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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:00 pm

28°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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem, September 18, 2016. REUTERS/Dan Balilty/Pool - RTSO8IN

Could Israel have gotten more than $38 billion in security aid?

Responding to criticism by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak over the size of the US security aid secured by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the latter argued that Barak is not up-to-date on the facts.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval office of the White House in Washington November 9, 2015. The two leaders meet here today for the first time since the Israeli leader lost his battle against the Iran nuclear deal, with Washington seeking his re-commitment to a two-state solution with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTS66FF

Netanyahu-Obama meeting a show for home audiences

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will use his meeting with US President Barack Obama to drum up support at home, and Obama will have to watch his every move as the Republicans look to use any mistake against his candidate, Hillary Clinton.

Israeli Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara (C) attends a pro-Palestinian symposium in Sanaa May 16, 2007. Bishara resigned from the Israeli Knesset last April and said he would stay abroad for an unspecified time. REUTERS/Khaled Abdullah (YEMEN) - RTR1PQME

What’s really behind police raids on Israeli-Arab party?

The Israeli Police are investigating Balad, an Israeli Arab party, for allegedly receiving illegal donations from Arab states.

A man sits on an old tank as he watches fighting taking place in Syria as seen from the Israeli side of the border fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 11, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSN7X9

How will Israel respond to Assad’s warning?

The missiles fired at Israeli fighter jets this week indicate that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad refuses to be held accountable for Syrian rebels’ stray mortar fire at Israel.

BERLIN, GERMANY - APRIL 19: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks to the media with German Chancellor Angela Merkel (not pictured) following talks at the Chancellery on April 19, 2016 in Berlin, Germany. Abbas is meeting with Merkel as well as other European leaders as well as Vladimir Putin of Russia in an effort to gain support for the Mideast peace process. Abbas is next scheduled to travel to New York to attend peace talks at the United Nations. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)

Palestinians, Israelis harden positions ahead of UN summit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to shift from his traditional pragmatism and present hard-line positions in his speech at the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting.

Why Israelis don't care about electricity agreement with PA

Israeli Finance Minister Moshe Kahlon was disappointed when Israelis showed little interest in and even expressed disapproval for the groundbreaking electricity agreement signed between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres delivers a statement to the media as he is discharged from a hospital near Tel Aviv, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo - RTSNKPV

Israeli-Arab MK sticks by statements bashing ailing Peres

Talking to Al-Monitor, Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas explains why he slammed former President Shimon Peres, who is hospitalized and in critical condition.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke - RTX2AOLJ

Why Palestinians aren't holding their breath for Moscow meeting

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Russia despite the latter’s rejection of the Palestinian preconditions.

Israeli policemen clash with Jewish settlers at a burning barricade in the unauthorized outpost of Amona, close to the West Bank Jewish settlement of Ofra, February 1, 2006. Israeli riot police clashed on Wednesday with several thousand settlers battling to block partial demolition of an unauthorised West Bank outpost in scenes reminiscent of Israel's Gaza pullout. REUTERS/Oleg Popov - RTR19FRI

Even pro-settlement Israeli parties give up fighting for Amona settlers

Politicians on the Israeli right appear to see the writing on the Supreme Court wall and have abandoned the battle over dismantling the West Bank outpost of Amona.

Gideon Remez, one of the Israeli researchers who said on Thursday that Soviet-era documents showed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas worked in the 1980s for the KGB, the now-defunct Russian intelligence agency, holds up a page he received after some documents smuggled out of Russia by a former KGB archivist were released for public research two years ago, with a line in Russian reading, " "Krotov", which is the derived from the Russian word for "mole" and, "Abbas, Mahmoud, born 1935 in Palestine, mem

What's behind Israeli report claiming Abbas was KGB spy?

Israeli researchers have accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of having been a KGB agent, to wide criticism from Palestinians who see the claim as part of an Israeli smear campaign to get rid of Abbas.

Pictures of Palestinian Hamas militants held in Israeli jails are seen through a fence during a rally marking Palestinian Prisoner Day, in Gaza City April 17, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2AAQR

Israel dangles Gazan operatives, but Hamas won't negotiate

Despite multiple offers by Israel, Hamas refuses to make a deal for the release of three Israelis before Israel releases 50 prisoners it recaptured in 2014.

Israel's President Shimon Peres speaks to the media during a news conference in the southern town of Sderot July 6, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen/File Photo TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSNKPZ

Shimon Peres, the last Israeli giant

The era of former president Shimon Peres, the last Israeli who was “there” — when Israel was established — is coming to its end.