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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 15, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:26 pm

29°C

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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 10, 2013. Iran's nuclear ambitions, the civil war in Syria and stalled Israeli-Palestinian peace efforts will top the agenda of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit to Israel, Netanyahu said on Sunday. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DKO7

Israel-Palestine Interim Agreements Block Final Deal

Israelis and Palestinians have negotiated one interim arrangement after another, but a final-status agreement has yet to be reached, writes Akiva Eldar.

A protester walks past a graffiti during a march at Tahrir Square in Cairo, February 11, 2013. The march, was organized by Egyptians who oppose Egypt's President Mohamed Mursi and members of the ruling Muslim Brotherhood on the second anniversary of the resignation of veteran President Hosni Mubarak. The arabic words read, "After the revolution - let them speak" (L), "Before the revolution - let them play" (R). REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DN7J

Israelis Begin to See Continuity In Mubarak, Morsi Policies

The Israelis seem to miss deposed Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whose concept of peace was not much different from that of his successor, Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi, writes Jacky Hugi.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) speaks with Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor during a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem September 20, 2011. Netanyahu leaves for New York on Wednesday to address the United Nations where Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is pursuing a bid for full U.N. membership for a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2RL9O

Meridor Saddened by Likud's 'Ultra-Nationalist' Turn

Dan Meridor, a former "prince” of the Likud Party, comments to Mazal Mualem on the right-wing turn in the Likud Party and his doubts regarding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s ability to lead an important diplomatic process.

Israeli Officials Consider 'Point of No Return' With Iran

Nadav Eyal looks at the decisions facing both the United States and Israel should the forthcoming round of nuclear negotiations with Iran fail.

John Kerry, the new U.S. Secretary of State, holds the diplomatic passport he was issued at eleven years old, while greeting employees of the State Department in Washington February 4, 2013. Kerry's father, Richard, was a U.S. Foreign Service officer in Berlin after World War II. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3DCG4

Kerry Puts Middle East First

Geoffrey Aronson writes that, in the absence of a strategy for dealing with the Middle East, seeking advice from leaders in the region can be compared to listening to the inmates in an insane asylum, where useful advice is in short supply.

Palestinians hold placards depicting prisoner Samer al-Issawi, who has been on hunger strike for 209 days, during a protest in the West Bank city of Ramallah, calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails, February 17, 2013. The European Union on Saturday called on Israel to improve conditions for Palestinians in its jails, and a Palestinian minister said there would be rallies this week to support hunger striking prisoners. Nearly 5,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli jails, many cha

Hunger Striker Samer Issawi Invisible to Israeli Society

Shlomi Eldar wonders about the political impact of Palestinian prisoner Samer Issawi's hunger strike, going on for more than 200 days.

Debris from a bus that was damaged in a bomb blast on Wednesday is seen outside Burgas Airport, about 400km (248miles) east of Sofia July 19, 2012. A suicide bomber carried out an attack that killed seven people in a bus transporting Israeli tourists in Bulgaria, the country's interior minister said on Thursday, and Israel said Iranian-backed Hezbollah militants were to blame. Video surveillance footage showed the bomber was similar in appearance to tourists arriving at the airport, Interior Minister Tsveta

Burgas Is the Latest Chapter In US-Hezbollah 'Spy Wars'

Hezbollah has recently been implicated in last summer’s Burgas bombing, a step that Jean Aziz describes as another installment in the "spy wars" between the Lebanese Shiite group and Washington.

The Jewish settlement of Halamish is seen in the background as a stone-throwing Palestinian protester stands on a garbage bin during clashes with Israeli security officers at a weekly protest against the settlements, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh, near Ramallah February 1, 2013. U.N. human rights investigators called on Israel on Thursday to halt settlement expansion and withdraw all half a million Jewish settlers from the occupied West Bank, saying that its practices could be subject to prosecutio

Palestinian Attacks on Settlers Signal a Shift in Tactics

Attacks by Palestinians against Israeli settlers have increased in recent years, requiring a shift in Israeli strategies to protect settlers in the West Bank, reports Adnan Abu Amer.

Tel Aviv Calling, Mr. Obama

US President Barack Obama should skip the dismal visits to tombs and monuments in Jerusalem in his forthcoming visit to Israel and drop by Tel Aviv instead, writes Ben Caspit.

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers remarks on the economy after touring Linamar Corporation that manufactures parts for the truck industry in Arden, North Carolina, February 13, 2013. Obama visited the facility on Wednesday to promote economic policies outlined in his State of the Union speech. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT BUSINESS) - RTR3DQPD

Palestinians Not Optimistic About Obama Visit

As US President Barack Obama prepares to meet Israeli and Palestinian leaders in their respective capitals, Palestinians do not expect any progress on the peace process, reports Hazem Balousha.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Jordan's King Abdullah II and Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak (L-R) listen to U.S. President Barack Obama make a statement on Middle East peace in the East Room of the White House in Washington September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2HTFY

'Jordanian Option' Not an Option, Says Shimon Shamir

Shimon Shamir, former Israeli ambassador to Jordan, tells Akiva Eldar why raising the possibility of Jordan annexing the West Bank is a slap in the face to Amman and runs counter to Israel's interests.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) speaks to Israel's Deputy Prime Minister Dan Meridor at a plenary session during the Nuclear Security Summit at the Convention and Exhibition Center (COEX) in Seoul March 27, 2012. The man at centre at an unidentified member of the U.S. delegation. REUTERS/Larry Downing (SOUTH KOREA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2ZXN6

Dan Meridor: Struggle With Iran Will 'Shape the Middle East'

Departing Likud Minister Dan Meridor tells Mazal Mualem about the squandered diplomatic opportunities with the Palestinians, and how the struggle with Iran will shape the Middle East.