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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:55 pm

28°C

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

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

Latest News

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

West Bank settlements

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu smiles as he speaks at a regional council chairpersons' conference in Kiryat Anavim, Israel February 26, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2A8F9CFKN0

Intel: Uproar in Israel as Erdogan stars in anti-Netanyahu campaign video

A video comparing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has set off a political storm in Israel.

When will Israeli politicians stop hiding behind masks?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fully aware of the diplomatic and security dangers involved in annexing the Jordan Valley, but these do not deter him from making plenty of empty promises to his voters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters at a Likud party rally as he campaigns ahead of the upcoming elections, in Rishon Lezion near Tel Aviv, Israel February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC273F9ZZ5BG

Netanyahu racing to victory?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s "disaster" campaign was a big failure in the last two elections, so he decided to take a different approach and relay to voters and supporters that victory is within reach.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks to the U.S. Ambassador David Friedman during his visit to Ariel settlement in the West Bank, February 24, 2020. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS - RC287F98LHX4

How Netanyahu is burying the two-state solution

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ever had the common sense to leave room for a future agreement with the Palestinians, he buried it recently with his decision to build new housing units in Jewish east and south Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Why Hamas opted out of Israel-Gaza escalation — again

Hamas stayed out of the recent confrontation between Israel and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, raising many questions.

PA plans to bypass Israel by issuing construction permits, rebuilding demolished homes

Palestinian Minister of Local Government Majdi al-Saleh has recently announced he will be issuing permits that allow Palestinians to build houses in Area C of the West Bank, ignoring the need for Israeli approvals.

Another push to make Qalandia Airport a Jewish settlement

The Netanyahu caretaker government has announced its intentions to build 11,000 housing units at the site of the former Qalandia Airport in East Jerusalem.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past a Likud election campaign poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2V7F9VCDA1

And if Netanyahu scores a landslide victory?

According to his rivals, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a plan in the case that he wins the elections: He will empty the law enforcement system of all its powers.

Israeli youth demonstrate as they call on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare sovereignty over Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank, in Jerusalem February 13, 2020. The Hebrew writing reading, "Sovereignty Now". Picture taken February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2R7F9731YP

Young Israeli voters hypnotized by Netanyahu’s narrative

From an early age in school, future Israeli voters are inculcated with the narrative pushed by Benjamin Netanyahu, resulting in a conservative young generation with intolerant tendencies.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to a tent during his visit to the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, Israel, for discussion on the coronavirus, February 19, 2020. Heidi Levine/Poolvia REUTERS - RC2N3F92AZM9

Intel: Coronavirus fears soar in Israel a week ahead of elections

Exactly one week before upcoming legislative elections set for March 2, there are fears in Israel that the coronavirus scare could disrupt voting.

(Left to Right) Israeli minister of Education Naftali Bennett and Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and Chairman of Yad Vashem, participating in the March of the Living.
On Monday, April 24, 2017, in Oswiecim, Poland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Netanyahu’s defense minister gets him into trouble

Another haphazard decision by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett reshuffled the deck for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and led to an escalation of tensions in the south.

Ultra-Orthodox shifting stance on children learning math, English

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset member Moshe Gafni surprised everyone recently by announcing that ultra-Orthodox schools will be established where mathematics and English will be taught.