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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 14, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:08 pm

28°C

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

While Israeli and Lebanese delegations are set to meet in Washington for the third time, the Israeli military faces a growing threat from Hezbollah’s cheap yet highly lethal drones.

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

Latest News

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

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

Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok (C) and his counterpart from the Czech Republic, Jakub Kulhanek (2nd R), listen to remarks by their Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi (L), during their visit to a building that was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants from the Gaza Strip, in the Israeli city of Petah Tikva on May 20, 2021.

German, Czech and Slovak foreign ministers arrive in Israel in show of solidarity

After their solidarity visit to Israel earlier this week, Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias, Czech Foreign Minister Jakub Kulhanek, Slovak Foreign Minister Ivan Korcok and German Foreign Minister Heiko Mass visited the site of a building ravaged by Hamas rockets.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a protest rally in Istanbul on May 18, 2018, against the recent killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the US Embassy move to Jerusalem.

The Takeaway: Erdogan’s incendiary remarks about Israel worsen ties with Washington

The fallout of the Turkish president’s comments could compound problems for country’s beleaguered economy; Israel-Palestinian frictions dominate region’s news; Libya’s mercenaries; and more!

Gaza school

50 Gaza schools damaged in Israeli strikes, Save The Children says

Amid the heavy fighting, schools remain closed in Gaza and southern Israel “putting education out of reach for hundreds of thousands of children."

Amos Ben Gershom/GPO

Europe sends Israel mixed signals on cease-fire with Hamas

A special meeting of EU foreign ministers called upon Israel and Hamas to advance a cease-fire but the long debate reached no formal conclusions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he shows a slideshow during a briefing to ambassadors to Israel at the Hakirya military base in Tel Aviv, Israel on May 19, 2021. Netanyahu said today that Israel's aerial bombing campaign on the Gaza Strip was aimed at deterring Hamas, but he did not rule out conquering the enclave's Islamist rulers.

US expects 'significant de-escalation today,' Biden tells Netanyahu

As President Joe Biden appealed for calm, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Wednesday there was no timeframe for ending the conflict with Hamas.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Change government joins casualties of conflagrations around Israel

Yamina head Naftali Bennett must realize that in the worsening security chaos, his base will never support him heading an anti-Netanyahu government.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visits the site of an overnight stampede during an ultra-Orthodox religious gathering in the northern town of Meron, Israel, April 30, 2021.

No victory picture for Israel in Gaza

The IDF success in destroying Gaza underground infrastructure cannot erase photos of Hamas rockets reaching Tel Aviv.

A Palestinian demonstrator stands amidst smoke from burning tires during a protest against the tension in Jerusalem and the Israeli-Gaza fighting, on May 17, 2021, in the occupied West Bank, near the settlement of Beit El next to Ramallah.

Gaza violence sparks debate over conditioning US military aid to Israel

A number of progressive Democrats have called for the United States to reexamine Israel's annual aid package.

Israel's Iron Dome air defense system intercepts rockets above the coastal city of Tel Aviv on May 15, 2021, following their launching from the Gaza Strip controlled by the Palestinian Hamas movement.

Hamas again threatens to strike Tel Aviv after Israel kills Islamic Jihad commander

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the operation ‘could take some time. I hope it won't take long, but it's not immediate.’

Palestinian journalists stand in shock following the destruction of Jala Tower, which was housing international press offices, by an Israeli airstrike in the Gaza Strip on May 15, 2021. The Israeli airstrike demolished the 13-floor building housing Qatar-based Al Jazeera television and American news agency The Associated Press in the Gaza Strip.

Intel: Blinken hasn't personally seen evidence that Hamas used the building housing AP, Al Jazeera

Israel says the building was used by the Palestinian militant group, but it has not publicly provided any evidence to back up that claim.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

As rockets, retaliation shake region, Israel silent on global mediation

Egypt, the United States and France are concentrating effort on a cease-fire as Gaza rockets and Israeli retaliation continue.

YOSSI ZAMIR/AFP via Getty Images

Police unable to stem violence in mixed Israeli cities

The Shin Bet has been called in to reinforce Israeli police as they struggle to control the riots in Arab and mixed Jewish-Arab cities.