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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:28 am

26°C

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Analysts say the expected vote for recognition is not morally motivated, but intended to spite the Turkish leader.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C, back) looks on as (L/R, front row) Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh sign a framework agreement at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2026. Lebanon, Israel and the United States on Friday signed a trilateral framework agreement aimed at paving the way for a peace deal between the two long-time Middle East adversaries. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP

US brokers deal for limited Israeli withdrawal in south Lebanon

The deal establishes a US-facilitated military coordination group to oversee the creation of two initial pilot zones in southern Lebanon.

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Iran vows to respond to Israeli military using neighboring airspace: What to know

Iran’s military headquarters said it “considers responding to these dangerous actions as its right” after alleging that Israeli jets have been operating in the airspace of neighboring countries near Iran.

Vance

Analysis

Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha

The US-Iran decision to launch direct talks between the IRGC and CENTCOM in Qatar deepens the rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while heightening Israeli fears that Washington is shifting toward Doha and Tehran.

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

Latest News

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Explainer

Pro-Palestine Democrats win in NYC elections: What it means

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

Smoke rises as a house is blown up during a military operation by Egyptian security forces in the Egyptian city of Rafah, near the border with southern Gaza Strip November 6, 2014. At Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, families are emptying their homes - lugging mattresses and furniture onto waiting vans as soldiers look on from armoured cars. In nine villages along the frontier, 680 houses - homes to 1,165 families - are being razed to seal off smugglers' tunnels and try to crush a militant insurgency in

Is Palestinian state only guarantee against Hamas?

The Israeli right fears the campaign has moved from the “Iran nuke danger” to “Hamas’ takeover of the West Bank,” ignoring regional concerns for Israel’s security and aligning with their wish to avoid Hamas empowerment.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, September 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47UMH

Postponing UN bid won't reverse Palestinian momentum

The Palestinians need not worry about postponing the vote on their UN bid until after the Israeli elections, since even if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is re-elected, the push toward Palestinian statehood is inevitable.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JOHN DAVISON - Trainees work in front of their computers at the "Cyber Gym" center, where IT and infrastructure company employees train to defend against cyber attacks on October 30, 2013 near the Israeli city of Hadera. The facility, a series of small buildings in the shadow of the looming Orot Rabin power station on Israel's northern coastline, was inaugurated this month by the Israel Electric Corp (IEC), which has experienced its fair share of cyber attacks. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAH

Israeli expert: 'cyberspace has become a battlefield'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, the head of the INSS Cyber Security Program, Gabi Siboni, states that after the recent hacking of Sony Pictures, Western countries should consider cyberattacks as a real threat to their sovereignty.

Mazal pic.jpg

Will Israel's Labor Party tackle economy or diplomacy?

Ahead of the upcoming elections, social activist Yossi Yonah argues that the economic-existential concerns of the average Israeli worry him more than the issue of negotiating with the Palestinians.

BUENOS AIRES, ARGENTINA - MARCH 18: Firemen and rescue workers continue to dig through the ruins of the Israeli Embassy early 18 March 1992 in Buenos Aires after a night of search following the 17 March explosion of a powerful car bomb which virtually destroyed the diplomatic building, killing at least 11 people and injuring more than 250. The pro-Iranian Islamic Jihad organization claimed responsability for the attack. (Photo credit should read DANIEL LUNA/AFP/Getty Images)

Lebanon, Argentina arrive at consensus over 1992 attack

Lebanese and Argentine officials recently discussed the 1992 suicide bombing at the Israeli Embassy in Buenos Aires, with both sides arriving at the conclusion that Lebanon held no responsibility.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) stands with Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat (R) and Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon outside the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem January 21, 2013. Netanyahu made an election eve appeal to wavering supporters to "come home", showing concern over a forecast far-right surge that would keep him in power but weaken him politically. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CQJQ

Israeli political parties: Who needs primaries?

Instead of working to preserve the parties' democratic workings, Tzipi Livni, Yair Lapid and Moshe Kahlon opted to gain sole control.

Israelis enjoy Polish-style Christmas Eve dinner

Israelis of Polish origin or affiliation enjoyed a traditional Polish-style Christmas Eve dinner, reminiscing about such occasions back in Poland in the old days when Christians and Jews alike were enjoying this delicious dinner together.

Issac Herzog (L), leader of Israel's Labour party, and former Israeli Justice Minister Tzipi Livni shake hands after their joint news conference in Tel Aviv December 10, 2014. Livni and the center-left parliamentary opposition leader formed a joint election ticket on Wednesday that polls show could pose a serious challenge to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in March. REUTERS/Stringer (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4HICW

Livni, Herzog worry Netanyahu

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fears that Labor Party Chairman Isaac Herzog and former Justice Minister Tzipi Livni will infiltrate "his” diplomatic-defense arena and convince voters that the world is opposed specifically to the right wing's settlement policy, not that “the whole world is against us.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) meets with Italy's Minister of Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini at the Kremlin in Moscow July 9, 2014. REUTERS/Maxim Shipenkov/Pool (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3XUXK

EU decision boosts Russian, UN diplomacy on Syria

Russia, the United Nations and Iran lead diplomatic initiative in Syria; Iran and Turkey discuss counterterrorism; al-Qaeda-linked group advances in Syria; Aleppo’s radicalization; Hamas seeks to rebuild ties with Iran.

Members of the Palestinian security forces take part in a training session in the West Bank town of Tubas near Jenin November 17, 2014 . REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4EGMZ

US, Europe try to preserve Israeli-Palestinian security cooperation

While Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas promotes his UN bid, the US and Europe stick to the well-known old formula: Anti-terror cooperation in the region depends on progress on the Palestinian statehood issue.

A worker sprays water as he cleans a wall scrawled with graffiti in an Arab-Jewish school in Jerusalem November 30, 2014. Suspected Jewish extremists set fire to a classroom in the school in Jerusalem, police said on Sunday, targeting a symbol of co-existence in a city on edge over a recent surge in violence.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION) - RTR4G4AL

Can Israel, Palestine exist in one space?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Dan Goldenblatt, co-CEO of the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information, presents his vision of two states in one space, arguing that this proposed solution could be accepted by both the Israeli right and the Palestinians.

Deputy Hamas chief Moussa Abu Marzouk gestures during an interview with Reuters in Gaza City December 17, 2014. The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas should be removed from the European Union's terrorist list, an EU court ruled on Wednesday, saying the decision to include it was based on media reports not considered analysis. Hamas welcomed Wednesday's verdict. "The decision is a correction of a historical mistake the European Union had made," Abu Marzouk told Reuters. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: P

Hamas scores diplomatic victory in Europe

Senior Hamas officials run a department in Gaza whose sole mission is to have the movement removed from terror lists.