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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 10, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:05 pm

23°C

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

Israel has continued to carry out strikes in southern Lebanon but had not targeted Beirut since the ceasefire took effect.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Culture

Lebanon's churches, mosques and archaeological sites damaged in Israeli strikes

A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains among the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026.

Analysis

Can Bennett, Lapid unite Israel’s opposition to unseat Netanyahu?

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. - Final approval of the parliament dissolution bill was initially expected by midnight but was postponed to June 30 as coalition and opposition lawmakers sparred over last-minute legislative details, several sources familiar with the parliamentary said. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

A picture taken on November 22, 2016 shows an Israeli army Dolphin-class submarine sailing at Israel's Naval port in the Mediterranean city of Haifa. / AFP / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli, American submarine activity suggests show of force against Iran

Israel reportedly dispatched a submarine to the Suez Canal and the Red Sea in what has been taken as a clear warning to Iran not to escalate tensions at this sensitive time of transition.

A Palestinian woman takes a picture at the Dead Sea near the city of Jericho in the occupied West Bank on August 2, 2020 during the Eid al-Adha holiday. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Project to save Dead Sea going nowhere

Experts warn of an environmental crisis if a project is not advanced by Jordan and Israel to save the Dead Sea that is shrinking at catastrophic rates.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a protest rally in Istanbul on May 18, 2018, against the recent killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the US embassy move to Jerusalem. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel spurns Turkish bid to improve ties

In the past few weeks, Ankara has made several overtures toward rapprochement with Israel, yet Jerusalem seems to be waiting for something solid.

Lebanese men watch the head of the country's Shiite Muslim movement Hezbollah Hassan Nasrallah during a televised speech, at a coffee shop in the southern suburbs of the capital Beirut, on August 30, 2020, on the tenth day of the month of Muharram which marks the peak of Ashura. - Ashura is a 10-day period of mourning in remembrance of the seventh-century martyrdom Imam Hussein, who was killed in the battle of Karbala in modern-day Iraq, in 680 AD. (Photo by ANWAR AMRO / AFP) (Photo by ANWAR AMRO/AFP via Ge

Nasrallah says Hezbollah would not be part of Iran nuclear talks

The Shiite party's leader also said Hezbollah has doubled its missile supplies.

Chief economist at Israel's Ministry of Finance Shira Greenberg (L) and Morocco's Director General Of the Customs and Indirect Tax Administration at the Ministry of Economy and Finance Nabil Lakhdar exchange a signed agreement at the Royal Palace in the Moroccan capital Rabat on December 22, 2020, on the first Israel-Morocco direct commercial flight, marking the latest US-brokered diplomatic normalisation deal between the Jewish state and an Arab country. - (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENN

Moroccan officials arrive in Israel to reopen liaison office

An administrative Moroccan delegation arrived in Israel to reopen the liaison office following normalization of ties between the two countries.

An Israeli military medic prepares to administer the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the medical centre of Tzrifin military base in the Israeli town of Rishon Lezion on December 28, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel leads in vaccinations

Israel's vaccination drive is in high gear, operating seven days a week, 24 hours per day, including on the Sabbath.

Members of the Joint List Ayman Odeh (C) speaks to the press in the presence of Ahmad Tibi (R), Osama Saadi (L) and Mansour Abbas (2nd-L) following their consulting meeting with Israeli President, to decide who to task with trying to form a new government, in Jerusalem on September 22, 2019. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli right, Arabs fume over talks between Netanyahu, Joint List senior

Members of the Joint List are angry over what seems to be rapprochement, perhaps even a political deal, between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Knesset member Mansour Abbas.

An Israeli woman wearing a protective mask carries a national flag as she takes part in a demonstration in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square on May 2, 2020, in favour of the Supreme Court to consider tomorrow to block the coalition government agreed between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival-turned-partner Benny Gantz. - If the expanded panel of 11 judges set to hear the case deems the coalition deal invalid, Israel may be forced to hold its fourth election in less than two years. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / A

As new elections loom, Israel’s Supreme Court deliberates Nationality Law

On the backdrop of announced fourth elections, right-wing circles see the hearing last week on the controversial Nationality Law as evidence that the Supreme Court leans toward the left.

Israel braces for lockdown amid coronavirus spike, new UK strain

Egypt is also heading for new restrictions amid a new wave

US Customs clarifies position on labeling of West Bank products

The US government said areas in the West Bank run by Israel must label products as "Made in Israel" when exporting to the United States, but goods from Palestinian-administered areas do not need to.

Israeli Deni Avdija to make NBA debut

The former player for Maccabi Tel Aviv could become the first international basketball star to come out of Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu leaves after a speech at the Knesset (Israeli Parliament) in Jerusalem on December 22, 2020. (Photo by Yonathan SINDEL / POOL / AFP) (Photo by YONATHAN SINDEL/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Chaos as Israeli Knesset disbands, new elections announced

Heading toward a fourth round of elections in less than two years, Israelis can no longer tell right from left.