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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 14, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:49 am

22°C

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

While Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington for the third time, the Israeli military faces a growing threat from Hezbollah’s cheap yet highly lethal drones.

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

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.

Latest News

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

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.

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

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.

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

Israeli Arabs take part in a protest against the U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan in the town of Baqa Al-Gharbiyye, northern Israel February 1, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2PRE9SJ8D4

Despite divisions in wake of Trump’s plan, Israelis & Palestinians labor for peace

Israeli and Palestinian peace activists are worried over increased anti-normalization sentiments across the Palestinian Authority.

Europe uses Israeli elections as excuse for inaction

Instead of standing clearly by the Palestinians, demanding the implementation of international law in the West Bank and recognizing the 1967 borders, Europe stands on the sidelines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 16, 2020. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC2N1F9UJ40D

Netanyahu fighting over every single vote

The announcement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about appointing former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat as finance minister in a future government was part of his relentless efforts to conquer each and every vote ahead of the March 2 elections.

Moroccans wave the Palestinian flag during a demonstration against the US Middle East peace plan in the capital Rabat on February 9, 2020. - Morocco has warming but quiet relations with Israel, although they do not enjoy formal diplomatic ties. Israel and Morocco opened "liaison" offices in each other's countries in the mid-1990s but Rabat closed them after an escalation of Palestinian-Israeli violence in 2000. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Morocco’s balancing act on Israel and Palestine

Moroccans protest against the "deal of the century" and want the government, which recently took possession of Israeli spy drones, to do more to aid the Palestinian cause.

A song of praise: Netanyahu’s court journalists

Over the years, and especially since the 2015 election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been striving to set up a more submissive, sycophantic Israeli press that praises everything he does.

A member of Palestinian security forces, loyal to Hamas, stands guard at the border area with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 23, 2019. Picture taken June 23, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1FA4398160

Has Egypt succeeded in calming situation on Gaza border?

An Egyptian intelligence delegation visited the Gaza Strip for the first time in months in a bid to restore calm between Hamas and Israel amid renewed escalation ahead of the Israeli elections.

A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling during an anti-Israel protest at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC2PPD972T6H

Egypt shows diplomatic finesse forging Gaza cease-fire

Hamas' agreement to refrain from attacks, for now, puts Gaza on the back burner for Israeli elections.

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 - RC2FYE9VEIT0

Is Abbas the key to Israeli annexation of West Bank lands?

For Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remaining in power could ease its annexation of West Bank territories.

12 years later, Olmert plan discussions could resume

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in New York to discuss reviving the Olmert plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Israeli swimmer's discovery of Egyptian artifact met with suspicion in Cairo

An Israeli swimmer discovered a 3,400-year-old stone engraved with hieroglyphs last year, but some Egyptian experts have a hard time believing the story.

More Israelis, Palestinians support the 'one-state' solution

With more and more settlements constructed, the 'one-state' solution might be the only feasible one.

Will Jewish left-wing voters support the Joint List in March?

Meretz's alliance with Labor-Gesher has put ardent leftists in an ideological bind, leading some to conclude that the overwhelmingly Arab Joint List might attract some of their votes.