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September 23, 2026

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Leader of the Arab Israeli party Ra'am (United Arab List) Mansour Abbas (R) and Israeli politician Yoav Segalovitz (L) attend a news conference in Nazareth on August 31, 2026. Abbas announced that Segalovitz, an Israeli Jew, will join his party for the upcoming Israeli elections. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

Israel election committee bars two Arab lists from upcoming vote: What to know

Israel's Central Elections Committee barred the Arab-majority Raam party, the Arab joint list party and two Arab politicians from participating in the Oct. 27 elections.

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

Latest News

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

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)

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

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)

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

Ultra-Orthodox Jews dance outside a synagogue during a wedding in Jerusalem February 27, 2007. The Gur Hasidism dynasty celebrated their Rabbi's grandson's wedding on February 27. REUTERS/Yonathan Weitzman (JERUSALEM) - RTR1MW8Q

Secret sex life of the ultra-Orthodox has Israelis reading

The story of Esti Weinsten, who fled the very strict Gur Hasidic sect and later committed suicide, has shaken and enthralled both secular and Orthodox Israelis.

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) enters to a media conference together with Israel's new Defence Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, following Lieberman's swearing-in ceremony at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem May 30, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2EVOW

Will Netanyahu dare to engage in regional settlement?

According to a New Wave Institute poll, most Israelis support the regional guidelines proposed by the Israeli Initiative group — namely the two-state solution, normalization of economic ties with Arab states and international security guarantees.

An Israeli border policeman stands guard during the demolition of a Palestinian house under the order of the Israeli army, in the West Bank town of Dura, south of Hebron January 20, 2016. The owners of the house said they were informed by the Israeli army that the demolition was carried out because they did not have an Israeli-issued construction permit. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTX236ZL

UN report: West Bank house demolitions up 25%

The number of Palestinian homes demolished by Israel has sharply increased this year, leading experts to question Israel's agenda.

Musician Carlos Santana (L) performs during a concert at the Starlite Festival in Marbella, southern Spain, July 24, 2016. REUTERS/Jon Nazca - RTSJFY7

How Carlos Santana is helping to promote coexistence in Israel

Carlos Santana will transfer part of his Tel Aviv concert benefits to the Hand in Hand network of Jewish-Arab joint schools in Israel.

Founder and managing partner of Jerusalem Venture Partners (JVP) Erel Margalit poses for a photo during an interview with Reuters in Jerusalem January 30, 2012. Headquartered in Jerusalem, JVP, a venture capital firm focused on digital media technologies, has over $900 million under management and is invested in 30 companies. Picture taken January 30, 2012. To match Interview JERUSALEMVENTURE/ REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: BUSINESS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENTERTAINMENT) - RTR2XHQ9

Millionaire MK's plan: Partners in business will be partners for peace

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset member Erel Margalit argues that Israel should focus on joint regional economic ventures to build confidence, and from there advance to negotiating with the Palestinians.

U.S. President Barack Obama holds a news conference at the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, U.S. August 4, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSL3XJ

Was Israel's Iran deal-Nazi agreement comparison step too far?

Amid an effort to quickly conclude a US military aid deal, the Israeli Defense Ministry issued a statement comparing US President Barack Obama to Neville Chamberlin and the Iranian deal to the Munich Agreement.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew shouts at a policeman during a protest against the opening of a road on the Sabbath, near a religious neighborhood in Jerusalem July 30, 2011. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2PGWG

Why Israel's ultra-Orthodox are not happy with proposed Sabbath law

This time, secular Israelis are pushing for a Sabbath-observance law while the ultra-Orthodox resist, claiming the legislation falls short of preserving the day's character.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY ADEL ZAANOUN A Hamas police officer shows confiscated drugs, alcohol and medication at a police station in the northern Gaza Strip town of Jabalia on November 4, 2009. Drug use was once rare in Gaza's conservative society, but addiction experts say prescription painkillers and marijuana have become more common since Israel and Egypt sealed off the territory to all but basic goods in the wake of the Islamist Hamas movement's bloody takeover in June 2007. AFP PHOTO/MOHAMMED ABED (Phot

Is Gaza facing an opioid epidemic?

The impossible circumstances of day-to-day life in the Gaza Strip has led to a Tramadol epidemic that Hamas is struggling to address.

Palestinian fighters from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, are seen inside an underground tunnel in Gaza August 18, 2014. A rare tour that Hamas granted to a Reuters reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be an attempt to dispute Israel's claim that it had demolished all of the Islamist group's border infiltration tunnels in the Gaza war. Picture taken August 18, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR42YKK

Has Hamas lost its monopoly on tunnel business in Gaza?

Islamic Jihad announced July 10 the death of one of its members after a tunnel collapsed, which signals that Hamas is no longer the only movement that makes use of tunnels in the Gaza Strip.

Why one Israeli Knesset member is calling out colleagues on racism

In an Al-Monitor interview, former Welfare Minister Meir Cohen, of Mizrahi origin, challenged the acceptance of racist practices among his Knesset colleagues.

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 - RTS66BC

Will Obama set Mideast guidelines for next president?

US sources claim that President Barack Obama is considering a presidential speech to set guiding principles on a two-state solution for the next administration.

Former settler leader, Dani Dayan, who was announced as the consul-general in New York on Monday, participates in a conference on fighting the anti-Israel boycott in Jerusalem, March 28, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo - RTX2DU3T

Why did Netanyahu appoint a settler as top NY diplomat?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has expressed his commitment to the two-state solution in May, but has nevertheless appointed settler leader Dani Dayan as consul general in the United States.