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

Israel cover image

Israel

August 25, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:13 pm

28°C

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shaibani (C) watches as US special envoy for Syria Tom Barrack prepares to sign an agreement in Damascus on September 16, 2025. Shaibani announced on September 16 a plan backed by Jordan and the United States to restore calm to Druze-majority Sweida province, which witnessed deadly violence in July. (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA / AFP) (Photo by LOUAI BESHARA/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

Israel is rethinking its hard-line Syria policy and seeking to repair ties with US envoy and Donald Trump's confidant Tom Barrack amid a push for a security agreement with Damascus.

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

Palestinian militant group Hamas police officers stand guard as people attend the opening of the Fatah party's eighth general conference at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City on May 14, 2026.

Ex-defense minister: Israel in ‘worst possible’ Gaza situation as Hamas gains strength

Former Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant criticized the Israeli government for allowing Hamas to retain control over half of the Gaza Strip.

A merchant ship "Jabotinsky" (former "Altalena"), chartered by Jewish military group Irgun Zvaei Leumi to carry weapons for Israeli fighters, burns near Tel Aviv beach, after being shelled by the Haganah, Israel, June 27, 1948.

Wreck of ship sunk by Israeli military in Irgun clash found after 78 years

The wreck of the Irgun underground's Altalena ship, bombed by the Israeli military in 1948 and deliberately sunk in 1949, was located off Israel's coast at a depth of 1,650 feet.

Latest News

Israel tightens election safeguards as public distrust surges: What to know

ilia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Turkey sees Israeli strikes in Syria as warning over its military role, Mecca Pact

A Turkish soldier from the 1st Border Regiment Command looks out over the border wall to Syria during alert drills at a military outpost on the Turkey/Syria border on March 2, 2017 in Kilis, Turkey.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Turkey bets on US deconfliction as Israel widens Syria red lines

Turkey/Syria border

Ezgi Akin

Rina Bassist

By Ezgi Akin , Rina Bassist

Analysis

Israel fears Turkey’s Syria ambitions and doubts Trump will stop them

ANKARA, TURKEY - JULY 7: U.S. President Donald Trump (L)shakes hands with with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) during a formal arrival at the Bestepe Presidential Palace during the NATO summit on July 7, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Emrah Gurel - Pool/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

An Israeli police car burns after an Arab Israeli demonstration following the funeral of Mousa Hassouna in the central city of Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel, May 11, 2021.

Despite Gaza rockets, Israelis most concerned over internal Jewish-Arab rift

Millions of Israelis had to sit in shelters in recent days, in fear of Hamas rockets, but their greatest concern now is the crumbling of Jewish-Arab coexistence inside the country.

Sheikh Jarrah expropriated home

How Sheikh Jarrah became flashpoint in latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Critics of Israel say the planned evictions in the East Jerusalem neighborhood discriminate against Palestinians.

C17 transport plane

Pentagon evacuates personnel from Israel amid Gaza violence

The 120 US military personnel were visiting for a planning conference ahead of a joint exercise with Israeli forces.

Smoke billows following an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2021.

Intel: Hady Amr back on front lines of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations

Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Hady Amr's trip to the embattled region comes as President Joe Biden faces pressure for more active US engagement on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Israel police brace for more violence from far-right groups

Far-right militants are reportedly planning more violence in several Israeli cities that have already been rocked by racially motivated clashes.

The United Nations Security Council meets to hear from Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the UN, New York, Feb. 11, 2020.

Israel, Hamas confrontation spills into diplomatic arena

As the Israel-Hamas campaign intensifies, so does the public diplomacy campaign waged by Israel’s Foreign Ministry on the international arena.

Harry Kane of Tottenham Hotspur scores his team's fifth goal from the penalty spot during the UEFA Europa League playoff match between Tottenham Hotspur and Maccabi Haifa at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London, United Kingdom, Oct. 01, 2020.

Arab-Israeli soccer players offer symbol of coexistence

With tensions between Jews and Arabs in Israel reaching sad records, Israeli-Arab soccer players carry the (perhaps heavy) mission of demonstrating coexistence.

A truck burns at the entrance of the mixed Jewish-Arab city of Lod, where a state of emergency has been declared following civil unrest, on May 12, 2021. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared a state of emergency in Lod, where police said "wide-scale riots erupted among some of the Arab residents," and authorities later imposed an overnight curfew there.

Israel imposes curfew on Arab-Jewish city as protests intensify

The central city of Lod is under a state of emergency, and residents are banned from leaving their homes Wednesday night.

Fatima Shbair/Getty Images

ICC monitors Israeli-Palestinian violence for war crimes

Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor for the International Criminal Court, says she is monitoring the escalating violence in the Palestinian territories and Israel.

NYC mayoral candidate Andrew Yang speaks at a press conference at Tweed Courthouse in Manhattan on May 11, 2021 in New York City.

New York City politicians spar over Israel, Palestine

The leaders in New York City’s mayoral election both defended Israel over the recent conflict with the Palestinians, though other politicians more to the left spoke in favor of the Palestinian cause.

Hady Amr

US sends diplomat to urge calm as Israel, Hamas fighting escalates

Hady Amr, the top State Department official on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, will push for both sides to de-escalate.

Heavy smoke and fire surround Al-Sharouk tower as it collapses during an Israeli air strike, in Gaza City on May 12, 2021.

The Takeaway: How Netanyahu gains politically from conflict with Gaza

Also: The United Arab List may be down, but it's not out; Biden administration sends envoy to region; our coverage from Israel, Gaza, Jerusalem and the West Bank; Egypt wants return of pregnant mummy from Poland.