NATO meetings and holding bilateral meetings with other defense officials. REUTERS/Chip Somodevilla/Pool (BELGIUM - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR3E2RV

Is There Role for NATO In Israel-Palestine Peace Process?

Many “ifs” remain about a NATO role in a final Israeli-Palestinian settlement, if there is one, but the option may be there.

Palestinians buy sweets in Jerusalem's Old City ahead of the Muslim holiday of Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan, August 7, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION FOOD) - RTX12D0X

Will Eid al-Fitr Bring Hope For Arab World?

Eid al-Fitr is being celebrated with an especially heavy heart this year, with massacres still taking place in Syria, hatred in Egypt boiling over and the closure of Gaza continuing.

Israeli Arab men take part in a demonstration in support of the deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi in the northern village of Kafar Kana July 13, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST) - RTX11LTN

Israeli Arabs' Views Reveal Gap With Political Leaders

Polls suggest that Israeli Arabs feel attached to their country, but their political leaders do little to strengthen that feeling or fight to improve their rights.

Aryeh Deri (C), leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, attends an annual pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan-born sage and kabbalist also known as the Baba Sali, in the southern town of Netivot January 14, 2013. Powerful political players for years, Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties must now reckon with a new force ushered in by voters bent on stripping them of perks they have relied on for decades. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS

Ultra-Orthodox Shas Party Flourishes in Opposition

The chairman of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, Aryeh Deri, is working closely with left-wing and Arab parties, creating an unexpected but efficient opposition.

Netanyahu Must Prepare Israelis for Peace

If the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations yield an agreement, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must harness all his powers of persuasion to win the support of the Israeli public.

Palestinian children play near a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in Shuafat refugee camp in the West Bank near Jerusalem 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 West Bank, the fate of Palestini

A Thorough Reassessment Of US Policy Is Required

The United States needs to reassess its policy after Israeli moves to continue settlement activities threaten to derail the negotiation process.