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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 9, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:56 am

25°C

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

West Bank settlements

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

The decision comes against the backdrop of an escalation in settler violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

After a West Bank stabbing of an Israeli settler, Defense Minister Israel Katz warns the Palestinian Authority against launching an “Oct. 7-style” assault.

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

The escalation in southern Lebanon casts a shadow over upcoming Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome.

Latest News

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Jewish politician joining Arab party could reshape Israeli politics

Raam

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

As Israeli settler attacks mount, Trump avoids public pressure on Netanyahu

Israeli soldiers arrive in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has faced escalating Israeli settler violence over the past month, on Aug. 29, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

(L-R)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani pose before they participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates arrived September 15, 2020 at the

Israeli delegation lands in Bahrain

A senior Israeli delegation arrived in Bahrain today to discuss the details of a normalization agreement between the two countries.

East-Med Gas Forum evolves as Israel, Egypt enhance cooperation

Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz and six others sign the charter of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum, which brings cooperation with other partners into a second, concrete phase.

Israeli opposition wants to know: Is there more to UAE deal than meets the eye?

Senior opposition figures suspect that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hiding some of the details of the deal signed with the UAE.

United Arab Emirates

Benny Gantz (C), A former IDF Chief and the head of Israeli Resilience party speaks to supporters during an election campaign event in Tel Aviv. Israelis will vote in a parliamentary election on April 9, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 121-seat Knesset

In Washington, Gantz all about US snapback sanctions on Iran

Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz is in Washington today busily encouraging the administration to move ahead with its snapback sanctions move.

A F-35 fighter jet is seen after landing in the Israeli Nevatim Air force base in the Negev desert, near the southern city of Beersheva, on December 12, 2016.
The first two US F-35 stealth fighters bought by Israel landed at an air base in the Jewish state this evening, an AFP journalist at the site said. Their arrival, hailed as a gamechanger by Israeli leaders, came some six hours late after aviation officials in Italy delayed the takeoff for the last stage of their journey because of poor visibility

/

F-35 deal with UAE could benefit Israeli defense industries

Israel’s leadership is against the United States selling the Emirates F-35 jets, but if the deal comes through, Israeli defense industries could also benefit.

United Arab Emirates

TOPSHOT - Medics work with COVID-19 patients at the isolation ward of Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan near the coastal city of Tel Aviv, on July 29, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

IDF to set up field clinics as Israel's hospitals overflow

As the number of infections continues to rise, Defense Minister Benny Gantz has ordered the Israeli army to prepare to run field hospitals to treat coronavirus patients.

Judges of Bulgaria's specialized criminal court arrive for the final decision for the 2012 bomb attack on Israeli tourists at Bulgaria's Burgas airport that killed five people on September 21, 2020 in Sofia. - A Bulgarian court on September 21, 2020, sentenced two men to life in prison over a deadly 2012 bus bomb attack on Israeli tourists at the country's Burgas airport. (Photo by NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV / AFP) (Photo by NIKOLAY DOYCHINOV/AFP via Getty Images)

Bulgarian court sentences two men in bus bombing that killed Israelis

Bulgaria said that two dual citizens of Lebanon were responsible for the Black Sea attack that targeted Israeli tourists in 2012; Hezbollah has denied involvement.

Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez (L) speaks during an inauguration ceremony in Jerusalem of the Diplomatic Trade Office of Honduras on September 1, 2019, in the presence of his wife First Lady Ana Garcia Carias (R), Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd-R) and his wife Sara Netanyahu (2nd-L). - (Photo by DEBBIE HILL / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read DEBBIE HILL/AFP via Getty Images)

Honduras to move Israel embassy to Jerusalem by year's end

The announcement follows a phone call between Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Demonstrators, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, attend a protest against the United Arab Emirates' and Bahrain's decisions to normalise relations with Israel, in Gaza City on September 15, 2020. - Palestinian leaders had earlier called for demonstrations against the "shameful" deals the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are set to sign with Israel. Officials from both Gulf states are due to attend a ceremony at the White House on September 15 to formalise ties with Israel, prompting Palest

Jordan clings to two-state solution in wake of normalization deals

With normalization deals being signed and regional dynamics in flux, Jordan is trying to adapt to what it fears is faltering Arab support for the Palestinian issue and a two-state solution.

Trump administration leveraged terror designation to push Sudan to recognize Israel

Last minute White House gambit risked efforts to obtain compensation for families of victims of the 1998 embassy bombings, sources tell Al-Monitor.

TOPSHOT - (L-R)US President Donald Trump speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani listen before they participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United

Israel’s Gulf diplomacy and its discontents

As Israel and its new regional partners begin trade talks, Palestinians, Israeli Arabs and the Israeli left are on the sidelines.

United Arab Emirates

A boy walks past the closed Gogo Girls strip club in the Israeli city of Tel Aviv on March 5, 2020. - The demise of Tel Aviv's strip clubs was accelerated in 2018, when Israel's parliament, the Knesset, passed a law banning brothels. But the final straw came in April last year when the public prosecutor issued a directive to clamp down on lap dances, arguing they could in some cases be viewed as prostitution. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Tel Aviv battles against strip clubs

New regulations adopted by the Tel Aviv municipality would enable it to ban new striptease clubs in the city and render such openings a criminal offense.