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Israel

May 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:48 pm

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NICOSIA, CYPRUS - APRIL 24: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for an informal meeting of European Union leaders on April 24, 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The EU heads of state and government are meeting over two days to discuss the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the effects of high fuel prices, and how Europe may contribute to de-escalation and a peace agreement. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)

Syria's Sharaa renews ban on Israeli imports in customs law: What to know

The renewal comes even as Damascus pursues US-backed security talks with Israel aimed at reducing tensions along the border.

Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Somaliland's first ambassador to Israel announces embassy in Jerusalem: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

Israel’s preferred strategy, sources told Al-Monitor, calls for a comprehensive naval, economic, land and air blockade of Iran, alongside tighter sanctions and covert activity aimed at destabilizing the regime.

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

Men gather around the husk of a destroyed pickup truck that was driven by a local shepherd who was reportedly struck by Israeli forces and buried by locals at a grave nearby, in the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq, on May 12, 2026.

What we know about secret Israeli bases in Iraq

Iraqi authorities have said there are no longer any hostile forces operating in its territory.

Latest News

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

talks

Analysis

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

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.

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

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

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

Will Gantz jettison or legitimize Netanyahu's fear mongering?

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz must decide whether to keep his promise not to enter a government with indicted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or capitulate to Netanyahu's campaign to delegitimize the Joint Lists duly elected representatives.

An employee of the Islamic Waqf stands in front of the closed doors of Al-Aqsa mosque in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, after Muslim clerics shut the mosque until further notice as a precaution against coronavirus March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2BKF9DQLY0

How coronavirus outbreak has boosted Palestinian-Israeli cooperation

While Palestinian-Israeli cooperation has been revved up to the highest level for some time due to the coronavirus outbreak, some problems persist.

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz stands next to his party co-leaders Moshe Yaalon, Yair Lapid and Gaby Ashkenazi as he speaks to supporters following the announcement of exit polls in Israel's election at the party's headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel March 3, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC20CF9OD5IB

Netanyahu’s target: to isolate coronavirus, Benny Gantz

On the backdrop of internal party disagreements, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz must make a decision on whether to join a Netanyahu unity government.

Israeli Health Ministry inspectors put on protective gear before they go up to the apartment of a person in self quarantine as a precaution against coronavirus spread in Hadera, Israel March 16, 2020 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC23LF9W9DN6

Israel’s top court weighs coronavirus surveillance technology

Israel's High Court has held an emergency hearing on the government's use of cyber technologies to track carriers and suspected carriers of the novel coronavirus.

Israel, Palestinians cooperate over coronavirus

When the crisis surrounding the coronavirus is finally over, Israelis and Palestinians alike will realize that it is possible to do things differently and cooperate in various areas.

Hamas spy story shakes up Arab society, Israeli politics

The Aya Khatib affair has not only divided Israeli Arab society, it is also haunting the political prospects of the Blue and White and its ability to cooperate with the Joint List.

Travelers wearing masks chat in the arrivals terminal after Israel said it will require anyone arriving from overseas to self-quarantine for 14 days as a precaution against the spread of coronavirus, at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel March 10, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2WGF9S9SQ2

Israel seals borders to foreigners in latest coronavirus measure

Israel announced it would close its borders to noncitizens to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

A general view picture shows part of East Jerusalem neighbourhoods behind the Israeli barrier January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2LPE9PKBS0

Israel, US pretend East Jerusalem Palestinians don’t exist

The latest report by the US State Department refers to Palestinians of East Jerusalem as “non-Israeli residents,’’ as if changing their description could change the reality.

How Netanyahu is turning Israel into a banana republic

Once the coronavirus crisis is over, Israelis will discover what Arab Knesset members warned a long time ago: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "stole" their democracy.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at his Jerusalem office, regarding the new measures that will be taken to fight the coronavirus, March 14, 2020. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC2WJF9YZ20U

Coronavirus, not Iran, Netanyahu’s biggest test

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has focused his political career on battling the Iranian nuke program as the biggest threat to Israel, but his legacy ultimately hinges on the way he confronts the current coronavirus outbreak.

Netanyahu’s coronavirus strategy erodes Israel’s democracy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu exploits the coronavirus panic to erode Israel’s democracy, limit the Knesset, introduce emergency-mode regulations, and prevent Blue and White from implementing the majority garnered by the opposition bloc.

Israeli border policemen wearing protective gear as a precaution against the coronavirus, guard at an Israeli checkpoint in the occupied West Bank on the outskirts of Jerusalem March 11, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2MHF9K85OW

On near-national lockdown, Israelis ordered indoors unless ‘absolutely necessary’

Israel's new steps, which are aimed to slow the spread of the novel coronavirus, include further restrictions on Palestinian day laborers entering Israel.