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August 15, 2026

Tel Aviv 3:14 pm

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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

Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks in Tehran January 8, 2007. Khamenei said on Monday Tehran would never yield to international pressure to deprive it of its right to nuclear technology, state radio said. REUTERS/Stringer (IRAN) - RTR1KZH5

Iran's 'Radio David' Tries to Woo Israelis

Shlomi Eldar comments on a Hebrew-language Iranian website intended to influence Israeli public opinion, recalling the Egyptian radio station that broadcast propaganda in Hebrew in the 60s.

U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) is shown on a monitor speaking to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington on March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YWCN

Strong Message of Support for Israel At AIPAC Conference

As the Israeli lobby meets in Washington, both US parties are trying to prove they're more pro-Israel than the other, writes Clovis Maksoud.

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

Shas in the Opposition

Shas is having difficulty accepting the idea that it will not be sitting at the government table, writes Mazal Mualem.

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks to the media alongside Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during their meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YVOP

The Myth of the Missed Opportunity In Israeli-Arab Peace

Akiva Eldar examines the question of whether every diplomatic process that does not result in an agreement between the Arabs and Israelis should be considered a “missed opportunity.”

A Jewish settler, dressed in costume, stands near Israeli soldiers as they guard a parade for the holiday of Purim in the West Bank city of Hebron February 24, 2013. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (WEST BANK - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3E7ED

Attack on Purim Highlights Trend in Israeli Racism

The attack on an Israeli-Arab sanitation worker in Tel Aviv last week has underlined racism inherent in parts of Israeli society and brought to light those who are fighting it, reports Shlomi Eldar.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (2nd L) holds his first meeting with the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. Marine Corps Commandant General John M. Paxton, Jr. (L), U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey (4th R), General of the Army Ray Odierno (3rd R), U.S. Navy Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Jon Greenert (2nd R) and U.S. Army General Frank Grass (R) in a briefing room called "The Tank" at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, March 1, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) -

Hagel, Syria, the P5+1 and Iran

The Senate confirmed Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense as the United States announced $60 million in non-lethal aid to the Syrian Opposition Council; Israel, Iraq and Lebanon continue to be concerned about the regionalization of the war in Syria; and Iran puts Syria in play after the P5+1 meetings.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem March 3, 2013. More than a month after Israel's election, Netanyahu is still without a new coalition, his hopes of enlisting traditionally loyal cabinet partners - ultra-Orthodox factions - challenged by a pact between an odd political couple. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EII7

Will Netanyahu Surrender To Lapid and Bennett?

Prime Minister Netanyahu blames Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid and HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett for his failed attempts to form a coalition, but he will soon have to accept the fact that he is unable to form a government without them, writes Mazal Mualem.

A woman prepares bread for Palestinian and foreign activists protesting against what they say is Israel's denial of access to their farmland, in the village of Khirbet Zakaria, near the settlement bloc of Gush Etzion, February 4, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS FOOD CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DC5V

Food Communities on Facebook Emancipate Israeli-Arab women

When you mix Israeli-Arab cuisine with Facebook and social media, you get the perfect recipe for empowering both young and older women, writes Michal Aharoni.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan at Ankara Palace in Ankara, March 1, 2013. Kerry said on Friday the United States found a comment by Turkey's prime minister, likening Zionism to crimes against humanity, "objectionable", overshadowing their talks on the crisis in neighbouring Syria. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EG91

Erdogan’s Double Standards

Shlomi Eldar offers a reminder of the Armenian genocide in asserting that accusations against Zionism by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan exhibit hatred and hypocrisy.

Labourers reinforce the fence near Israel's border with Syria in the Golan Heights February 14, 2013. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognised internationally. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS) - RTR3DSEM

Israel Anticipates 'Somalization' Of Syria

Israel’s quietest border in decades may become rife with terrorism were the Assad regime to fall, argues Ben Caspit.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 26, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EAX8

Shin Bet Ex-Deputy: Israel Shouldn't Humiliate Abu Mazen

In an interview with Mazal Mualem, former Shin Bet Deputy Director Israel Hasson accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of treating the Palestinian Authority chairman disgracefully, while acknowledging that Abu Mazen also made mistakes.

The port of Jaffa is seen in the background as Palestinians enjoy themselves at a beach in Tel Aviv during Eid al-Fitr, which marks the end of the holy month of Ramadan August 20, 2012. A spokesperson for The Israeli Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories' (COGAT) said that improved security had allowed for the entry of over 1 million Palestinians from the occupied West Bank since the beginning of Ramadan. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR36ZT5

Rifaat Turk on Jaffa's Decline As a Bi-National City

From a vibrant bi-national city into gated developments for rich Jews, Rifaat Turk tells Shlomi Eldar all about the recent changes in Jaffa.