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Israel

September 27, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:13 am

25°C

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

The absence of a Trump meeting would have been awkward for Netanyahu, who has long portrayed himself to Israeli voters as uniquely close to the US president.

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

Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu waves to delegates leaving before his UN speech

Delegates walk out as Netanyahu touts Iran war, slams Qatar and Turkey at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's statement that the Golan Heights will "remain Syrian territory," while praising US President Donald Trump, whom he did not meet on the trip.

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

Latest News

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

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

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

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks near Israeli army tanks near the border with Gaza July 30, 2014. Israeli fire killed at least 43 Palestinians in the Gaza Strip early on Wednesday as the Jewish state said it targeted Islamist militants at dozens of sites across the coastal enclave, while Egyptian mediators prepared a revised ceasefire proposal. REUTERS/Siegfried Modola (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT RELIGION POLITICS) - RTR40LLQ

Ultra-Orthodox oppose conscription, not the IDF

Despite the wide ultra-Orthodox objection to their conscription into military service, attitudes vary within the sector, ranging from total rejection to support and appreciation for the IDF.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) sits next to President Reuven Rivlin (R) during a Memorial Day ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem April 22, 2015. Israel on Wednesday marks Memorial Day to commemorate its fallen soldiers. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX19SR0

How Bibi uses settlements to block Palestinian state

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that Israel is under a constant existential threat and thus perceives those who believe in peace as naive and unrealistic.

An Israeli soldier cast his ballot on an army base near the southern city of Ofakim March 15, 2015. Israeli soldiers started voting on Sunday in Israel's parliamentary election. Polling stations for the rest of Israel open on Tuesday. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4TEUW

Israel's Gaza-war soul-searching

Those in the Arab world who claim that Israel lost many wars mistakenly perceive the democratic process of auto-criticizing and evaluating misjudgments during the war as admission of defeat.

Bedouin Arab Israeli Defense Force soldiers take part in a tracking drill near Tze'elim in southern Israel June 9, 2014. In addition to hi-tech surveillance and intelligence capabilities, Israel relies on the Bedouin volunteers to secure its border regions against "terrorists, illegal immigrants and smugglers," according to the IDF spokesperson. Traditionally nomadic desert people, the Bedouin, who are Muslim, have passed down tracking skills across generations. Picture taken June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Finbarr O

Bedouin honor IDF service, mourn fallen soldiers

Bedouin youths continue to demonstrate their commitment to Israel by enlisting, despite growing tensions with Jewish society as the demolition of Bedouin homes continues.

Israelis use social media to show solidarity with bereaved families

Social networks have enhanced within Israeli society's expressions of solidarity with bereaved families, but could also create space for those who wish to undermine the hegemony of national bereavement and national remembrance.

Israeli soldiers fire a gun salute during a Memorial Day ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem April 22, 2015. Israel on Wednesday marks Memorial Day to commemorate its fallen soldiers. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX19SDU

Do Israeli national symbols sideline Arab citizens?

Arab Israeli TV host Lucy Aharish will light Israel's Independence Day beacon, a move some see as honoring the spirit of Israel's founding but others consider a fiction or an affront.

Tourists and Israelis walk past Lepejian ceramics shop, which specializes in making traditional hand painted Armenian pottery, on April 17, 2015 at the Armenian Quarter in Jerusalem's Old City. Armenians around the world will mark on April 24, 2015 the centenary of the World War I-era mass killings of their kin by Ottoman Turks in what they insist was a genocide -- a term fiercely rejected by Turkey. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Why is Israel still silent on Armenian genocide?

Israel has not joined the EU Parliament and the pope in officially recognizing the Armenian genocide, partly because of its strategic alliance with Azerbaijan against Iran.

Palestinian women present their identity cards to an Israeli border police officer as they wait to make their way to Jerusalem to attend the first Friday prayer of Ramadan in al-Aqsa mosque, at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah July 4, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR3X1SO

Facebook group shares checkpoint wait in real time

Thousands of Palestinians are using Facebook to share traffic updates to help each other avoid spending hours every day waiting to drive through Israeli checkpoints.

Bar-Lev: Israel needs diplomatic creativity

Ahead of Israel's Memorial Day, Knesset member Omer Bar-Lev explains in an interview with Al-Monitor that the 1973 Yom Kippur War instilled in him the understanding that only a diplomatic solution can bring Israel security and peace.

An Israeli soldier places flags on graves of fallen soldiers during a ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, ahead of Memorial Day April 19, 2015. Israel commemorates its fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, which begins Tuesday night. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTR4XX69

Israelis devastated by each soldier's death

Israelis have accepted to a certain degree the fact that they are in constant war, with civilians often paying the price, but find it difficult to come to terms with soldiers being killed.

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - MAY 15: Palestinians gather to demonstrate on May 15, 2012 in central Ramallah, West Bank. Palestinians mark Israel's establishment in 1948 with "Nakba" or "catastrophe" day on May 15, to remember the thousands of Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the creation of the Jewish state and the subsequent war. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Israelis mark Independence, Nakba Day

While the initiative to jointly mark both Israeli Independence Day and Nakba Day has been maintained for several years now, it remains confined to a small segment of the public, with the Arab sector feeling increasingly alienated by the Jewish population.

Moshe Kahlon (C), head of the new centrist party Kulanu (All of Us), addresses supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv March 18, 2015. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's election on Tuesday after exit polls showed he had erased his center-left rivals' lead with a hard rightward shift that saw him disavow a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state. A new centrist party led by former communications minister Kahlon could be the kingmaker in coalition talks. REUTERS/Stringer

Kahlon to focus on socio-economics, not diplomacy

Having won 10 Knesset seats, Kulanu head Moshe Kahlon plans to focus on social justice issues and will not push the Netanyahu government toward renewing negotiations with the Palestinians.