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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:35 am

25°C

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

No meeting has been announced between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York.

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

Gargash

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

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

Latest News

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

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.

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

Palestinians walk on a road during a power cut in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip January 11, 2017. Picture taken January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2YNDC

Will Gaza's electricity crisis escalate Hamas-Israel tension?

Gaza residents are furious at Hamas for pouring funds into the tunnel enterprise while they are left without electricity, and Israel is wary of attacks as distraction from their mass demonstrations.

Israeli Knesset member Basel Ghattas sits at the Magistrates Court as police suspect Ghattas of smuggling mobile telephones into an Israeli jail for Palestinian convicts imprisoned for security offences against the state, in Rishon Lezion, Israel December 23, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX2W8VS

Will Arab Knesset member be impeached?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to transform the issue of impeaching Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas into a question of patriotism, thus forcing opposition members to support such a move.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSVKVW

How Netanyahu eroded public trust in free press

Revelations of links between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and different media tycoons have eroded Israeli citizens’ trust in democracy and free press.

People dine at a coffee shop as an image of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a monitor in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSCC

For Israel, more unknowns than knowns with Trump

The Israeli right and defense establishment have found it hard to determine with any certainty what direction US President-elect Donald Trump will take on policy.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray in the Tomb of Joshua Ben Nun in the West Bank Arab village of Kifl Hares near the Jewish settlement of Ariel December 17, 2010. The Israeli army late on Thursday night allowed hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews to visit the Tombs of biblical figures, Joshua Ben Nun and Caleb Ben Yefuneh, on what is considered by many religious Jews as the biblical date of the anniversary of their death. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION) - RTXVTBD

Why Israeli ultra-Orthodox secretly visit West Bank tomb

More ultra-Orthodox Israelis are refusing to coordinate their visits to the Tomb of Joshua, in the West Bank Palestinian village of Kifl Hares, in what the Israel Defense Forces considers an onerous security risk.

Israeli Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett (L) greets former Israeli foreign minister and ultra-nationalist MP Avigdor Lieberman during a session of the Israeli parliament in which MPs are debating whether to approve Lieberman's appointment as defence minister, on May 30, 2016 in Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet voted to expand his coalition and appoint hardliner Avigdor Lieberman as defence minister, bringing weeks of political intrigue -- and outrage -- towards a close.

How Liberman is positioning himself to lead Israeli right

Avigdor Liberman's strategy to take leadership of the Israeli right wing was on display at a recent Yisrael Beitenu meeting.

How Palestinian left hopes to renew political system

In an interview, Jamil Mezher, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's' political bureau, told Al-Monitor that the division between Fatah and Hamas is preventing the renewal of the political system in Palestine.

Israeli Arabs hold posters to protest against the demolishing of their houses by Israeli bulldozers in the northern Israeli city of Qalansuwa, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2YJ68

Arab mayors consider strike as Israel razes houses

Israel's demolition of 11 homes in an Arab village has prompted its mayor to resign in only the first wave of outraged responses from the Arab-Israeli leadership, which has scheduled an emergency rally and is debating a mass resignation.

Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands next to him during a visit to an army base in the West Bank settlement of Beit El near Ramallah January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2YAG3

Why Israel will not halt security coordination with PA

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government threatened to cut ties with the Palestinian Authority following the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, the move seems unlikely as both parties benefit from security coordination.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivers remarks during the Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RTX2YCKQ

How new UN secretary-general plans to advance two-state process

The new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres greatly believes in collective diplomacy, and intends to imply this concept to advancing a two-state process.

Head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub (2nd R) walks with anti-apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwale (R) past Israel's controversial barrier as they arrive for a news conference in the West Bank town of Al-Ram, near Jerusalem, May 7, 2015. Rajoub reinforced his call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA on Thursday, saying the Israeli Football Association was part of an "apartheid, racist government" that was damaging Palestinian soccer. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX1BZBF

Why FIFA paid close attention to UN anti-settlement resolution

The dispute within FIFA over the status of the West Bank received a major breakthrough with UN Security Council Resolution 2334. But will Israel heed the decision?

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett, speaks during a briefing to members of the foreign press association, in Jerusalem November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2TLQB

Israel's education minister takes on role of political censor

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett is promoting a law barring representatives of any anti-occupation organizations from entering high schools, effectively censoring students from information that contradicts the state's narrative.