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

Israel cover image

Israel

November 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:26 am

22°C

Marco Longari / AFP via Getty Images

France denies entry for Israeli settler leader: What to know

The head of Israel's Samaria Regional Council settler organization claims that France turned him back at the Paris airport.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's opposition to advance anti-Netanyahu government measures as soon as Knesset convenes Tuesday, without waiting for a new cabinet to take shape.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Analysis

Trump officials look past Netanyahu, push Eisenkot to form government quickly

Associates of President Donald Trump are urging opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot to form a government, but one of his partners, Yisrael Beitenu leader Avigdor Lieberman, is blocking the path to resolving the political deadlock.

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

Former Israeli army chief of staff and Yashar Party leader, Gadi Eisenkot, greets supporters

Explainer

Uphill battle: Gadi Eisenkot's 3 paths to forming Israel's next government

When President Isaac Herzog tasks Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot with forming a government, he will have three options for building a coalition, each fraught with obstacles.

Latest News

Explainer

Arab parties' backing gives Eisenkot edge over Netanyahu for PM: What to know

Tomer Neuberg / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

Democrats’ midterm sweep tests US-Israel ties as Eisenkot vows reset

An aerial view shows a campaign billboard depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Likud party and President Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, on Oct. 26, 2026, on the eve of Israel's legislative elections.

From Tehran to Tel Aviv, Democrats’ midterm triumph sparks Middle East reactions

The sun sets on the US Capitol on Election Day evening on Nov. 3, 2026 in Washington.

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

Palestinian youths hold weapons during a military-style graduation ceremony after being trained at one of the Hamas-run Liberation Camps, in Gaza City January 29, 2015. Hamas's armed wing organized "Liberation Youths Camps" for young Palestinians aged between 15 and 21 to prepare them to "confront any possible Israeli attack", Hamas officials said. According to organizers, some 17,000 youths graduated from these camps. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR4NFQZ

Al-Qassam youth training camps open again

The Vanguards of Liberation camps, previously organized under the supervision of the Education and Interior Ministries in Hamas-run Gaza, are now under the control of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, which some think might be using the camps to recruit young men as fighters.

U.N. peacekeepers of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) patrol in Kfar Kila village in south Lebanon, near the border with Israel, January 28, 2015. Two Israeli soldiers and a Spanish peacekeeper were killed on Wednesday in an exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel that has raised the threat of a full-blown conflict between the militant Islamist group and Israel. REUTERS/Aziz Taher (LEBANON - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4NCBP

Israel shows restraint in Hezbollah retaliation

Hezbollah’s attack on an Israeli patrol in Lebanon’s occupied Shebaa Farms was expected to break into an all-out war on Lebanon, but sources told Al-Monitor that Israel was asked not to engage in such a war.

Palestinians hold flags during a rally in support of a Gaza-bound flotilla, at the Gaza seaport July 3, 2011. The pro-Palestinian flotilla hopes to leave Greece early this week to challenge Israel's sea blockade of the Gaza Strip, organisers said on Saturday. The convoy of cargo and passenger boats was due to depart at least a week ago but has been held up amid allegations of sabotage sponsored by Israel. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2OEST

Greece election result brings hope to Palestinians

President Mahmoud Abbas and the Hamas movement welcomed the victory of the Syriza Party in the Greek elections, which promised during its electoral campaign to work on recognizing the Palestinian state.

A man from the minority Yazidi sect stands guard at Mount Sinjar, in the town of Sinjar, December 20, 2014. Iraqi Kurdish fighters flashed victory signs as they swept across the northern side of Sinjar mountain on Saturday, two days after breaking through to free hundreds of Yazidis trapped there for months by Islamic State fighters. REUTERS/Ari Jalal (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR4IV2I

Yazidis ask Israel for help

Desperate Yazidis are reaching out to Israel, asking for understanding and assistance, especially in the military domain for their fight against the Islamic State.

Israeli Meretz party members Nitzan Horowitz (2nd from R), Zehava Galon (C) and Issawi Frej (c-L) take part in a visit of the "Al-Shuhada" street in the West Bank city of Hebron on February 25, 2014 in support of Palestinians who were forced out of the old quarter at the outset of the second Palestinian intifada by the Israeli army to allow for Jewish settlers to move securely in the area. Today also marks the 20th anniversary of the massacre of 29 Palestinian Muslim worshipers by Jewish extremist Baruch Go

Could Meretz Party amass more Arab votes?

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset member Esawi Frij says that the strong tribal or family identity of Israeli Arabs will not necessarily encourage them to support the United Arab Party, opening the way to support leftist Meretz.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a cornerstone laying ceremony for a new neighbourhood in the southern town of Sderot January 28, 2015. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4NAB3

Netanyahu's Iranian boomerang

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's rejection of an agreement with Iran will result in Israel losing the support of its Western allies and in Iran being legitimized as a nuclear threshold state by its Arab neighbors.

Israeli pollsters struggle to keep pace with social media

Following the unexpected results of the 2013 elections, can Israeli pollsters grasp the socio-economic concerns of young Israelis expressed online?

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, Iran's envoy to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), speaks during a news conference about the new political relations between Iran and Egypt after the newly elected Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi was sworn in, at the Iranian embassy in Cairo June 9, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3SWSY

Iran warned US of 'consequences' for killing general

Iran's deputy foreign minister has said that Iran told the United States that there will be "consequences" for Israel over the Jan. 18 killing of an Iranian general.

$30 Apr 1997: Eli Ohana of Israel in action during the World Cup Qualifier against Cyprus in Tel Aviv, Israel. Israel won 2-0. \ Mandatory Credit: Mark Thompson /Allsport$

Who wants to be a Knesset member?

The political arena has lost its attractiveness for people of substantial public service and achievement, opening the stage for media celebrities, and even for the world of soccer.

An Israeli mobile artillery unit fires towards the southern Gaza in this August 1, 2014 file photo. The July-August war in Gaza drew international condemnation for a number of reasons, but one episode proved more deadly than any other: an Israeli air and artillery bombardment on Aug. 1 that killed 150 people in a matter of hours.The events unfolded just as a three-day ceasefire was supposed to come into force. Hamas militants emerged from a tunnel inside Gaza and ambushed three Israeli soldiers, killing two

Palestinians prepare ICC files

Palestine is preparing files on Israeli settlement activity and the 2014 war on Gaza for submission to the International Criminal Court come April 1.

Abu Ubaida, the spokesman of the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigade, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, is pictured on a television screen as he delivers a televised statement on Hamas TV, in Gaza August 20, 2014. Hamas's military wing said on Wednesday an Israeli air strike in Gaza had failed to kill its military commander, Mohammed Deif. In a televised statement, Ubaida said Israel had missed its target. Deif's wife and seven-month-old son were killed in the attack. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITI

Mohammed al-Deif lives

Commander of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades Mohammed al-Deif is responsible for some of the most murderous terror attacks against Israelis, yet during the Gaza war the IDF failed again to eliminate him.

A bulldozer works at a construction site in Pisgat Zeev, an urban settlement in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, August 13, 2013. A 10-minute drive from where negotiators will sit down on Wednesday to resume long-stalled Middle East peace talks, Israeli bulldozers are busy reshaping land that Palestinians want for their future state.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTX12JQ0

Settlement funding: Likud betrays the poor

Over the years, the Likud Party has preferred to grant vast funds to settlements, instead of caring for the weak and poor sectors, which got it to power in the first place.