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May 16, 2026

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Breaking | Last Updated: May 15, 2026, 2:49 pm

Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

The Pentagon will host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for a round of separate security talks later this month.

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

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."

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

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

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

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

Turkey chooses pro-Erdogan ambassador to Israel in bid to normalize ties

There has been no ambassador in either country since May 2018, when Ankara withdrew its envoy over escalating attacks on Palestinians in Gaza and Washington's decision to relocate its embassy to Jerusalem.

Netanyahu’s main rival in Likud quits party, views premiership

Former minister Gideon Saar takes a huge political risk by announcing he is quitting the Likud and forming a new right-wing movement.

Israel ‘very comfortable’ with $23B UAE arms sale, says ambassador

Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer said the sale won't undermine Israel's military advantage in the Middle East.

Mizrahi Israelis hope normalization with Gulf will bring regional peace

For Israelis of Mizrahi origin, normalization with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain has great significance; it reconnects them to the Arab world, with its history and heritage.

Racist fans of Jerusalem soccer club become target of mockery

Social media users are mocking La Familia fan club, notorious for its racism, over the deal signed yesterday for an Emirati sheikh to invest in the Beitar Jerusalem soccer club.

(From L to R) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Israeli Chief of Staff General Gadi Eizenkot attend an official memorial ceremony marking the tenth anniversary of the 2006 war between Israel and Lebanon's Hezbollah movement, at the military cemetery of Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on July 19, 2016.
Israel is marking a decade since its 2006 war with its "main enemy" Hezbollah, but the Lebanese militia's involvement in Syria

Israel’s center left courts another general

In a desperate effort to find a real alternative to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the center-left camp is now courting former IDF Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (R) speaks with with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as they pose for a family a photo at the opening of the Ordinary Session of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government during the 30th annual African Union summit in Addis Ababa on January 28, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / SIMON MAINA (Photo credit should read SIMON MAINA/AFP via Getty Images)

Egypt, Jordan work to thaw Israeli-Palestinian negotiations

Officials from Egypt, Jordan and Palestine are meeting in intense efforts to end the stalemate over the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, October 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 14, 2020 encouraged Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms. (Photo by Manuel Balce CENETA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANUEL BALCE CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Image

A new page in Israeli-Saudi relations? Not so fast

With US President Donald Trump soon out of the picture, the Saudis prefer to take things slow with Israel, and await the new Biden administration.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference in Athens on January 2, 2020 following the signing ceremony of an agreement for the EastMed pipeline project designed to ship gas from the eastern Mediterranean to Europe in Athens on January 2, 2020. (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS / AFP) (Photo by ARIS MESSINIS/AFP via Getty Images)

Mixed signals over Israel-Turkey relations

An article published in the Tel Aviv University Turkeyscope review might suggest that Ankara wants to rehabilitate its relations with Jerusalem.

Israeli FM responds to Saudi critique with renewed calls for dialogue with Palestinians

Ahead of President-elect Joe Biden assuming office, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi multiplies his calls upon the Palestinian leadership to return to the negotiating table.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a press conference in Jerusalem on August 13, 2020. - Israel and the UAE agreed to normalise relations in a landmark US-brokered deal, only the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab nation. The agreement, first announced by US President Donald Trump on Twitter, will see Israel halt its plan to annex large parts of the occupied West Bank, according to the UAE. (Photo by Abir SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Imag

Live fact-checking comes to Israeli TV

For the first time ever, Israeli news broadcasts fact-checked Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu live as he gave a press conference after the Knesset voted to dissolve itself.

Beitar Jerusalem fans cheer on their team prior to the UEFA Europa League play-off football match between Beitar Jerusalem and AS Saint-Etienne, at the Itztadion Teddy Stadium in Jerusalem on August 17, 2016.
Saint-Etienne beat Beitar Jerusalem 2-1. / AFP / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Beitar Jerusalem soccer club pursues talks with Emirati investor

Owner of Beitar Jerusalem soccer club Moshe Hogeg is determined to ignore threats by La Familia fan club against partnering with an Emirati investor.

United Arab Emirates