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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:56 pm

29°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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks at the opening of a museum of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in the West Bank city of Ramallah, November 9, 2014. REUTERS/Abbas Momani/Pool (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4DGOL

Israeli security officials view Abbas as key to stability

Despite the latest terror attacks in the Etzion settlement and at the center of Tel Aviv, Israeli security sources say that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is committed to security cooperation with Israel and will work to defuse tension.

Mourners chant slogans during the funeral of two Palestinians, who were shot dead by Israeli forces on Thursday, in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 16, 2014. Israeli forces shot dead the two Palestinians during a stone-throwing protest on Thursday to mark the "Nakba", or "catastrophe", as Palestinians term their displacement when Israel was founded. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3PFK8

Israel investigates B'Tselem claims on shooting Palestinians

In an interview with Al-Monitor, B'Tselem Director Hagai El-Ad defends the organization's unequivocal, yet unpopular stance against Israeli policies: ''The moral image of the state is important for many Israelis and not just for B’Tselem activists.''

European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini (L) attends a media conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem November 7, 2014. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4D9OH

Netanyahu captains Israel into the doldrums

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted about the uniqueness of Israeli democracy in the region, but no Western democratic state would withhold basic rights from millions of people living under its rule, as Israel does.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the opening of the winter session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 27, 2014. Netanyahu will expedite planning for some 1,000 settler homes in East Jerusalem, a government official said on Monday, in a bid to placate a restive coalition ally without further aggravating a dispute with Washington. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4BSDI

For Israelis, Bibi no longer means security

Unlike the late Prime Minister Sharon, who initiated the Gaza disengagement precisely when his status as Mr. Security was at stake, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won't seek a diplomatic initiative even after the same security failure.

The golden Dome of the Rock (C) in Jerusalem's old city is seen in the distance beyond a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank city of Abu Dis, October 29 , 2014. The Dome of the Rock is situated within the Al-Aqsa compound, known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount. On the 25th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, there are still barriers separating communities around the world, from the barbed wire fence dividing the two Koreas, the fence around the Spa

Jerusalem, a sanctuary for all

The conflict over the Temple Mount, or Noble Sanctuary, is over walls both literal and figurative — and until these separating walls come down, peace in the Middle East will remain just a dream.

Druze women empowered through sports

A new generation of Israeli Druze girls and women are increasingly participating in sports, exhibiting independence and advocating for gender equality in their traditional society.

Members of the Israeli Zaka emergency response team work at the scene of a stabbing in Tel Aviv November 10, 2014. A Palestinian stabbed and critically an Israeli soldier near a Tel Aviv train station on Monday, police said, as anti-Israel violence that has raised fears of a new Palestinian uprising in the making reached the country's business capital. REUTERS/Finbarr O'Reilly (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4DJZA

Are the Palestinian assaults on Israelis lone wolf attacks?

Palestinians largely support the latest spate of attacks on Israelis, which they see as retaliation for Israel’s attempted desecration of Al-Asqa Mosque and the occupation.

Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak (L) sits across from Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) and Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni during the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 15, 2009. REUTERS/Emil Salman/JINI/Pool (JERUSALEM) - RTXBNIE

No love lost between Barak, Olmert

Attorney General Yehuda Weinstein ordered the police to open an investigation, following taped conversations of former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert allegedly accusing former Prime Minister Ehud Barak of taking a bribe.

Young Palestinians from Hamas's "popular army" chant anti-Israel slogans as they take part in a military graduation ceremony in Jabaliya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip November 7, 2014. Hamas recently formed a "popular army" for young Palestinians to prepare them to "confront any possible Israeli attack", Hamas officials said. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4D9VA

How Hamas uses Temple Mount

Hamas leaders have been calling on West Bank Palestinians to attack Israel in efforts to provoke a religious war against Israel, as they depict a situation where the Israeli right wing is about to take over the Temple Mount.

A Palestinian woman holds an umbrella to cover herself from rain as she makes her way to fill containers with water in Shejaia neighborhood, that witnesses said was devastated during a seven-week Israeli offensive, in the east of Gaza City October 19, 2014. An open-ended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants, mediated by Egypt, took effect on August 26 after a seven-week conflict. It called for an indefinite halt to hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza's blockaded crossings with Israe

Hamas: Israel fails to implement cease-fire deal

Israel is keeping Gaza's borders closed as efforts to begin reconstruction stall, heightening the despair of ordinary Palestinians and frustrating Hamas.

Israeli policemen detain an Arab youth during clashes at the entrance to the town of Kfar Kanna, north of Israel, November 8, 2014. Thousands took to the streets on Saturday hours after Khayr al-Din al-Hamdan was shot by police, after he attacked them as they came to arrest a relative. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTR4DDLH

Police shooting of Arab Israeli youth could ignite Israel

The police shooting of a young Arab resident of Kafr Kana proves that 14 years after the killing of protesters in the October 2000 riot police still discriminate against Arab citizens and treat them like enemies.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel welcomes Israel's Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon to an Honor Cordon at the Pentagon in Washington, October 21, 2014. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4B0IM

Israel risks losing support from US, Europe

The continued settlement policy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu might drive the United States to reduce its diplomatic support of Israel, thus damaging its strategic security interests and ability to respond to security threats.