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May 17, 2026

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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

Israeli protesters wearing protective masks lift national flags during an anti-government demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, on August 15, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli left cheers weakly as Netanyahu inks deal with UAE

The Israel-UAE deal crushes the center-left’s belief that no Arab state will make peace with Israel without the resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the establishment of a Palestinian state.

United Arab Emirates

Palestinian Muslim worshippers pray on July 31, 2020 at the municipal stadium in the village of Dura on the first day of Eid al-Adha. - Eid al-Adha (the Festival of Sacrifice) is celebrated throughout the Muslim world as a commemoration of Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son for God, and cows, camels, goats and sheep are traditionally slaughtered on the holiest day (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab-Israelis shocked by virus czar's 'terror attack' comment

Many Arab-Israelis found coronavirus czar Ronni Gamzu's recent comments about their allegedly irresponsible behavior counterproductive and insulting.

Israeli and United Arab Emirates flags line a road in the Israeli coastal city of Netanya, on August 16, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli companies enthusiastic on deal with UAE, target Gulf market

Israeli companies in the fields of cyber, water management, defense and even diamonds are lining up for launching business ventures in the United Arab Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

Police remove protesters blocking a main road during a demonstration against the Israeli government near the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem on August 16, 2020. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Fact vs. fiction on US-Israel police exchanges

Al-Monitor spoke to Israelis and Americans involved in police exchanges between the countries in response to far-left allegations they teach harmful practices.

Trump administration goes big with UAE-Israel peace deal

Other Gulf states may follow.

A man reads a copy of UAE-based The National newspaper near the Burj Khalifa, the tallest structure and building in the world since 2009, in the gulf emirate of Dubai on August 14, 2020, as the publication's headline reflects the previous day's news as Israel and the UAE agreed to normalise relations in a landmark US-brokered deal. - The deal marks only the third such accord the Jewish state has struck with an Arab nation, an historic shift making the Gulf state only the third Arab country to establish full

Oman says it supports UAE-Israel normalization of ties

Israeli officials told the local press they are in talks with Oman to reach a similar normalization in ties.

United Arab Emirates

Demonstrators wave Turkish and Palestinian flags during a rally at Yenikap? Square, in Istanbul, to protest against the US-made peace plan, also known as the Agreement of the Century,on Februay 9, 2020. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Turkey threatens to cut ties with UAE over Israel normalization as feud continues

Turkey and the UAE disagree on the Turkey-Kurdish conflict, Libya, drilling in the eastern Mediterranean and more.

A file picture taken at the Israeli foreign ministry on October 15, 2015, shows Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) sitting next to Yossi Cohen, who is currently the head of Israel's National Security Council, and who was named as the 12th head of the Mossad intelligence agency by Netanyahu on December 7, 2015. Cohen will take over from outgoing Mossad head Tamir Pardo, who will be leaving his post after five years next January. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON / AFP / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read

Mossad chief likely to continue advancing Israel, UAE contacts

Israel has plenty of professional diplomats specialized in the Arab world, yet Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is relying on Mossad chief Yossi Cohen to advance ties with Gulf states.

United Arab Emirates

A picture taken on December 16, 2017 shows a woman standing by an infant with a milk bottle in their mouth as they wait to ride a bus in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip, prior to departure for the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. / AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel denies travel to Palestinian newborns

To pressure Palestinians and force them to back down from their decision to stop security coordination, Israel is refusing to recognize more than 24,000 Palestinian newborns while preventing their movement through crossings as well as their travel abroad.

TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Did Netanyahu find his legacy with UAE deal?

The announcement yesterday on normalizing ties between Israel and the United Arab Emirates reflects Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s realization that he must abandon his annexation plan.

United Arab Emirates

Head of Israel's predominantly Arab Joint List coalition Ayman Odeh, gestures as he talks to reporters in the northern Israeli city of Haifa, on March 3, 2020, a day after the Israeli general elections. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite internal conflicts, Israel’s Arab party not splitting

The Arab Joint List fears the wrath of its constituency, so it has no intention to split back into the four parties composing it.

Palestinians express anger at UAE following US-brokered accord with Israel

Palestinians say UAE decision to normalize relations with Israel is a crime.

United Arab Emirates