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Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:05 am

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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

Palestinian Football Association President Jibril Al Rajoub gestures during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 5, 2015. Palestine will host this month's home World Cup qualifiers against Saudi Arabia and Malaysia in Jordan, soccer's governing body FIFA said on Thursday. FIFA announced on Wednesday that Palestine could no longer stage the matches at their 12,000-capacity Faisal Al-Husseini stadium on the Israeli-occupied West Bank for security reasons. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX

Will new Fatah leaders' fluency in Hebrew make a difference?

The Palestinian leaders who were elected for Fatah's Central Committee speak Hebrew fluently, which some analysts say will help break the language barrier during talks with Israelis.

Israeli soldiers take position during a protest against Jewish settlements in Jordan Valley near the West Bank city of Jericho November 17, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2U5RA

Israel's controversial settlement bill provokes Palestinian blitz

Palestinians believe that the Israeli regularization bill, designed to authorize settlements built on Palestinian lands, serves as a "smoking gun," proving that Israel is not interested in negotiations.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Benny Begin, the son of the late Prime Minister Menahem Begin and a member of Netanyahu's cabinet, arrive to the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem October 31, 2010. Netanyahu will travel to New Orleans early in November for an annual U.S. Jewish conference, but is unlikely to meet President Barack Obama, who will be in Asia. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXU1NU

Is this the end of the liberal Likud?

The punishment of Benny Begin for voting against the settlement Regularization bill shows how extremist the Likud Party has become.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry addresses a news conference during a NATO foreign ministers meeting at the Alliance headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, December 6, 2016. REUTERS/Francois Lenoir - RTSUY19

Can Kerry convince Obama on final MidEast move?

US Secretary of State John Kerry, who labored relentlessly to promote the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, wants President Barack Obama to support a UN resolution against the settlements before leaving office.

A picture taken on October 21, 2014 in the West Bank village of Zayem near Jerusalem, shows the Israel's controversial separation barrier with the Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim in the background. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Israel expand settlement to Jerusalem border?

Israeli plans to expand the Ma’ale Adumim settlement and achieve territorial continuity all the way to Jerusalem might spark international uproar.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Jerusalem July 10, 2016 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSH5M1

Will Trump bring Egypt, Israel closer?

Observers wait to see what role, if any, the Trump administration might play in a rapprochement between Israel and Egypt.

Israeli soldiers of the Ultra-Orthodox brigade take part in a swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem May 26, 2013, after they have completed their basic training in the Israel Defense Forces. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: MILITARY RELIGION) - RTX1021M

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers in Israel rejected by their own

Ultra-Orthodox soldiers whose families and communities rejected them for enlisting are finding solace in a new organization of Israelis who have pledged to support them.

Saudi-Egypt crisis leaves Israel concerned

Two arms deals recently inked by Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi has Israel baffled and worried.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) attends a preliminary vote on a bill at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem November 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2TXXZ

Why Netanyahu blames the left

With his wife being questioned by the police, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu multiplies his attacks against the media and the left, blaming them for persecuting his family.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man looks out from a condensation-covered window of a bus in Jerusalem December 11, 2013. High winds and heavy rain showers poured across Israel on Wednesday with local media reporting by mid-morning 45 mm of rain in a central town near Tel Aviv, and snow had covered Mount Hermon near Israel's border with Syria. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX16DZI

Why Israel’s Beersheba buses dropped Arabic announcements

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu pointing a finger at Israeli Arabs for wildfires, it's no wonder that the city of Beersheba removed announcements in Arabic from its public buses.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends a weekly cabinet meeting in Haifa, Israel November 27, 2016. REUTERS//Dan Balilty/Pool - RTSTI2W

Will Netanyahu’s collective blame sink Israel?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's collective blame strategy will punish many Israeli Arabs who had no connection to the wildfires and will only aggravate tensions between Jews and Arabs.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Education Minister Naftali Bennett with pupils during a visit at the "Tamra HaEmek" elementary school on the first day of the school year, in the Arab Israeli town of Tamra, Israel September 1, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2NR9F

Israeli education minister declares math 'state of emergency'

The TIMSS math results for 2015 show Israel dropping nine places, but does this necessarily mean that Israeli students are doing poorly in math?