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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:03 pm

29°C

A general view of the damaged building housing Tigray TV, the state broadcaster of the Tigray region, following a drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sept. 27, 2026.

20 Israelis stranded in Ethiopia seek evacuation as fighting resumes: What to know

Twenty Israeli tourists are asking the Foreign Ministry to arrange their evacuation from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, where fighting resumed on Tuesday.

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.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

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

A man holds up a placard during a peace rally in Tel Aviv's Rabin Square August 16, 2014. The protesters were demonstrating in favour of a peaceful political agreement, to end the month-long conflict in Gaza, between the Israeli and Palestinian governments.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR42O65

Abbas destroyed hopes of Israel's peace camp

Accusing Israel of "genocide" would not prompt the UN to grant President Mahmoud Abbas a Palestinian state on a silver platter, but it did destroy whatever was still left of the bridge between the two people.

Israeli army Chief of Staff Benny Gantz gestures during a press conference at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv on July 28, 2014. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Israelis must be ready for a long military campaign in Gaza, after mortar fire from the enclave killed four people in the Jewish state. AFP PHOTO/GIL COHEN-MAGEN (Photo credit should read GIL COHEN MAGEN/AFP/Getty Images)

IDF chief of staff speaks out on IS, Syria, Iran

Chief of Staff Benny Gantz does not exclude the possibility that in the future, Israel will have to deal with the Islamic State, saying, "If they would take us on, they would fail."

Israel braces for conflict as Yom Kippur, Eid al-Adha coincide

With this year's Yom Kippur and Eid al-Adha falling on the same day, Jewish and Arab leaders are pleading with the two sides not to repeat past clashes and allow each other to observe the holy day peacefully.

Aryeh Deri (C), leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, attends an annual pilgrimage to the gravesite of Rabbi Yisrael Abuhatzeira, a Moroccan-born sage and kabbalist also known as the Baba Sali, in the southern town of Netivot January 14, 2013. Powerful political players for years, Israel's ultra-Orthodox parties must now reckon with a new force ushered in by voters bent on stripping them of perks they have relied on for decades. Picture taken January 14, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS

Shas Party is losing its electoral base

The battle between current Shas leader Aryeh Deri and former Chairman Eli Yishai will surely affect voters, who might prefer other parties over Shas.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (front R) and Qatar's Prime Minister Hamad bin Jassim bin Jabr Al-Thani arrive at a meeting of the Arab Peace Initiative Committee in Doha April 8, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYDPI

Netanyahu needs to do some soul-searching

In his UN speech, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's diplomatic horizon consisted of Israel and the Arab world starting a normalization process before resolving the conflict with the Palestinians, a concept that no Arab leader would ever consider.

Thousands of Jews perform the Selichot prayer at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest site, in the old city of Jerusalem late on September 23, 2014, in the lead up to Rosh Hashana, the Jewish New Year. Clashes broke out at Al-Aqsa mosque compound, Islam's third holiest shrine, as Palestinians protested against members of Jewish faith visiting the flashpoint holy site, which is also sacred to the Jews and known to them as Temple Mount, on the eve of Jewish New Year, police said. AFP PHOTO/ AHMAD GHARABLI

High Holidays attract secular Jews to Jerusalem

Israeli secular Jews take Selichot tours in Jerusalem to reconnect with their Jewish roots through the poems and prayers recited in the period leading up to the Hebrew New Year and Yom Kippur.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gathers materials as he concludes his address to the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 29, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR487Y0

Iranian UN delegate slams Netanyahu speech

Iran's UN delegation took the floor to criticize the address by the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the UN General Assembly.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen on a video display monitor inside an interpreters booth as he addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 29, 2014.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4881P

Bibi's UN speech misses again

At the UN General Assembly, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accomplished what he is best at: delivering speeches and identifying threats, without identifying opportunities or making any historic decisions — again.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks about a photograph as he addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 29, 2014. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR487W3

Netanyahu missteps on Hamas, Islamic State comparison

In his UN General Assembly speech, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu compared Hamas to the Islamic State, ignoring Israel's ongoing negotiations with Hamas in Cairo.

THIS PICTURE IS ONE OF 30 TO ACCOMPANY PICTURE PACKAGE: THE PROTESTERS OF TEL AVIV'S TENT CITY. SEARCH IN YOUR PICTURE SYSTEM FOR KEYWORD "PROTEST" TO SEE ALL IMAGES (PXP01 - 30)

The tent belonging to Eyal Hukayma, a 29-year-old handyman, is pictured at a tent camp on Rothschild Boulevard in south Tel Aviv, part of an ongoing protest against the high cost of living in Israel August 11, 2011. When interviewed by Reuters, Hukayma said, "I set up my tent in Rothschild Boulevard on the first day of the protest

Lapid's budget a betrayal of social justice

The 2015 Israeli budget achieves two of Finance Minister Yair Lapid's goals, but reflects the political interests of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu rather than making a commitment to social justice.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is escorted to the podium for his address to the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York, September 26, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47UJL

Abbas' speech warning siren for Israel

The UN General Assembly speech by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reflects first and foremost the Palestinians' despair of any hope for peace with the current Israeli leadership.

Egypt's President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi smiles upon arrival at Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum June 27, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah (SUDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3W4IZ

Egypt-Israel future ties could depend on Palestinian issue

Israel should note that though policy changes may take time in Egypt, sources confirm that the Abdel Fattah al-Sisi administration is inclined to embrace a regional strategic policy to advance the Arab Peace Initiative.