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Israel

August 30, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:43 am

26°C

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel’s Lebanon dilemma: Confront Hezbollah without angering Trump, triggering Iran

Israeli sources point out that the pilot project for Israel's withdrawal and the Lebanese military taking control over the area is not working because of the government's reluctance to search for Hezbollah's weapons in private homes.

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

A boy walks carrying a table on his back past salvage workers scrapping the rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza City on Aug. 16, 2026. — Photo by Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Hamas bide their time as Gaza peace plan stalls

As the Israel-Hamas ceasefire approaches the one-year mark in October, the Board of Peace is under pressure to deliver results in the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a press conference with US President Donald Trump at his Mar-a-Lago club on Dec. 29, 2025, in Palm Beach, Florida. — Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Netanyahu trails Eisenkot in new poll as Israel's right-wing bloc weakens

Israelis prefer former defense minister over the current prime minister to lead country, while the religious-nationalist People of Israel party is projected to win six Knesset seats.

Latest News

Exclusive

Israel recalibrates Syria policy, explores path to security deal

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)

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

Ex-defense minister: Israel in ‘worst possible’ Gaza situation as Hamas gains strength

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.

Wreck of ship sunk by Israeli military in Irgun clash found after 78 years

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.

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

Benny Gantz, head of Blue and White party, speaks during a rally commemorating the 24th anniversary of the assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, in Tel Aviv, Israel November 2, 2019. REUTERS/Corinna Kern - RC1B15A9F070

Three options for Benny Gantz to compose a government

As his deadline to form a government approaches, Blue and White party head Benny Gantz is left with three main options before returning the mandate to the president.

Jordanian citizen Hiba Labadi gestures upon her release by Israel, at the King Hussein Bridge crossing near Amman, Jordan, November 6, 2019. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC2N5D9H4IBL

Latest Israel-Jordan crisis: One too many?

After 25 years of a cold but stable peace, should Israel stop taking for granted its relations with Jordan and start to invest real effort and resources into it?

Israel's Minister of Culture and Sport, Miri Regev, leaves after speaking to members of the Israeli Ethiopian community during a ceremony marking the Ethiopian Jewish holiday of Sigd in Jerusalem November 7, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1855195D30

Israel’s culture minister offers settlers own propaganda film fund

The new initiative of Culture Minister Miri Regev for the establishment of three film funds hides her true purpose — to offer the settlers their own propaganda film fund.

JERUSALEM - OCTOBER 22: Palestinian Authority Jerusalem Governor Adnan Ghaith appears in the Israeli court on October 22, 2018 in Jerusalem. (Photo by Mostafa Alkharouf /Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Why is Israel after Adnan Ghaith?

Israel continues to target Adnan Ghaith, the Palestinian Authority’s representative in Jerusalem, for arrest and bans, claiming that his activities in East Jerusalem undermine Israeli authority over the city, while Palestinians see the Israeli actions as an attempt to eliminate the Palestinian presence there.

Nir Hefetz sits in the Magistrate Court next to a policeman during his remand hearing in Tel Aviv, Israel, February 22, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC16A7155DA0

Pressure increases on Israel's attorney general over case against Netanyahu

As tensions heighten with Israel's attorney general getting closer to deciding whether to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, some Netanyahu supporters are crying foul over police tactics during the interrogation of Nir Hefetz, a key witness, and claim that as a result of them the most serious charges against the prime minister should be dropped.

Alan Dershowitz arrives at the Manhattan Federal Court in New York, U.S., September 24, 2019. REUTERS/Jefferson Siegel - RC16F55E4430

Trump defender Dershowitz signs on as lobbyist for Israeli billionaire accused of looting Africa

The civil liberties lawyer is close to both US and Israeli leaders.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Sen. Elizabeth Warren speaks at a Democratic Party fundraising dinner, the Liberty and Justice Celebration, in Des Moines, Iowa, U.S. November 1, 2019. REUTERS/Eric Thayer - RC17AFBA9C70

Will 2020 candidates' calls to condition Israeli military aid spark public debate?

The calls of Democrats Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren to condition US security aid to Israel on changes of policy could alienate the Israeli public but could also trigger a useful public debate and even revingorate Israel's security industry.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett gestures as he delivers a statement to members of the media, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem November 19, 2018. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DC3C46DA0

Israel's Bennett becoming principal actor again

The recent rapprochement between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and New Right senior leader Naftali Bennett is turning Bennett once again into a principal political actor.

Israeli Education Minister Naftali Bennett attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 27, 2019. Abir Sultan/Pool via REUTERS - RC12B7408000

Hamas, Gaza on agenda of Israel’s coalition talks

New Right senior Naftali Bennett has toned down his statements on the Gaza Strip over the past few days; he is interested in becoming the defense minister in a future Netanyahu government.

Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi gestures during a joint news conference with German Defence Minister Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer in Amman, Jordan, August 19, 2019. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RC1A8F383900

Jordan willing to escalate to get back its citizens detained by Israel

Jordan has recalled its ambassador to Tel Aviv in protest against the ongoing administrative detention of two of its nationals, threatening to take further escalatory steps.

Israel 2019, at the mercy of the Chief Rabbinate

The Haifa rabbinical court decided to take children out of their mother's custody, because the mother was not keeping a religious lifestyle.

Interview

Saudi Arabia still awaiting signs of ‘goodwill’ from Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud talks about the "dramatic effect" of the September attacks on Saudi Arabia’s oil fields, and says there will be no official Saudi contacts with Israel until the Palestinian issue is resolved.

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Prince Turki bin Faisal bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud

Former Saudi Arabian Ambassador to the US