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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:07 am

32°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

A worker checks the valve gears in a natural gas control centre of Turkey's Petroleum and Pipeline Corporation, 35 km (22 miles) west of Ankara, February 14, 2012. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: BUSINESS ENERGY) - RTR2XU2U

In natural gas, all pipelines go through Turkey

Natural gas from Iraq is to reach Turkey in 2017, Azeri gas is to arrive in 2018 and Iran, Russia and Israel also want to sell their natural gas via Turkey.

Israeli Arab Knesset (parliament) member Hanin Zuabi arrives to the Supreme Court in Jerusalem on December 27, 2012, for a hearing regarding the Election Committee's decision to disqualify her from contending in the upcoming elections. AFP PHOTO/GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Arab parties push for unity ahead of Israeli elections

As the Knesset prepares to debate proposed laws that would significantly damage political activity by the Palestinian parties, Arab members weigh their options while debating ways to increase their collective power in parliament.

A Palestinian prepares to throw a tear gas canister fired by Israeli troops back to the soldiers during clashes following a gun battle where the troops shot dead two Palestinians, Marwan Kawasme and Amar Abu Aysha, in the West Bank city of Hebron September 23, 2014. Israeli troops shot dead the two Palestinians in the West Bank city of Hebron on Tuesday and the military said they were members of Hamas responsible for the killing of three Israeli youths in June, an attack that led to the Gaza war. Kawasme an

Israel, PA seek to prevent Hamas from igniting West Bank

Joint security efforts in the West Bank between the Palestinian Authority and Israel aim to prevent Hamas cells from instigating strife.

Naftali Bennett (C), smiles during a Jewish Home party meeting, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem March 4, 2013. A surprise alliance between Israeli political stars, far-right Bennett, and centrist Yair Lapid, who reject privileges for ultra-orthodox Jews is frustrating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's efforts to form a new government. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EKA2

Bennett a divider, not a uniter

Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett’s speech at the Saban Forum indicates that in the upcoming elections, a vote for the right means perpetuating the rule of an ethnocentric camp determined to enclose Israel in a mental ghetto.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh gestures as leaves his office as a former Hamas government Prime Minister, in Gaza City June 2, 2014. President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a Palestinian unity government on Monday under a reconciliation deal with Hamas Islamists that led Israel to freeze U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Western-backed leader. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RTWM

Fatah official: Israel, Hamas in direct talks

A Fatah official has confirmed claims by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas about Israel and Hamas holding direct talks, claiming that the two sides are engaged in security cooperation.

Palestinians stand behind the bars of a symbolic cage as they take part in a rally calling on Egyptian authorities to open the Rafah border crossing, at the crossing in the southern Gaza Strip November 23, 2014. Egypt's decision to shut its border with the Gaza Strip has stranded thousands of Palestinians on the Egyptian side of the border while around a thousand people in Gaza are desperate to get out for medical treatment in Egypt, officials in Gaza say. Egypt closed Rafah, the only crossing point betwee

Trapped Palestinian students demand Gaza crossings reopen

Approximately 1,500 Palestinian students enrolled in foreign universities are stuck in Gaza, and are protesting for the reopening of the Rafah or Erez crossings.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sits before a vote to dissolve the Israeli parliament, also known as the Knesset, in Jerusalem
December 8, 2014. Israel's parliament voted on Monday to dissolve itself in preparation for an early general election on March 17, after a crisis set in motion by Netanyahu's dismissal of two ministers.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4H6JJ

Is this Netanyahu's last political fight?

The Likud election campaign will reveal a party much different than that of former elections, having turned from a liberal-right party anchored in development towns, into a hub of the settlers.

Israeli soldiers and trucks are seen from the southern Lebanese village Marwaheen, as a Hezbollah flag flutters during a protest in solidarity with Palestinian people in Gaza near the Lebanese-Israeli border July 25, 2014. The protest was organised by Hezbollah with the participation of Shi'ite and Sunni Muslim Sheikhs, against Israel's military action in Gaza and marking the annual al-Quds Day. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION MILITARY) - RTR403PX

Israel-Hezbollah deterrence game continues

The reported airstrike against a convoy on its way from Lebanon to Syria has not yet sparked a strong reaction by Hezbollah against Israel, probably because its patron Iran is still negotiating a nuclear deal.

An Israeli air force F-15 fighter jet lands at the Hatzerim air base, southern Israel March 30, 2009. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXDEVC

Israeli strikes on Syria hit Iranian weapons destined for Hezbollah

Syrian military sources tell Al-Monitor that Israeli warplanes struck storage depots with Iranian weapons that were to be sent to Hezbollah in Lebanon.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Hamas' Gaza leader Ismail Haniyeh greet members of parliament from Erdogan's ruling AK Party (AKP) during a meeting at the Turkish parliament in Ankara January 3, 2012. REUTERS/Stringer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2VUBV

Hamas in Turkey on alert after Israeli complaint

Hamas officials in Turkey are taking precautions after Israel’s complaint to NATO against Ankara for hosting the Palestinian Islamist group, fearing that Israel might resume assassinating its leaders abroad.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington October 1, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR48IZ7

US must encourage Israeli voters to seek end to conflict

While Israeli voters prepare for elections, US President Barack Obama should not echo former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's unconditional support for Israel: He should instead show voters the price of their leaders' refusal to negotiate with the Palestinians.

Israel's dismissed Finance Minister Yair Lapid and Justice Minister Tzipi Livni talk after a vote to dissolve parliament of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem December 3, 2014. Israeli legislators agreed in a preliminary vote on Wednesday to dissolve parliament, and they set March 17 as the date for a new parliamentary election after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired two centrist cabinet members and declared an early national ballot. According to opinion polls, Netanyahu, whose current

Israel's midsized parties create unstable coalition

Ever since the late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to create the Kadima Party, Israeli politics has been suffering from an ongoing trend of big parties splitting into small and medium-sized parties, leading to dysfunctional coalitions.