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August 14, 2026

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Israeli army vehicles move to a position in southern Lebanon, March 27, 2026.

Analysis

Israel defies Trump on Lebanon as Netanyahu, Katz prioritize elections

Both Benjamin Netanyahu and Donald Trump face fateful elections this fall, but one needs progress in Lebanon while the other wants more of the same.

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

Colombia's new president, Abelardo de la Espriella, delivers a speech at the Pichincha Battalion after being sworn in, in Cali, Colombia, on Aug. 7, 2026.

Syria lodges UN complaint against Colombia’s recognition of Israeli sovereignty over Golan

Bogota’s move marked a foreign policy shift under new right-wing President Abelardo de la Espriella, reversing Petro-era policies that strained ties with Israel.

Latest News

Analysis

Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan while quietly implementing it

lia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

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

Interview

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

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.

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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem April 28, 2013. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ2HB

Is Netanyahu Losing Control of Likud?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu may be presiding over the Likud party's decline, writes Mazal Mualem.

Soldiers of the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), stand on an observation tower overlooking Syria and located on the Israeli side of the 1973 Golan Heights ceasefire line with Syria March 21, 2012. Blue-helmeted United Nations peacekeeping troops patrolling a slice of Syrian territory to maintain a ceasefire with Israel face new risks as violence between Syrian government loyalists and rebels gets closer. Picture taken March 21, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (POLITICS MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR2ZRIQ

UN Forces on Israel’s Borders Confront Uncertain Future

Geoffrey Aronson writes from Cairo that while Egypt and Israel appear to be weathering the storm, for now, not so for Israel and Syria, with implications for UN forces tasked with keeping the peace.

A sign post near Kibbutz Merom Golan in the Golan Heights shows the distance from Israel's northern border to other destinations May 2, 2013. Israel's military said on Tuesday it had called up hundreds of reservists for a drill in northern Israel where tensions are high with neighbours Syria and Lebanon, but a military spokesman said there was no change in the overall security situation. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not re

Israel’s Strategic Reset

Israel is reconsidering its new strategic approach to the region in the context of US policies toward Iran, Syria, Egypt and Israeli-Palestinian peace, writes Ben Caspit.

Palestinian policemen loyal to Hamas inspect the scene after an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City April 30, 2013. An Israeli airstrike killed a Palestinian and wounded another in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, medics said, in the first targeted attack against militants since a ceasefire ended an eight-day war in November. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTXZ4BM

Hamas Enforces Quiet Border With Israel

Alon Ben David writes: That Hamas hasn’t replenished its supply of rockets lately is further proof of an ideological turnabout underway in the movement.

Muslim, Jewish, Christian Chefs Cook for Peace in Jerusalem

Muslim, Jewish and Christian chefs came together to cook for regional diplomats in a recent multicultural Jerusalem dinner event in the latest project by Chefs for Peace, reports Saideh Jamshidi.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) shakes hands with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani as they meet with members of the Arab League at Blair House in Washington, April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ41W

The Two Faces of Qatar

Shlomi Eldar considers Qatar's promoting peace based on compromises between Israel and the Palestinians while promoting a sectarian Islamic agenda by supporting armed groups in Syria.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem April 22, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYVXD

Netanyahu Will Ignore Arab League's Land-Swap Proposal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's ideology will prevent him from accepting the pragmatic Arab League peace proposal, writes Akiva Eldar.

Sheldon Adelson (R), Chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp, and his wife Miriam are pictured after attending U.S. Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's foreign policy remarks at Mishkenot Sha'ananim in Jerusalem, July 29, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR35LLD

Billionaire Adelson Meets Privately With Israeli Finance Minister Lapid

Mazal Mualem wonders whether Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should worry about Finance Minister Yair Lapid, his potential heir, who recently met with a top Netanyahu backer.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man (L) argues with a secular man during a protest against the government's pledge to curb Jewish zealotry in Israel, in the town of Beit Shemesh, near Jerusalem December 26, 2011. Israeli police arrested several ultra-Orthodox protesters on Monday after an officer was injured in the demonstrations in the divided city over demands by zealots to restrict access by women to certain streets. REUTERS/Oren Nahshon (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) ISRA

Ultra-Orthodox Conflict Threatens Secular Israeli City

The secular residents of Beit Shemesh are preparing for a final battle against ultra-Orthodox inhabitants over the character of the city, reports Daniel Ben Simon.

Former centrist Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni gestures during a news conference in Tel Aviv November 27, 2012. Livni announced on Tuesday she would challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a Jan. 22 election by running for office as head of a new political party she vowed would "fight for peace." REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3AXEZ

The Case for an Israeli Referendum on Peace

Mazal Mualem argues that a referendum law may well emerge as a useful lever for jump-starting the peace process.

Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri meets with Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Mikhail Bogdanov in Beirut April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Hassan Ibrahim/Lebanese Parliament/Handout (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTXZ0YT

Russia Confronts Mideast SalafistsBy Courting Christians, Minorities

Russia is courting Middle Eastern minorities, especially Christians, in a bid to confront Salafist extremism, writes an Al-Monitor correspondent in Beirut.

Children watch Israeli Air Force planes fly over the Mediterranean Sea from a Tel Aviv beach, during an aerial show as part of celebrations for Israel's Independence Day, marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state, April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: ANNIVERSARY ENVIRONMENT TRANSPORT MILITARY) - RTXYNTO

'Israel Has Nothing to Fear'

Daniel Abraham, founder of the Center for Middle East Peace, warns Ben Caspit that without an agreement with the Palestinians, Israel will find itself with a non-Jewish majority.