Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan receives Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York, on Sept. 19, 2023.

Analysis

What’s at stake for Turkey as Israel heads to the polls?

Israel’s Oct. 27 election could offer a chance to ease tensions with Ankara, but competing ambitions in Syria and beyond threaten to push the two US allies toward a dangerous confrontation.

Amberin Zaman

By Amberin Zaman

Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture

JACK GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images

Feature

50,000 Israeli expats fly home to vote in potential boon to Netanyahu rivals

Israel prohibits voting from abroad with limited exceptions, and Israelis who spoke to Al-Monitor said they are especially motivated to fly home this year.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Pedestrians cross a street in front of a banner featuring Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu

Analysis

How Israel opposition infighting is boosting Netanyahu days before election

Discord within the opposition, including its reluctance to name a single candidate for prime minister ahead of the Oct. 27 election, is working in Netanyahu’s favor.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

In first, Israel’s Netanyahu says he held call with Syria’s Ahmed al-Sharaa

It is the first publicly disclosed contact between the leaders of Israel and Syria, which lack formal relations and have fought several wars. Sharaa’s government began US-mediated talks with Israel in 2025.

Latest News

Sisi says Egypt has no ‘territorial ambitions’ after Israel’s Smotrich threatens Sinai

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi attends a joint statements and agreements during the EU and Egypt summit in Brussels, on Oct. 22, 2025.

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sues Netanyahu for nearly $1M over Oct. 7 claims

Israel's Chief of the Mossad David Barnea (R) and Security Agency director Ronen Bar, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Israel-UK relations hit new low over settlements, Gaza: What to know

The British Consulate General in east Jerusalem represents the British government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza during a protest against the recently announced British sanctions, aimed at economic activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, on Sept. 14, 2026, in Jerusalem.

West Bank olive harvest begins amid settler attacks on Palestinians, groves

Palestinian men sitting in and by a tractor look on after another man was injured by gunfire whilst being chased away by Israeli forces, in Aqraba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct. 6, 2026.

Hamas spy story shakes up Arab society, Israeli politics

The Aya Khatib affair has not only divided Israeli Arab society, it is also haunting the political prospects of the Blue and White and its ability to cooperate with the Joint List.

A general view picture shows part of East Jerusalem neighbourhoods behind the Israeli barrier January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2LPE9PKBS0

Israel, US pretend East Jerusalem Palestinians don’t exist

The latest report by the US State Department refers to Palestinians of East Jerusalem as “non-Israeli residents,’’ as if changing their description could change the reality.

Banksy's hotel offers dark humor as Bethlehem becomes ghost town

Bethlehem's Walled Off Hotel painted its facade black in protest of US President Donald Trump's peace plan, but the situation is even darker with the coronavirus alert in the city.

Coronavirus imposes calm on Gaza front

Calm has returned between Israel and Palestinian factions in Gaza, mainly because of the outbreak of the coronavirus and fears of it spreading in the besieged enclave.

An Israeli police officer helps a Health Ministry inspector put on protective gear before they go up to the apartment of a person in self quarantine as a precaution against coronavirus spread in Hadera, Israel March 16, 2020 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC23LF9W400M

Israelis in panic over COVID-19, but not the 'occupation virus'

Despite attempts to spin events otherwise, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has hijacked the coronavirus in an attempt to hold on to power and perpetuate the occupation.

Netanyahu, Gantz must return to Cairo 2016

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz should agree to a unity government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, not just to fight the coronavirus, but to resume the Cairo talks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israel dreads coronavirus outbreak in Gaza

So far, the closure has protected the Gaza Strip from the coronavirus, but Israeli specialists estimate that a COVID-19 outbreak there is just a matter of time.

Jordanian artist taps absurd for 'Camel in the Room'

With iconic imagery such as camels and locks, artist Raed Ibrahim explores the complexities of Middle Eastern identity, memory and the Israeli-Palestinian issue.

Why wasn't Hamas part of the recent confrontation round?

While Hamas stayed away from the confrontation rounds against Israel, some observers believe that Hamas is not preventing the factions from getting involved in these confrontations out of fear of losing Iranian funding and because it refuses to engage in a conflict against the factions.

A man in a protective suit walks outside Angel Hotel where, according to a Palestinian government official, a group of American visitors have been quarantined as part of precautions against the coronavirus, in Beit Jala town in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RC2YEF9MKRM8

Coronavirus oblivious to Israeli, Palestinian borders

The necessity of cooperating against the novel coronavirus should encourage Israeli and Palestinian authorities to also work together on day-to-day issues, such as water and air pollution.

In Moscow, Hamas offers 4 plans for Palestinian unity

Russia once again is working with Palestinian factions to unite them and help them defy Washington's plan for peace with Israel.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York, U.S., February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton - RC2FYE9T70OQ

Palestinians insist that there is no back channel with Washington

Is there or isn’t there a back channel of talks between the Palestinians and the US administration?