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Israel

May 15, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:41 am

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Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

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

Latest News

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

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.

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

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 Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 8, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2ZQD929P8U

Netanyahu hangs on, drags Israel toward third election

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on a rotation agreement and Blue and White leader Benny Gantz' rejection of an indicted partner have Israel headed for a third election.

Pressure mounts against importing Israeli gas to Jordan

While Jordan is expected to start receiving natural gas from Israel in a matter of weeks, demands that the government cancel the deal are growing.

Will political crises lead to a Hamas-Israel prisoner swap?

A desire by Hamas to improve it's standing among Palestinians and the current political predicament of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might make a prisoner swap more inevitable in the near term.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem December 8, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2ZQD9CG4UT

Will Israel's right-wing camp lose its leader soon?

The right-wing camp, including the ultra-Orthodox, national-religious and settlers, have considered Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as its leader for so long that it is now finding itself in a crisis.

Will Israel-Hamas arrangement divorce Gaza from West Bank?

According to recent statements by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi, Israel and Hamas are close to reaching a long-term agreement, including over control of Gaza.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the swearing-in ceremony of the 22nd Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC13F4927B00

Decision of third elections doesn’t reflect instability in Israel

The insistence of the Blue and White party not to form a government with an indicted prime minister and the ensuing decision to hold third elections, actually testify to the stability of Israel's governing institutions.

Israeli legislator Orly Levy-Abeksis (L) campaigns at a shopping mall in the town of Beit Shemesh near Jerusalem February 22, 2015. Whether on the left, in the centre or on the right of the spectrum, women are filling senior positions in Israel's major parties, influencing the style, tone and manner of politics, even if it remains a tough-talking game. One of the most prominent is Levy-Abeksis, number two on the list for Yisrael Beitenu, a far-right nationalist party that is expected to win 5 or 6 seats in

What happened to Israel's once-rising political star?

Gesher leader Orly Levy-Abekasis promised Israeli voters a social issues-oriented agenda, but she has been little seen or heard since her election to the Knesset in September.

Islamic Jihad militants attend the funeral of Palestinian Jehad Hararah who was killed at the Israeli-Gaza border fence, in Gaza City March 23, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1B410D6340

Egypt firms up truce positions between Israel, Gaza factions

Cairo brought together leaders of the Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad political bureaus this month to ensure they're all on the same page regarding the truce with Israel.

Jordan digs deep to plant trees in Palestine

A Jordanian campaign called Plant Your Resilience is planting trees to protect West Bank land from confiscation by Israel.

Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Eliot Engel (D-NY) speaks during a media briefing after a House vote approving rules for an impeachment inquiry into U.S. President Trump on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., October 31, 2019. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - RC1D56F1D9A0

Democratic lawmakers reckon with 2020 rhetoric on Israel aid

Presidential candidates who want to place conditions on Israeli military aid have prompted pro-Israel House Democrats to go on the offensive.

Israel's Foreign Ministry, Netanyahu's private candy store

Instead of appointing experienced and professional diplomats to fight Israel’s diplomatic battles, many of them find themselves without any jobs.

Retired Israeli General Benny Gantz, one of the leaders of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) political alliance, visits the Jordan Valley site of Naharayim, also known as Baqura in Jordan, east of the Jordan river and which has been leased to Israel as part of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty, on October 18, 2019. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab party reconsiders support of Gantz over Jordan Valley annexation

Talks about annexing the Jordan Valley raise concerns amid Arab Knesset members that the Blue and White party is veering right.