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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 9, 2026

Tel Aviv 6:02 pm

32°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

Israelis take to streets, blame Netanyahu for economic crisis

Thousands of Israelis hit the streets over the the weekend in protest of the government’s failure to effectively and quickly address the economic crisis induced by the coronavirus.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 24: Israelis hold flags and signs as they protest against Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on May 24, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. The prime minister, who strongly denies the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, was recently sworn in to office at the head of a national unity government formed with his opponent Benny Gantz. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Netanyahu's annexation plan turning into fiasco

With the Americans losing interest and on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, the West Bank annexation plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to turn into his greatest diplomatic fiasco.

An Israeli woman uses her iPhone in front of the building housing the Israeli NSO group, on August 28, 2016, in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.
Apple iPhone owners, earlier in the week, were urged to install a quickly released security update after a sophisticated attack on an Emirati dissident exposed vulnerabilities targeted by cyber arms dealers.
Lookout and Citizen Lab worked with Apple on an iOS patch to defend against what was called "Trident" because of its triad of attack methods, the researchers said in a

Amnesty loses battle against Israeli spy-technology company

The Tel Aviv court ruled that Amnesty International failed to present sufficient evidence in its claim against spy-technology company NSO.

Israeli protesters clash with police outside Netanyahu's residence

Protest organizers said six people were injured in the clashes Monday morning.

Israeli-Iranian couple welcomed nowhere, fights for their love

Israeli Lital and Iranian Vinas are in love, but no country will take in both of them.

US enthusiasm seems to be fading on Netanyahu’s annexation plan

According to a recent report, the Trump administration is now conditioning its support of the annexation plan on a broad agreement on the issue between Blue and White and Likud.

People gather near an island that was exposed due to low water level in the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel on August 30, 2018. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel creates plan to develop, protect Sea of Galilee

The Galilee Sea development plan aims to regulate the local tourism industry and protect the region’s sensitive ecosystems.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man, wearing a protective face mask, stands at a checkpoint erected to block entrance to the neighbourhoods of Romema and Kiryat Belz after authorities imposed a lockdown to combat the spread of the Coronavirus, in Jerusalem on July 12, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox threaten unity government over coronavirus measures

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset members are threatening to leave the Netanyahu government over anti-coronavirus measures they feel disproportionately target their sector.

Palestinian shot and killed by Israeli military after alleged attack

Israeli and Palestinian officials disagree on the circumstances behind the death of a 29-year-old Palestinian in a West Bank village Thursday.

Hamas security forces stand guard during a visit of newly elected Hamas chief, Ismail Haniya, to protesters taking part in a sit-in in support of Palestinian hunger-striking prisoners held in Israeli jails, on May 8, 2017, in Gaza City. / AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel said to offer Hamas prisoner swap

Palestinian sources claim that Israel has offered Hamas a limp proposal for a prisoner-exchange deal.

A woman visits a room in the undergrounds premises of the former Pussycat strip club, turned into a local NGOs community centre and small museum, in the coastal Mediterranean 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 pro

Israel shifts blame for prostitution from sex workers to clients

After years of promotion and preparation, Israel's new law criminalizing the consumption of prostitution has finally entered into force.

Iran's First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi (R) and Ismail Haniya, Palestinian Hamas premier of Gaza, raise their hands upon the latter's arrival for a meeting in Tehran on February 10, 2012. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images)

Iran offers unconditional support to Hamas, Islamic Jihad

Hamas is sparing no effort to restore its relations with Iran, which announced that it will provide all necessary support to the Palestinians facing the Israeli annexation plan of the West Bank.