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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 17, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:16 pm

34°C

talks

Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

The Pentagon will host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for a round of separate security talks later this month.

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

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."

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

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

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

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 Education Minister Naftali Bennett (R) and Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked, from the Jewish Home party, deliver statements in Tel Aviv, Israel December 29, 2018. REUTERS/Corinna Kern - RC15EB02E090

Israeli right launches full-scale assault on High Court

The decision by the Supreme Court to bar far-right activist Michael Ben Ari from running for the Knesset generated great rage within the Israeli right-wing camp.

Palestinians pass near the destroyed Hamas site following Israeli air strikes, in Gaza City March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC1DEBFDC9E0

Last week’s rocket fire on Tel Aviv reflects schism within Hamas

To avoid escalation ahead of the April elections and the Eurovision contest, Israel accepted Hamas’ explanation over the rocket fire on Tel Aviv last week.

Why is Ukraine detaining tourists from Israel?

In an attempt to fight migrant labor and sex trafficking, Israel is preventing the entry of thousands of Ukrainian citizens every year.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem March 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC15B41F2360

Netanyahu’s scare tactics sideline economic failures

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s demagogic discourse on security is a distraction from the weakening Israeli economy, congestion on dangerous roads and a declining health care system.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during a news conference with Iraq's President Barham Salih (not pictured) at Salam Palace in Baghdad, Iraq March 11, 2019. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani - RC1E8AE10620

Rouhani’s Iraq visit raises important questions for Israel

Does Israel see Rouhani's visit to Iraq as strengthening his hand in Iran? One answer could be that while Rouhani was in Baghdad, hard-liner Ebrahim Raisi was elected deputy chief of the Assembly of Experts.

Part of a campaign poster of Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and the head of a new political party, Israel Resilience, is seen in Jerusalem, January 29, 2019 REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC14E2E1BA00

How Iran interferes in Israel’s election campaign

The Israeli press published a report last week claiming that the cell phone of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz was hacked by Iran. Now it seems that former Prime Minister Ehud Barak’s cell phone was also targeted by Iranian intelligence.

U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pauses as he speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2019. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC1A4CD7AAF0

Pompeo to push anti-Iran message in trip to Kuwait, Israel, Lebanon

In his trip to Israel and Lebanon this week, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will emphasize the threat from Iran and Iranian-backed proxies.

(FILES) File picture of British Prime Minister Tony Blair (R), US Senator George Mitchell (C) and Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern (L) smiling on April 10, 1998, after they signed an historic agreement for peace in Northern Ireland, ending a 30-year conflict. The Good Friday Agreement signed 10 years ago, was approved by a referendum. The agreement was promoted to the nationalist community as delivering civil rights, inclusive government, recognition of their Irishness, and a peaceful route to Irish reuni

Brexit teaches Israel, Palestinians lesson on interim agreements

With Brexit complicating the 1998 Northern Ireland Good Friday agreement, Israel and the Palestinians must beware of holding onto an interim agreement and not reaching a final one.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JANUARY 22: (ISRAEL OUT) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu watches his son Yair Netanyahu cast his ballot with by wife Sara Netanyahu at a polling station on election day on January 22, 2013 in Jerusalem, Israel. Israel's general election voting has begun today as polls show Netanyahu is expected to return to office with a narrow majority. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

How dominant is Netanyahu’s son in his father’s campaign?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s son Yair seems to be extremely involved in his father’s election campaign, stirring it in his aggressive and insulting style.

Benny Gantz, head of Blue and White party, leans forward as his party candidate Gabi Ashkenazy stands nearby during a visit to Kibbutz Kfar Aza, outside the northern Gaza Strip, in southern Israel March 13, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1FA883F070

Israel's Blue and White revamps campaign as numbers drop

The Blue and White Party is marketed to the public as a kind of joint leadership of the left and right, but it undermines Benny Gantz' image as the one candidate strong enough to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Gaza rockets shake Tel Aviv, Netanyahu

It seems that the Hamas leadership did not order rocket fire on Tel Aviv, but this does not diminish the embarrassment and stress caused to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, right before the elections.

Netanyahu quotes radical rabbi's racist invective

Embattled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has upped his incitement against Israel’s Arab citizens, echoing a heinous argument propounded by radical Rabbi Meir Kahane.