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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:03 am

24°C

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

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

Latest News

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

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

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.

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

Demonstrators wave Turkish and Palestinian flags during a rally at Yenikap? Square, in Istanbul, to protest against the US-made peace plan, also known as the Agreement of the Century,on Februay 9, 2020. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey threatens to cut ties with UAE over Israel normalization as feud continues

Turkey and the UAE disagree on the Turkey-Kurdish conflict, Libya, drilling in the eastern Mediterranean and more.

A file picture taken at the Israeli foreign ministry on October 15, 2015, shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) sitting next to Yossi Cohen, who is currently the head of Israel's National Security Council, and who was named as the 12th head of the Mossad intelligence agency by Netanyahu on December 7, 2015. Cohen will take over from outgoing Mossad head Tamir Pardo, who will be leaving his post after five years next January. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON / AFP / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read

Mossad chief likely to continue advancing Israel, UAE contacts

Israel has plenty of professional diplomats specialized in the Arab world, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is relying on Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to advance ties with Gulf states.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on December 16, 2017 shows a woman standing by an infant with a milk bottle in their mouth as they wait to ride a bus in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip, prior to departure for the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. / AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel denies travel to Palestinian newborns

To pressure Palestinians and force them to back down from their decision to stop security coordination, Israel is refusing to recognize more than 24,000 Palestinian newborns while preventing their movement through crossings as well as their travel abroad.

TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Did Netanyahu find his legacy with UAE deal?

The announcement yesterday on normalizing ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates reflects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s realization that he must abandon his annexation plan.

United Arab Emirates

Head of Israel's predominantly Arab Joint List coalition Ayman Odeh, gestures as he talks to reporters in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, on March 3, 2020, a day after the Israeli general elections. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite internal conflicts, Israel’s Arab party not splitting

The Arab Joint List fears the wrath of its constituency, so it has no intention to split back into the four parties composing it.

Palestinians express anger at UAE following US-brokered accord with Israel

Palestinians say UAE decision to normalize relations with Israel is a crime.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on August 13, 2020. - Israel and the UAE agreed to normalise relations in a landmark US-brokered deal, only the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab nation. The agreement, first announced by US President Donald Trump on Twitter, will see Israel halt its plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, according to the UAE. (Photo by Abir SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Imag

Netanyahu hails historic peace with UAE, says more Arab countries will follow

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announces full, historic peace with the United Arab Emirates, and says he is not giving up on implementing Israel sovereignty on West Bank lands.

Israel, UAE announce US-brokered deal to normalize relations

Under the deal, Israel has agreed to suspend plans to annex the West Bank.

Fuel tankers arrive at Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on August 15, 2018. - Israel reopened its only goods crossing with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in response to relative calm on the border after months of tensions prompted a blockade on most goods from July 9. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel cuts off fuel to Gaza as balloon attacks continue

Israel’s defense minister has closed off fuel imports to Gaza, adding to the list of goods prohibited from crossing into the Strip in response to the explosive-laden balloons from Gaza.

israel greece fm aug 13.jpg

Greek foreign minister talks Turkey, tourism in Israel

Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Danidas came to Israel bearing gifts — news that Israeli tourists will be able to enter the country — likely in return for Jerusalem's continued support for Athens in its conflict against Ankara.

A masked Palestinian launches a Balloon loaded with flammable materials to be flown toward Israel, at the Israel-Gaza border, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2018. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza's balloon bombs spark new cycle of violence

After a period of calm on the Gaza Strip borders with Israel, incendiary and explosive balloons spark another violent exchange.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 5: (AFP OUT) Wife of Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Sara Netanyahu looks on as U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meet in the Oval Office of the White House March 5, 2018 in Washington, DC. The prime minister is on an official visit to the US until the end of the week. (Photo by Olivier Douliery-Pool/Getty Images)

Netanyahu’s wife on the attack: blames protesters for sexual harassment

Sara Netanyahu, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s wife, is again on the attack, with a complaint filed by the police against demonstrators allegedly sexually harassing her and threatening her life.