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Israel

September 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 3:46 pm

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Serbia opens factory to assemble Israeli-made drones: What to know

Serbian President Vucic said the factory will put together “state-of-the-art” Israeli-designed drones and employ around 100 workers.

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

The move will mark the first time Morocco and Israel have exchanged ambassadors.

Latest News

Culture

Israeli show ‘Fauda’ tops Netflix in Lebanon, hits top 10 across Arab states

ISRAEL-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-MASS-MEDIA-D (L to R) Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-creators of the hit Israeli TV show "Fauda", attend a demonstration against the Israeli government's plans to shut-down public broadcaster KAN, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 25, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

Exclusive

Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Jerusalem's political orphans

Israeli officials are making unilateral decisions about the fate and future of Palestinians living in East Jerusalem.

People walk on the beach as a container ship crosses the Gulf of Suez towards the Red Sea before entering the Suez Canal, in El Ain El Sokhna in Suez, east of Cairo, Egypt April 24, 2017. Picture taken April 24, 2017. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh - RC1E42014B40

Israel seeks to revive long abandoned railway to Gulf

Israel is currently discussing a project to reopen the old Hejaz railway to connect it with Saudi Arabia, though many Egyptians are concerned about its impact on trade through the Suez Canal.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (bottom) delivers a speech to parliament before presenting the proposed annual budget in Tehran on December 7, 2014. Iran's parliament has adopted a law on December 4, to tax religious foundations and military-linked companies, a first for the Islamic republic that could generate hundreds of millions of dollars in revenues, media reported. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Rouhani on defense after attack on hard-line 'fraudulent institutions'

Reformists sidelined in Iran's street protests; reactions in Iraq and Turkey; Iran rebuilds ties with Hamas via Hezbollah.

Israeli centrist leader at war with UNRWA

Contrary to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid wholeheartedly embraced the threats by the Trump administration to cut UNRWA financing, which has the potential to create a humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip.

Will Fatah launch 'intifada of independence'?

Palestinians warn that absent a diplomatic route toward Palestinian statehood, Fatah might launch in 2018 an intifada of independence.

How Ahed Tamimi became an icon to Palestinians

With her indictment in Israeli court last month, 16-year-old Palestinian Ahed Tamimi has reached hero status among Palestinians for her confrontations with Israeli soldiers.

Israeli soldiers are seen at the Israeli side of the Israel Gaza border as Palestinians protest on Gaza side, December 15, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC17C07ADB10

Has Israel’s defense minister changed approach on Hamas?

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman estimates that provoking Hamas and generating a military confrontation with the group does not serve Israel’s security interest.

Culture Alert: Art mingles with diplomacy, feminism and sport

The Middle East's cultural scene at the start of 2018 is almost as lively as its political landscape, as art flirts with feminism, diplomacy and sport.

Israel caught between Trump and Gaza suffering

Israel recognizes UNRWA’s role in preventing starvation in Gaza, so it cannot openly endorse the Trump administration's apparent desire to cut aid to the organization.

Israeli soldiers run during clashes with Palestinians at a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 20, 2017. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RC1EB70CAD30

Trump's Jerusalem decision opens Israeli expansionism floodgates

The Israeli ruling Likud Party has voted on a decision to annex the settlements in the West Bank to Israel, raising the anger of Palestinians who threatened to take the matter to international courts.

Netanyahu's coalition goes to war — with itself

Recent proposed legislation has fractured the governing coalition, forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to roll up his sleeves to keep it from falling apart.

Netanyahu, Abbas take off diplomatic masks

While Likud ministers freely discuss annexation of parts of the West Bank, the Palestinians are preparing to request UN recognition of Palestine as a state under foreign occupation.