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August 26, 2026

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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)

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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

Netanyahu hopes for Moroccan royal visit in Israel before March elections

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a visit to Israel by Morocco’s King Mohammed VI could generate great support amid Israeli voters of Moroccan origin in the upcoming March 23 elections.

A member of an Israeli tech delegation uses his phone in a video call during an evening meeting with Emirati counterparts at a hotel in Dubai on October 25, 2020. - Israel and the United Arab Emirates agreed on October 19 to visa-free travel, an unprecedented arrangement between Israel and an Arab state, signed after the first ever official UAE delegation landed in Tel Aviv. (Photo by Karim SAHIB / AFP) (Photo by KARIM SAHIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Emirati investors highly interested in Israeli high-tech, agro-tech

According to estimates, $1 billion in investments between Israel and the United Arab Emirates were made in the last two months of 2020.

United Arab Emirates

An elderly man from the Negev looks on after registering to vote at the village of Shaqib al-Salam, near the southern Israeli city of Beersheva, on March 1, 2020, on the eve of general elections. The campaign banner in the background is for bedouin member of the parliament (Knesset) Said Al-Khroumi, candidate for the Arab Joint List. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Polls show surprising support for Jewish parties among Arab voters

In the unlikely event that the Joint List splits up, many disappointed Arab voters would turn to Jewish parties rather than the coalition's Arab components.

US envoy previews Biden's Israeli-Palestinian policy at the United Nations

Washington plans to reestablish diplomatic missions with the Palestinian Authority and defend Israel from "bias" at the UN.

Israel reopens liaison office in Morocco

The mission's reopening comes a month after Israel and Morocco agreed to establish diplomatic and economic ties.

United Arab Emirates

Indian Jews bring traditional celebrations to Israel

Members of the Jewish-Indian Bene Israel community are eager to share their Malida ceremonies and traditions with other Israelis, and this year they're doing it over Zoom.

Israeli minister makes first ever visit to Sudan

Israeli Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen met with a top Sudanese leader, Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and invited him to visit Israel.

Israeli military: Palestinian attacker shot and killed by soldiers

Israeli and Palestinian officials offer differing accounts of West Bank violence.

Following Netanyahu, Israeli politicians flock to TikTok

With an election campaign practically virtual, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli politicians flock to TikTok.

TOPSHOT - Isreali Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Kohelet Policy Forum conference in Jerusalem, on January 8, 2020. - Netanyahu today warned Israel would strike a "resounding blow" if attacked by arch foe Iran, as regional tensions spike after the US killing of military commander Qasem Soleimani. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu bristles in warning as Biden seeks reentry to Iran deal

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is hinting to the new US administration that reentering the original nuclear deal with Iran could spell Israeli military action.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 06: U.S. Ambassador to Israel David Friedman addresses the American Israel Public Affairs Committee's annual policy conference at the Washington Convention Center March 6, 2018 in Washington, DC. With thousands of delegates and attendees, the annual AIPAC conference is the largest gathering of the pro-Israel movement in the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

PA vows to sue US ambassador over support to Israeli settlements

The Palestinian Authority has threatened to sue former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman after he recognized the City of David settlement project in Jerusalem.

US Marine Corps General Kenneth F. McKenzie Jr., Commander of the US Central Command (CENTCOM), poses for a picture during his visit to a military base in al-Kharj in central Saudi Arabia on July 18, 2019. - McKenzie pledged on July 18 to work "aggressively" to ensure maritime safety in strategic Gulf waters after a spate of attacks blamed on Iran. McKenzie's visit to Saudi Arabia comes a day after the US House voted to block $8.1 billion in arms sales to the kingdom and other allies, in a move likely to be

Intel: CENTCOM chief tours Mideast in first trip under Biden administration

Gen. Kenneth McKenzie is scheduled to stop in Israel later this week as the Joe Biden administration seeks strategic dialogue to build on the Abraham Accords.