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August 16, 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

U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his inaugural address during inauguration ceremonies in Washington, January 21, 2013. REUTERS/Rick Wilking (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

Obama Speech Suggests Modest Foreign Agenda for Second Term

Judging from his comments in his second inaugural address, Barack Obama’s foreign policy over the next four years will not be particularly ambitious, including in the Middle East.

Likud-Yisrael Beitenu activists sit atop a wall surrounding Jerusalem's Old City after they hung a campaign banner depicting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu January 20, 2013. Netanyahu said on Saturday a country with as many enemies as Israel cannot afford a weak ruling party, after polls ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary election showed a slide in his support. The banner reads "Only Netanyahu will protect Jerusalem". REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

The Unnatural Alliance Of Likud-Beiteinu

The merger of the Likud and Yisrael Beiteinu parties seems an uneasy fit, writes Lily Galili.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu casts his ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Jerusalem January 22, 2013. Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election widely expected to win Netanyahu a third term in office, pushing the Jewish State further to the right, away from peace with Palestinians and towards a showdown with Iran. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

After the Israeli Elections, The Need for a Peace Process

Nassif Hitti considers the prospects for a new approach to the Middle East after the Israeli elections.

Jordan's King Abdullah (L) listens next to U.S. President Barack Obama in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington January 17, 2012. The two leaders met to discuss advancing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS)

Arabs Should Test Obama On Israeli-Palestinian Peace

Arabs should soon test whether the second Obama administration is serious about Israeli-Palestinian peace, writes Clovis Maksoud.

Likud-Yisrael Beitenu activists sit atop a wall surrounding Jerusalem's Old City after they hung a campaign banner depicting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu January 20, 2013. Netanyahu said on Saturday a country with as many enemies as Israel cannot afford a weak ruling party, after polls ahead of Tuesday's parliamentary election showed a slide in his support. The banner reads "Only Netanyahu will protect Jerusalem". REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Netanyahu's Third Term: Last Chance to Make History

After being re-elected and before beginning the task of forming a coalition, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu would do well to redefine his goals and his vision for his third term in office, writes Nadav Perry.

U.S. President Barack Obama is sworn in for a second term as President of the United States in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, DC January 20, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

Obama Should Review US Middle East Policy

Clovis Maksoud writes about the state of US-Israel relations and the hope that the second Obama administration will pursue a viable peace process.

Palestinians walk past a blast wall with graffiti in the West Bank city of Hebron January 13, 2013. Entrenched in what they view as their Biblical heartland, the hardline Jewish settlers of Hebron look forward with delight to next week's Israeli election. Picture taken January 13, 2013. To match ISRAEL-ELECTION/SETTLERS REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Israeli Elections: Apathy in Gaza, Apprehension in West Bank

While Gaza seems to ignore the Israeli elections, Palestinian leaders in the West Bank worry about the emergence of a right-wing coalition government, writes Shlomi Eldar.

Kosher cellular phones, imported and distributed by Israeli Accel Telecom, are displayed at the company's offices in Tel Aviv May 2, 2011. Hundreds of thousands of cellphones, popularly dubbed kosher because they block access to services frowned upon by ultra-Orthodox rabbis, have been operating in the Jewish state for more than five years. Last month, Israel's second largest mobile provider, Partner introduced what it hailed as the world's first Yiddish cellphone, manufactured by Alcatel-Lucent. Picture ta

Robocalls Playing Bigger Role In Israeli Elections

Mazal Mualem presents the 2013 model of Israeli elections, where the digital world has driven out the old world of billboards and speeches on town squares.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Can Obama Protect Israel from Itself?

Ben Caspit calls on President Obama to set the boundaries for Israel.

A worker installs a banner depicting Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Tel Aviv January 17, 2013. Netanyahu looks set to form a new governing coalition after next week's election, polls show, with the only question being whether he wants to soften its hardline contours. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Would Obama Ever Tell Netanyahu 'You’re on Your Own'?

Akiva Eldar wonders what would happen if President Barack Obama ever told Prime MInister Benjamin Netanyahu that Israel was on its own.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew places a sticker that depicts Shas party leader Aryeh Deri onto a campaign banner depicting Am Shalem party leader Haim Amsalem during 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. A fixture in successive governments, the ultra-Orthodox Shas party draws its support from the fast-growing community of religious Jews of Middle Eastern origin whose spiritu

Rabbi Amsalem Offers Alternative For Israeli Voters

Rabbi MK Haim Amsalem, one of the real surprises of the Israeli elections, explains to interviewer Mazal Mualem why he rebelled against his mother party, Shas, and called on rabbinical college students to enlist in the army.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton answers questions from the audience at the 2012 Saban Forum on U.S.-Israel relations gala dinner in Washington, November 30, 2012. REUTERS/Mary F. Calvert (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS)

US Fails to Use Leverage With Israel

Daoud Kuttab laments that the US no longer seems able to influence Israeli politics, despite the aid and assistance it provides.