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August 15, 2026

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An Israeli rescue team arrives in Venezuela after the earthquake in June 2026. Israeli Foreign Ministry

Analysis

Why Venezuela is moving closer to Israel but stopping short of full ties

Israel and Venezuela have practical and strategic reasons for advancing their relations after years of hostility, but establishing full ties faces challenges.

Rina Bassist

Adam Lucente

By Rina Bassist , Adam Lucente

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

Latest News

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

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.

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

Erdogan Softens Zionism Remarks As Obama Lands in Israel

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s attempt to clarify earlier remarks on Zionism may aim in part to repair ties with the United States, which have also been strained by Ankara's refusal to hand over an al-Qaeda official to US authorities, writes Tulin Daloglu.

Prefabricated homes are seen in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Eli, south of Nablus March 17, 2013. U.S. President Barack Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. Israeli settlement expansion lies at the heart of much of the rancour between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Obama, who has said the U.S. does not accept the legitimac

Palestinians Tire of Israeli 'Games' on Settlements

Palestinians are tired of being fooled, and want President Barack Obama to press Israel on its illegal settlements, Daoud Kuttab writes.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) gestures as he speaks during the first cabinet meeting of the 33rd Israeli government, in Jerusalem March 18, 2013. Netanyahu's new governing coalition took office after a parliamentary vote on Monday with powerful roles reserved for supporters of settlers in occupied territory. REUTERS/David Vaaknin/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F5ZH

Netanyahu's New Security Team Lacks Experience

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's security cabinet meetings will now include new, inexperienced members, and it is with them that he will have to make fateful decisions, writes Mazal Mualem.

U.S. President Barack Obama shakes hands with children before he signs a guest book at the residence of Israel's President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, March 20, 2013. Making his first official visit to Israel, U.S. President Barack Obama pledged on Wednesday unwavering commitment to the security of the Jewish State where concern over a nuclear-armed Iran has clouded U.S.-Israeli relations. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F8AE

Obama's Real Reason For Visiting Israel

President Barack Obama’s visit to Israel is not motivated by a desire to win over the Israeli public, writes Akiva Eldar, but rather by the need to salvage the standing of the United States as an influential power in the region.

Israeli schoolchildren hold the Israeli and American flags during a rehearsal for U.S. President Barack Obama's visit at his Israeli counterpart Shimon Peres' residence tomorrow, in Jerusalem March 19, 2013. Obama is due to begin his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories on Wednesday, looking to improve ties after sometimes rocky relations with both sides during his first term in office. REUTER/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F75E

Iran, Not Peace Process, Obama's Real Agenda in Israel

President Barack Obama's visit will not revolve around peace but around war, argues Ben Caspit, as the US president comes to synchronize the atomic clocks on Iran.

Mariam Farhat, a Hamas woman candidate for the upcoming Palestinian parliament, is seen in front of a large mural of her three dead sons inside her house in Gaza December 8, 2005. The Islamic militant group Hamas has chosen the mother of three "martyrs" who died fighting Israel to run for Palestinian parliament in a race where Hamas will likely pose a tough challenge to President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah party. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem Pictures of the Month December 2005 - RTR1AJ4O

'The Mother of Martyrs' Leaves Bloody Legacy

With the death of the “Mother of Martyrs,” Mariam Farhat, who sent her sons to commit suicide attacks in Israel, Shlomi Eldar hopes that her legacy of bloodshed will not survive her.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the United Nations in New York September 21, 2011. Netanyahu said Wednesday that direct negotiation was the only way to achieve a stable Middle East peace and the Palestinian effort to secure U.N. recognition of statehood ''will not succeed.'' REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) FOR BEST QUALITY IMAGE ALSO SEE: GM1E8BQ1LQZ01 - RTR2RMH8

Obama’s March Madness in the Middle East

President Barack Obama will realize on his trip this week that Israeli and Palestinian leaders do not have an interest in a peace process, writes Alon Pinkas.

A coder works in the Mojang company office in Stockholm January 21, 2013. A pool table, a pinball machine, board games and Lego dot the offices of Mojang, the small Swedish company behind the wildly popular Minecraft video game, and one of its founders is wearing a tuxedo and purple tie on a recent "formal Friday". The atmosphere reflects the independent spirit that has contributed to the raw identity of the game that has just sold 20 million copies. The founders want to keep it that way. Mojang, the Swedis

Israel's First Bedouin Startup

Ibrahim Sana is determined to change the lives of Bedouin high-tech graduates and has set up a new venture: the “Software Tester Enterprise,” reports Tali Heruti-Sover.

Former US president Jimmy Carter is seen at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado August 26, 2008. U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) is expected to accept the Democratic presidential nomination at the convention on August 28. REUTERS/Chris Wattie (UNITED STATES) US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN 2008 (USA) - RTR21Q1O

What Carter Can Teach Obama About Mideast Peace-Making

If President Barack Obama has no set objectives in his forthcoming trip to the region, he should learn from Jimmy Carter and get serious about Middle East diplomacy, writes Geoffrey Aronson.

An Israeli policemen wearing a belt with rubber bullets stands near Palestinian protesters during clashes at a demonstration denouncing a U.S.-made film that mocks the Prophet Mohammed, near Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City September 14, 2012. Israeli police, some on horseback, used stun grenades and made a number of arrests outside Jerusalem's Old City as a few dozen demonstrators tried to march on to the nearby U.S. consulate. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR37Y

Israel's Use of 'Crowd Control' Weapons Faces Scrutiny

Israeli forces are using "crowd-control" weapons which can severely injure or kill, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - FEBRUARY 05: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli president Shimon Peres pose for a photograph with the heads of the parties of the Knesset (Israeli parliament) during a reception marking the opening of the 19th Knesset on February 5, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel.The 120 members of the Knesset included a record 48 new law makers. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Obama's Roadmap for the New Israeli Government

Mazal Mualem sketches a guide to the new Israeli coalition for US Pesident Barack Obama.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks next to a spring water reservoir before taking part in the ritual of "Mayim Shelanu" near Jerusalem March 17, 2013. The water is used to prepare matza, traditional unleavened bread eaten during the upcoming Jewish holiday of Passover. Passover commemorates the flight of Jews from ancient Egypt, as described in the Exodus chapter of the Bible. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3F4JW

Israel Must Integrate Ultra-Orthodox

Akiva Eldar writes that Israel is being distracted from the real ultra-Orthodox issue: Integration into civil society is more urgent than being drafted into the army.