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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 30, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:50 pm

31°C

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

Turkey, Azerbaijan slam Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition as Yerevan mum

Ankara accused Israel of weaponizing history as Armenia avoided public comment amid delicate regional diplomacy.

AFP via Getty Images

Traffic plummets through Strait of Hormuz after Iran, US trade fire

Shipping through the Strait of Hormuz had recovered somewhat before renewed fighting between Iran and the United States saw traffic drop sharply over the weekend.

A car drives past an United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) outpost in the village of Khan Arnabah, Quneitra, southern Syria, April 29, 2026.

Syria slams Israeli 'violations' in south as ground clashes intensify: What to know

In a rare incident, the Israeli military said it fired at armed men in southern Syria, without identifying the attackers.

Latest News

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

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.

US brokers deal for limited Israeli withdrawal in south Lebanon

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

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

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

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

Vance

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

ELON MOREH, WEST BANK - FEBRUARY 27: (FILE PHOTO) Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (C) with Interior Minsiter Yosef Burg (2nd R) and settler leader Benny Katzover (R) listens to an explanation by Agriculture Minister Ariel Sharon (2nd L) about the development February 27, 1981 of the permanent settlement of Elon Moreh east of the West Bank Palestinian town of Nablus. After being forcibly evacuated by the Israeli army from the nearby Sebastia train station seven times since the summer of 1974, the pio

Veteran settler Katzover: Livni encourages boycott wave

In an interview with Al-Monitor, veteran settler Benny Katzover says there's a link between the settlers' youth violence against IDF soldiers and the forced evacuation of illegal outposts, and Katzover does not worry about the boycott of products.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (R) greets his Canadian counterpart John Baird before their dinner in Jerusalem January 19, 2013. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17LHJ

Liberman keeps eye on bid for Israeli premiership

By torpedoing negotiations on one hand, while setting conditions for their resumption on the other, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman's tactics enable him to gain points with the left and the right of the political spectrum, pursuing his route toward the premier's seat.

AN ULTRA-ORTHODOX JEWISH MAN BURNS FOOD CONTAINING LEAVENING IN THE MEA
SHEARIM NEIGHBOURHOOD OF JERUSALEM.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man burns food containing leavening in the Mea
Shearim neighbourhood of Jerusalem prior to the start of the Passover
holiday April 16, 2003. Passover which begins this Wednesday evening with
the 'seder' dinner, is a week long holiday celebrating the exodus of the
Jews from Egypt. It is a time when religious Jews throughly clean their
homes and refrain from eating any food con

More Israelis living in poverty on eve of Passover

A special report by the state comptroller published the week before Passover reveals growing poverty, attributed to the new government’s public welfare cutbacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. Putin said after talks that both sides hoped a "mutually acceptable resolution" could soon be found over Iran's nuclear ambitions. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15M32

Israel-Russia ties strong despite Ukraine

Both Israel and Russia value their growing strategic relationship.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd L), flanked by Tzipi Livni (L), Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror (3rd L) and Military Secretary Eyal Zamir, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) during a meeting in Jerusalem June 29, 2013. Kerry extended his Middle East peace mission on Saturday, shuttling between Jerusalem and Amman for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on reviving their stalled negotiations. REUT

Livni manages political fallout of failed peace talks

After another apparent failure in negotiations, Israeli chief negotiator Tzipi Livni wriggles out of giving real explanations for the fact that she continues to remain in the right-wing government, thus betraying her center-left constituents.

Preserved human skulls are seen on display at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, as the country prepares to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 genocide in the Rwandan capital Kigali April 5, 2014. An estimated 800,000 people were killed in 100 days during this genocide. REUTERS/Noor Khamis (RWANDA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3K1VK

Israel, Rwanda build ties on shared experiences of genocide

Twenty years after the Rwandan genocide, Israel and Rwanda's relations reflect the changes each nation has undergone, with Rwanda taking after Israel in dealing with a genocide and building a promising future.

Palestinians leave the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, after Friday prayers in Jerusalem's Old City April 4, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday Washington was evaluating whether to continue its role in Middle East peace talks, signalling his patience with the Israelis and Palestinians was running out. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR3JXYO

Kerry has no excuse for failure in peace talks

The US secretary of state should now offer an accelerated timetable for the acceptance of Palestine as a member of the United Nations.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power speaks during a Security Council meeting on the crisis in Ukraine, at the U.N. headquarters in New York March 3, 2014.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3G02N

Palestinians are right to go UN route

US aid to the Palestinians represents an ongoing effort to deny them access to the United Nations and thus statehood.

American-Israeli Ilan Grapel (C) poses for a photograph with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (3rd R), Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho (2nd R), U.S ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro (R), Israeli Knesset member Yisrael Hasson (3rd L), U.S. Congressman Gary Ackerman (L) and Grapel's mother (2nd L) in Jerusalem in this handout picture released October 27, 2011 by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). Egypt released the American-Israeli it held as an alleged spy and Israel freed 25 Egyptians

Knesset member warns of Arab Spring in West Bank

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Kadima Knesset member and former Shin Bet official Israel Hasson warns of Israel's humiliating approach to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and predicts that if negotiations blow up: "The Arab Spring will get to the West Bank.''

A Palestinian Hamas supporter celebrates after Erdogan declared victory in local polls during a rally organised by Hamas movement in the northern Gaza Strip March 31, 2014. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in local polls that had become a referendum on his rule and said he would "enter the lair" of enemies who have accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets. The Arabic words read "Turkey Justice and development forward". REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNRES

Hamas celebrates AKP win in Turkish elections

Hamas considers Turkey a vital ally and held rallies in celebration of the ruling Justice and Development Party's election victory.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a room overlooking the snow covered city of Jerusalem, during a meeting December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16GGI

Kerry's artificial negotiations

Secretary of State John Kerry's frustrations on the Middle East should not come as a surprise.

Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Jose Angel Gurria (R) speaks during a news conference with Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv December 8, 2013. Gurria was in Israel on Sunday to present the organisation's 2013 report on Israel's economy. The Bank of Israel should prepare for interest rate increases once the global economy returns to normal, the OECD said. REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX169RU

Lapid goes after nepotism in government companies

Seven years after a state comptroller's report on nepotism, Finance Minister Yair Lapid imposes new regulations designed to reduce corruption in Israel's major public companies.