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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 17, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:20 pm

32°C

talks

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

Hezbollah, Israel jostle in Syria, Lebanon

Conflict between Israel on the one hand and Iran and Hezbollah on the other have been playing out this month in Syria and Lebanon.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - OCTOBER 20: The golden Dome of the Rock Islamic shrine dominates the Temple Mount on which it stands, and at right, the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest shrine October 20, 2005 in this aerial view of Jerusalem's Old City. The picture is taken facing east. (Photo by David Silverman/Getty Images)

Israeli worshipers storm police barricades at Western Wall

More than the 1,000 visitors permitted to visit the Western Wall showed up on the fasting day of Tisha B’Av, leading to scuffles and removal by police.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - JULY 11: Israeli Protester holds a fake bill with a photo of the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as she protests against the Government's economy response to the cororna virus crisis on July 11, 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following a rise in the cases of COVID-19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered many businesses to shut, causing people to protest about a perceived mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and to call for the compensation promised by the gover

Neo-liberal Netanyahu turning socialist

On the backdrop of the deepening economic crisis and loss of popularity, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu abandons his free market vision in favor of handouts to all Israeli citizens.

(L to R) Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, Chairman of the Yad Vashem Holocaust Remembrance Center Avner Shalev, and Israel's Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi pose for a picture together after signing an agreement at the ministry headquarters in Jerusalem on June 10, 2020. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s Foreign Ministry officially back in business

Something good is happening with Israel’s Foreign Ministry, as vacant positions are being filled and a spirit of projects advancing is filling the corridors.

TOPSHOT - Protesters crouch down as Israeli police use water cannons during clashes at a demonstration against the Israeli prime minister outside his official residence in Jerusalem, early on July 22, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, 70, was indicted in January for bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three cases. He denies all the charges and accuses the media and legal officials of a witch hunt. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli protesters attacked again in Tel Aviv

President Reuven Rivlin, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and opposition leader Yair Lapid have all condemned yesterday's violence against anti-government demonstrators.

Participants hold rainbow flags as they take part in Tel Aviv's annual Pride Parade amid the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 28, 2020. - Thousands took part in muted LGBT events across Israel today as the usually larger gatherings were cancelled due to coronavirus restrictions. In Tel Aviv, home to the Middle East's biggest annual Pride parade, revellers gathered at Rabin Square for a concert featuring local stars including transgender Eurovision winner Dana International. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JA

Israeli-Arab society torn over LGBTQ legislation

The vote over a bill banning gay "conversion therapy" stirred a real conflict within Israeli-Arab politics and society.

TOPSHOT - Israeli Arabs take part in a demonstration against violence, organised crime and recent killings among their communities, outside the prime minister's office in Jerusalem on October 10, 2019. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian hands tied as crime rises in East Jerusalem

Palestinians living in East Jerusalem are concerned by rising crime among the Arab population and complain that Israeli security forces are turning a blind eye while blocking Palestinian security forces from establishing control.

Should Netanyahu worry over violent protests against him?

As political and public energy that has welled up against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the last few years is about to burst the floodgates, some worry he could be the target of an assassination attempt.

A picture taken from the northern Israeli town of Metula shows the southern Lebanese village of Kfar Kila behind the concrete barrier wall along the border between the two countries, on July 28, 2020. - Israel said it had repelled an attempt by Hezbollah fighters to penetrate its northern border on July 27, but the Lebanese group denied any involvement in the incident.
The border clash, which Israel said included an exchange of fire between its troops and gunmen, followed days of reported heightened tensi

Israel, Hezbollah playing war game, but avoid real conflagration

Attempting to avoid further escalation with Hezbollah, the Israel Defense Forces are careful to showcase lots of fire and brimstone, but no casualties on either side.

Israeli settlers firebomb mosque in West Bank

Attacks by ultranationalist Jewish settlers in the West Bank have occurred this year amid Israel's planned — but so far unsuccessful — attempts to annex parts of the Palestinian territory.

Fighting breaks out on Israel-Lebanon border

Tensions keep escalating on the Israel-Lebanon border, with IDF and Hezbollah exchanging heavy fire.

An Israeli girl picks Ranunculus flowers in a cultivated field in the southern Israeli Kibbutz of Nir Yitzhak, located along the Israeli-Gaza Strip border, on April 20, 2015. The flower bulbs will be mostly exported to Europe. AFP PHOTO / MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Winning Israeli idea helps urban agriculture take root

The Forest City initiative is taking advantage of the coronavirus crisis by encouraging urban agriculture while Israelis stay home and garden.