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Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:18 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 fishermen ride their boats as they return from fishing at the seaport of Gaza City early morning September 26, 2016. Picture taken September 26, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTSPO9A

Gaza fishermen not permitted beyond 6-mile zone any time soon

As Israel keeps delaying the decision to allow Gazan fishermen to go further into the sea, they are left with a small nautical area where fish are scarce.

The dome and minarets of a new mosque are seen in the Israeli-Arab village of Abu Ghosh, near Jerusalem November 22, 2013. In a Holy Land rich with religious sites, the new Abu Ghosh mosque is rare - as is the hilly village from which it rises. Bankrolled largely by Chechnya and named after its former leader Akhmad Kadyrov, who was slain by Islamist militants in 2004, the glimmering shrine tells of this small Israeli Arab community's historical ties to the restive Russian province. Picture taken November 22

Israel moves forward with banning calls to prayer

A proposed Israeli law would ban the use of loudspeakers to amplify calls to prayer in mosques in Jerusalem and within the Green Line.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini speak to media following their meeting in Jerusalem, on May 20, 2015. AFP PHOTO / POOL / DAN BALILTY (Photo credit should read DAN BALILTY/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Trump's win prompt EU to adopt independent Mideast policy?

Given US President-elect Donald Trump's past declarations regarding the two-state solution, the European Union is now exploring a more independent regional policy as a basis for international consensus.

Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem February 23, 2015. Barkat and his security guard wrestled a Palestinian attacker to the ground near city hall on Sunday after an ultra-Orthodox Jew was stabbed with a knife at a busy intersection. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR4QSB2

Jerusalem mayor plays with fire in threat to Palestinian homes

The mayor of Jerusalem has threatened to demolish Palestinian homes in East Jerusalem if the Amona settlement is evacuated.

Israeli Druze MP from the Likud party, Ayub Kara, gestures during an interview in Jerusalem on February 21, 2005. Israeli prime minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu denies he had asked a MP from his hawkish Likud party to meet a Syrian figure, his spokeswoman said on March 11, 2009. "We flatly deny Ayub Kara was sent on our behalf or that he transmitted a message from Netanyahu," Dina Libster told AFP. Ayub Kara, a Druze minority MP, said on March 10 he had met an "important Syrian Allawite leader" who e

The trouble with Israel's deputy minister

Israeli security officials accuse Deputy Minister Ayoob Kara of revealing an affair under gag order, thus endangering lives.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon arrives to visit a Qatari-funded rehabilitation and artificial limbs hospital in the northern Gaza Strip June 28, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2IMA5

Half a million Palestinian children send letters to Ban Ki-moon

Half a million Palestinians wrote letters to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon as part of a campaign to shed light on Israel’s detention of Palestinian children.

Israel's new man in Ankara could be in for bumpy ride

The choice of prominent diplomat Eitan Naeh as Israel’s ambassador to Turkey is a clear sign of the importance his government places on fixing the relationship, but though he's being magnanimously received in Turkey, he'll have his hands full clearing the path to normalization.

Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel speaks to reporters at a ceremony announcing the resumption of construction of an Israeli neighbourhood in East Jerusalem August 11, 2013. Israel moved forward on Sunday with plans to build nearly 1,200 new homes for Jewish settlers holding fast to a defiant settlement policy just days before its expected release of Palestinian prisoners. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12HFR

Israeli minister's gift gaffe leads to awkward standoff with Russians

When Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev visited Israel, Agriculture Minister Uri Ariel impulsively offered him the expensive drone he was admiring in an incident that amused but also concerned Israelis.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting for the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, March 19, 2015 file photo REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/File photo - RTSR1TC

Is Abbas persecuting supporters of his rival?

Ahead of the Fatah conference, activists are claiming that President Mahmoud Abbas persecutes all those suspected of supporting his exiled rival, Mohammed Dahlan.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 13, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2TEZ9

Netanyahu prefers an uninvolved Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes that President-elect Donald Trump won’t invest his energies in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A Palestinian boy herds sheep in front of the ruins of Yasser Arafat International Airport, which was bombed by Israel in the past, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 5, 2016. Nabil Shurafa's travel agency in Gaza was once packed with clients booking flights to London, Paris, New York or cities across the Arab world. These days, he's lucky if anyone comes in, as so few people can get out. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX25KVS

Liberman's airport comment not so ridiculous, says Gaza activist

Though a UN envoy dismissed Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman's recent claim that Israel would be the "first to invest" in a Gaza airport as a "distraction," coverage of the minister’s remarks has drawn attention to a proposed UN-administered facility approved by both Hamas and the Palestinian president.

U.S. President-elect Donald Trump (L) meets with Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-WI) on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts - TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2T38N

Why Israel's right has its doubts about Trump

The euphoria that swept the Israeli right following Donald Trump’s electoral victory is swiftly fading as the world begins the tense wait to learn whether his campaign promises will become realities.