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August 27, 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

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

Medical staff work in the COVID-19 isolation ward of Sheba Medical Center, Israel's largest hospital, in Ramat Gan near the coastal city of Tel Aviv on June 30, 2020. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images)

Has Israel lost control over coronavirus pandemic?

Faced with a continued spike in coronavirus cases, Israel’s government is set to reimpose crowding restrictions.

An employee walks on the Expedient regasification ship, anchored off the coast of Israel in the Mediterranean Sea on February 26, 2015, as natural gas began flowing from the vessel, hired by the Israel Electric Corporation, to its power stations. The ship, anchored about ten kilometres from the Hadera coast, was connected the previous week to the marine buoy and as of February 25, natural gas has begun flowing from the LNG (liquid natural gas) ship through an underwater pipeline directly to the company's po

Israel, Egypt energy ties so far unaffected by coronavirus crisis, annexation plan

Despite the coronavirus crisis and the annexation plan, agreements to export Israeli natural gas to Egypt remain intact.

Palestinian Authority to pay civil servants half their monthly wages amid cash crunch

Faced with a worsening financial crisis, the Palestinian Authority has slashed the salaries of its public sector employees.

Palestinian girls walk past a mural of Pope Francis in the Jabal al-Baba Bedouin encampment, near the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem, on November 23, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Vatican summons Israel, US ambassadors over West Bank annexation

The Vatican's secretary of state met with US Ambassador Callista Gingrich and Israeli Ambassador Oren David on Tuesday.

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)

Crickets as Netanyahu's annexation date comes and goes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to admit his annexation plan did not move forward July 1 amid tepid US support and a populace distracted by more pressing issues.

British PM Johnson writes op-ed in opposition to West Bank annexation

Boris Johnson wrote the article in Israel's Ynet news outlet as a "friend" of Israel, saying annexation of the Palestinian territory is not in Israel's best interests.

The front page of Israel's daily Yedioth Ahronoth, the country's leading daily newspaper, shows a headline from an interview by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson reading in Hebrew: "I am passionate defender of Israel that's why I oppose the annexation", in Jerusalem on July 1, 2020. - The government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said it could begin the process to annex Jewish settlements in the West Bank as well as the strategic Jordan Valley from today. The plan -- endorsed by Washing

Israeli left chills public support for annexation

New campaigns by the Israeli political left seem to be effectively throwing cold water on the public's support of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s annexation plan.

Palestinian journalists hamstrung by Israel, PA law, internet giants

Palestinian journalists face pressure from multiple directions, even in the relative freedom of the internet.

ANN ARBOR, MI - MARCH 08: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) addresses supporters during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on March 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ocasio-Cortez has become a Democratic Party favorite among millennials and Gen Z. Sanders covered his policy agendas for immigration, women's rights, healthcare and economic inequality. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/Getty Images)

Intel: AOC incurs AIPAC’s wrath with anti-annexation letter

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are facing off over a letter the progressive firebrand sent Tuesday warning against Israeli efforts to annex parts of the West Bank.

Netanyahu calls for 'snapback sanctions' against Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook — the perfect opportunity for the premier to show his tight ties with Washington and control of the Iranian file.

Israeli Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz 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)

Trapped by Netanyahu, Gantz loses popularity

Supporters of Blue and White leader Benny Gantz have not forgiven him for joining Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government and their disappointment could mean the end of his political career.

TOPSHOT - Protestors wave Palestinian flags in front of Israel consulate in Istanbul on May 15, 2018 during a protest against the killing, the day before, of 59 Palestinians in clashes and protests, on the same day as the United States formally moved its embassy in Israel to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv in defiance of international outrage. (Photo by OZAN KOSE / AFP) (Photo credit should read OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel goes after Turkish projects in Jerusalem

Jerusalem Municipality destroyed a plaque marking Turkey’s contribution to the restoration of a cemetery in the city as Israeli concerns over the Turkish activities in East Jerusalem persist.