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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 5, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:54 am

30°C

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

In an interview with Al-Monitor, head of the Arab-Israeli Hadash-Ta'al Knesset faction, Ayman Odeh, said his party is prepared to make difficult decisions to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

Latest News

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

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

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

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

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

Israeli air force jets fly in formation during an exhibition as part of a pilot graduation ceremony at the Hatzerim air base, southern Israel June 25, 2009. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL MILITARY TRANSPORT) - RTR251A0

The Pakistani Test Of the Israel-India Partnership

The recent controversy over potential Israeli arms sales to Pakistan is unlikely to undermine the Israel-India partnership.

Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani (C) speaks during the London 11 countries "Friends of Syria" meeting in Doha June 22, 2013. Western and Arab opponents of Bashar al-Assad met in Qatar on Saturday to tighten coordination of their stepped up support for rebels battling to overthrow the Syrian president. REUTERS/Mohammed Dabbous (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTX10WYN

Syria in 'Free Fall'

Edward Dark describes the despair in both Aleppo and a Syrian prison; Syria is in “free fall,” according to the chairman of the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria.

Pope Benedict XVI is seen on a large screen as he celebrates a mass on Mount Precipice in the northern Israeli city of Nazareth (seen in background) May 14, 2009. Pope Benedict, visiting the town of Jesus's boyhood, on Thursday addressed the largest crowd of his Middle East trip and said governments had a duty to defend traditional heterosexual marriage and family values. More than 40,000 people attended the outdoor mass -- celebrated in Arabic, English and Latin -- in the area of Nazareth known as Mount Pr

The New Era of Israeli-Arab Nazareth

The youth of Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel, are determined to integrate into Israeli society, but only as equals among equals.

Iranian President-elect Hassan Rohani (2nd R) pays his respects to the grave of the founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini at his mausoleum in Tehran June 16, 2013. Reuters/Fars News/Seyed Hassan Mousavi (IRAN - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS - RTX10Q4E

Israel Tries to Game Rouhani

Hassan Rouhani's victory in the Iranian presidential elections caught Israel and the West by surprise.

Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) meets head of the Bayit Yehudi party Naftali Bennett at Peres' residence in Jerusalem January 31, 2013. Peres began talks with political parties on Wednesday over who should form a new government and appears certain to ask incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assemble it. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3D6TK

Israeli Right Takes On Two-State Solution

Some young Israeli right-wing politicians have mastered public discourse against the two-state solution, suggesting even annexation and citizenship for the West Bank's Palestinians.

Palestinian protesters wave Palestinian flags as Israelis carrying Israeli flags walk past in front of the Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City during a parade marking Jerusalem Day May 8, 2013. Jerusalem Day marks the anniversary of Israel's capture of the Eastern part of the city during the 1967 Middle East War. In 1980, Israel's parliament passed a law declaring united Jerusalem as the national capital, a move never recognised internationally. There were confrontations on Wednesday between Muslims

Israelis Set Table to Talk Peace

Col. (Res.) Shaul Arieli recounts his first-of-its-kind initiative of opening simultaneous discussion tables throughout Israel, for people to talk about peace.

A Palestinian prisoner gestures from the window of a bus as it leaves Nafha Prison in the southern town of Mitzpe Ramon October 16, 2011, before a prisoner swap that is expected to take place on Tuesday. Israel took the first steps on Sunday in the prisoner swap with Hamas in which hundreds of Palestinian militants will be exchanged for captive Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit. REUTERS/Ilan Assayag (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAE

A Palestinian Mother’s Heartache For Her Imprisoned Son

Palestinian filmmaker Suheir Farraj wrote an emotional Facebook message to her jailed son, who remains behind Israeli bars for belonging to the PFLP.

Likud's Miri Regev Challenges Netanyahu's Grip on the Party

Knesset member Miri Regev prepares to take over one of the Likud institutions' key roles and confronts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the two-state solution.

Israeli President Shimon Peres (C) sits next to former U.S. President Bill Clinton (L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) during celebrations marking Peres' 90th birthday in Jerusalem June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTX10SM7

Israel’s Nuclear Option for Peace

The leadership change in Iran and the growing interest in the Arab Initiative present a new opportunity: nuclear demilitarization in exchange for comprehensive peace.

Naftali Bennett, leader of the Bayit Yehudi party, gestures after casting his vote for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Raanana, near Tel Aviv January 22, 2013. Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election widely expected to win Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term in office, pushing the Jewish State further to the right, away from peace with Palestinians and towards a showdown with Iran. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CS5X

Israeli Minister's Blunt Opinion On Two-State Solution

Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennett's provocative statement on the two-state solution exposes true nature of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

A Palestinian refugee boy walks between the narrow alleys of Jabalya refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip May 14, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTXZM8H

Israel Shares Responsibility For Gaza's Cultural Deficit

Israel’s restrictions on movement are doing as much to hinder Gaza’s cultural and intellectual development as any Hamas Islamization policy.

Rwanda President Paul Kagame (2nd L) and his wife Jeannette (L), U.S. singer-actress Barbra Streisand (3rd L), former U.S. President Bill Clinton (4th L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd R) and his wife Sarah (R) attend celebrations marking Israeli President Shimon Peres' (3rd R) 90th birthday in Jerusalem June 18, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ENTERTAINMENT) - RTX10SO1

Peres Birthday Bash Strikes Wrong Chord With Some Israelis

In the social context, while Israeli citizens struggle with economic cuts and the polarization of society, President Shimon Peres' 90th birthday celebrations seem out of line.