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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:05 pm

27°C

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

Did Trump’s Jerusalem decision revive support for Palestine?

US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital has put the Palestinian cause back in the forefront after years of neglect in light of other regional crises.

U.S. President Donald Trump displays an executive order after he announced the U.S. would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in Washington, U.S. December 6, 2017. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1C3DD4DEC0

Iran's hard-liners aren't only ones empowered by Trump's Jerusalem move

Trump’s Jerusalem announcement is only the latest in a series of missteps that have empowered various camps in Iran, including that of Rouhani.

Jerusalem, missile defense dominate Putin's quick Turkey visit

During his speed visit to the region, Putin stopped over in Ankara to discuss Trump's Jerusalem move with Erdogan as well as moving forward with the sale of the S-400 missile defense system to Turkey.

Islamic Jihad pushes Hamas into corner

After Trump’s Jerusalem declaration Hamas found itself in a Catch-22: While it wants to avoid clashes with Israel, it also does not want the public to view it as hindering armed action in response.

A picture taken on November 16, 2017, shows an Israeli soldier driving a tank at an army position overlooking southern Lebanon in the northern Israeli town of Metula, along Israel's border with Lebanon. / AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Israeli women take over IDF tanks

The religious Zionist movement objects to the Israeli army's decision to train female soldiers as tank crews.

Netanyahu prepares for day after police indictment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already prepared his public strategy in case the police recommend his indictment for accepting bribes.

Iran's envoy in Jordan: Support for Hezbollah maintains Arab security

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Ambassador to Jordan Mojtaba Ferdosipour discusses regional developments, including accusations against Iran of supporting terrorism in the Arab world.

A line of hikers walk towards a semi-permanent, plastic-wrapped structure in a hillside, Bedouin nomad settlement , near Nachal (or Nahal Og), in the Judean Desert, West Bank, Israel, February 13, 2016. . (Photo by Dan Porges/Getty Images)

Israel continues to expand in West Bank through new tourist route

The Israeli government approved the construction of a new tourist route that would pass through the West Bank to the Syrian Golan Heights, raising fears among Palestinians about Israel’s attempts to maintain a permanent presence in occupied territories.

A demonstrator holds up a sign at a protest against U.S. President Donald Trump's Jerusalem declaration, that reads "From the journalists to Sisi: Jerusalem is Arab" in front of the Syndicate of Journalists in Cairo, Egypt December 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany - RC1FEABD05A0

Sisi performs balancing act in wake of Trump's Jerusalem move

Following President Donald Trump’s announcement that the United States would recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has been careful to strike a delicate balance between allowing public condemnation of Trump's decision and not letting protests get out of hand.

Can Europe-Netanyahu gap be bridged?

Visiting Paris and Brussels, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was confronted with objections to President Donald Trump's Jerusalem proclamation, but he also heard that Europe won't initiate a peace plan of its own.

Will Erdogan’s Jerusalem campaign succeed?

Erdogan’s supporters are among those who fear his vociferous campaign against the United States and Israel will leave him disappointed and regionally isolated.

Liberman intensifies campaign against Israeli Arabs

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman has renewed his struggle against religious coercion and Israeli Arabs as part of a campaign to regain relevancy and strengthen his political standing.