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Israel

August 16, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:19 am

29°C

Gadi Eisenkot

Analysis

Inside Netanyahu's bet on divided opposition to secure another term

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is doing better in public opinion polls this week, but he is still far from securing a majority in the upcoming elections.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

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

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

An Israeli air force F15-E fighter jet takes off for a mission over the Gaza Strip, from the Tel Nof air base in central Israel November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY)

Israel Deputy Chief of Staff Favors Air Power

Gen. Gadi Eizenkot, a leading candidate for Israeli chief of staff, sees Operation Pillar of Defense as vindication of air power, writes Alon Ben David.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew walks under a "Shas" campaign banner depicting Eli Yishai, the leader of the Orthodox Jewish party, in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood Febraury 8, 2009. Benjamin Netanyahu will go into Tuesday's Israeli election with centrist Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni breathing down his neck and a far-right party siphoning votes from him, according to final opinion polls on Friday. The banner reads in Hebrew "pension for every worker."
REUTERS/Yannis Behrakis (JERUSALEM)

The Ethnicity Card and Elections In Israel

The ultra-Orthodox Shas Party is stirring up the ethnic issue again in the Israeli election campaign, writes Mazal Mualem.

People are seen as the sun sets over a beach in the Aqaba Gulf on the Red Sea, south of Amman November 25, 2011. Picture taken November 25, 2011. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: SOCIETY)

Iraqi Pipeline to Aqaba Sparks Memories of Kirkuk-Haifa Line

The oil pipeline to be constructed between Baghdad and Aqaba raises fond memories among Israelis of the Mandate-era Kirkuk-Haifa oil pipeline, a time that many would be happy to resurrect, writes Jacky Hugi.

Wheelchair-bound Palestinian freelance photographer Moamen Qreiqea takes pictures of his daughter outside his home in Gaza City October 1, 2012. Qreiqea, 25, lost both his legs in an Israeli air strike in 2008 while taking pictures east of Gaza. The father of two is determined to continue his career despite his disability. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: MEDIA SOCIETY)

Hamas Imposes a Media Blackout Throughout Gaza Strip

The decision to forbid local reporters in Gaza from working for Israeli media outlets will only deepen the sense of estrangement and alienation between Israelis and Palestinians, writes Shlomi Eldar.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton (L) speak to the media before their meeting in Jerusalem October 24, 2012. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS)

Taking the Europeans Into Account

The European Union, on its own, will not be able to “impose'' a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, argues Nadav Eyal.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) is seen during the launch of his Likud Beiteinu party campaign ahead of the upcoming January 22 national elections, in Jerusalem December 25, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Israel's Center-Left Bloc Surrenders Without a Fight

Israel's center-left parties have failed to unite, paving the way for Netanyahu to win a third tenure in the Prime Minister's office, argues Mazal Mualem.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men take part in a yoga class at a studio in Ramat Beit Shemesh, some 20 km (12 miles) from Jerusalem January 1, 2013. Almost a dozen devout Jewish men meet weekly at the studio, the only one of its kind in a neighbourhood where tensions have flared in the past between religious and secular Jews. The studio offers gender separated classes in accordance with the religious beliefs against mixing of the sexes in public. Picture taken January 1, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL - Tags: S

Demography Favors Rise of Israel's Right

Demographic changes are strengthening Israel's right wing, writes Akiva Eldar.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu adjusts his skull cap (yarmulke) as he lights candles for the Jewish holiday of Hanukkah after an address to the foreign media in Jerusalem December 10, 2012. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION)

Netanyahu’s Democracy Excludes Israel’s Arab Citizens

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu excludes Israel’s Arab citizens from the benefits of democracy, writes Antoine Shulhut.

Yuval Diskin, Israel's domestic security chief, makes a public speech at a homeland security conference in Tel Aviv November 1, 2010. Diskin identified cyber technologies as an ascendant international security threat. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS SCI TECH)

'The Gatekeepers' Unmasks Israeli Security Apparatus

In the documentary "The Gatekeepers," six former heads of the Shin Bet reveal who is in charge of keeping Israel's security gates, giving viewers a rude awakening, writes Shlomi Eldar.

United States Republican Senator Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, leading an American observer group at the U.N. conference on global warming, confers on the phone with Senator Robert C. Byrd (D-West Virginia) from a working lounge at the Kyoto International Conference Hall December 10. It is hoped that an agreement can be reached among the 160 nations participating in the talks, on this final day on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions into the next century.

ENVIRONMENT KYOTO

No Reason for Attacks on Hagel

Ben Caspit writes that the attacks on Chuck Hagel are not serving Israel or US-Israel relations.

Israeli Shekel notes are pictured at a bank branch in Tel Aviv in this August 29, 2011 photo illustration. Picture taken August 29, 2011. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: BUSINESS)

The Fiscal Cliff, Israel-Style

Israel is facing its own fiscal cliff, which will mean higher taxes, writes Idan Grinbaum.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the launch of his Likud Beiteinu party campaign ahead of the upcoming January 22 national elections, in Jerusalem December 25, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS)

Israeli Politicians Compete for 'Right-Wing' Etiquette

The upcoming Israeli elections are dominated by a strong ''turning to the right'' phenomenon, which sweeps not only the center-right wing, but even the Left Israeli Labor party, writes Mazal Mualem.