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Israel

August 30, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:22 am

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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.

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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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 Middle East War at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem October 10, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC164B9F1A90

As indictment deadline approaches, Netanyahu panics

The perfect storm is approaching: Not only will Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit decide soon whether or not to indict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, leaks from police questioning of Yair Netanyahu make the picture even darker.

PSAGOT, WEST BANK - JULY 24: Evangelical Christian volunteers harvest Chardonnay grapes for Psagot Winery in a vineyard on July 24, 2017 in the Israeli settlement of Psagot in the West Bank. In a trend that started in recent years, Israeli wineries have begun to harvest earlier in the season, a move winemakers attribute to record-hitting hot summer months causing their grapes to ripen sooner. Some wineries harvest at night in order to preserve the freshness of the grapes while others harvest at dawn and rus

Top Netanyahu donors’ West Bank winery seeks Trump’s help fighting EU

The Psagot winery has hired a former US ambassador to the EU to lobby against “settlement” labeling regulations.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas casts his vote for municipal elections at a polling station in Al-Bireh, next to the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 20, 2012. REUTERS/Abbas Momami/Pool (WEST BANK - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS) - GM1E8AK1G8301

Abbas conditions PA elections on polling stations in Jerusalem

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has made East Jerusalem polling stations a requirement for elections for the Palestinian Parliament.

Netanyahu’s Israel: Safe-haven for criminals

Israel’s ill repute for political corruption has an additional aspect: Capitalizing on their Jewish origins, criminals from other countries are finding a safe haven in Israel from law enforcement authorities abroad who prefer these criminals remain in Israel.

How to protect judges who would preside in Netanyahu case

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been loudly claiming that the police, the state prosecution and the attorney general have been persecuting him; he likely would try to undermine and even attack his judges if and when brought to trial.

Israel's far right advances conspiracy theory on Rabin’s murder

The statement by professor Mordechai Kedar about Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin not being assassinated by Yigal Amir should sound the alarm over the radicalization of the Israeli right wing and the proliferation of conspiracy theories.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White party looks on during his party faction meeting at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC12E38F45B0

Is a minority government in Israel a real option?

The meeting between Blue and White leader Benny Gantz and Arab Joint List leader Ayman Odeh marks a historic change, even if it will probably not lead to a joint minority government.

An Israeli soldier walks near the area where the Israeli army is excavating part of a cliff to create an additional barrier along its border with Lebanon, near the community of Shlomi in northern Israel April 6, 2016. Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Lieutenant-General Eli David, who serves as an engineering officer in a northern division, told Reuters on Wednesday that the army began work on the new barrier by exposing the cliff in January 2015, to help protect communities located close to the Lebanese border

Israel’s dilemma over its ‘war between wars’

Iran's transfer of its activity center from Syria to Lebanon and the American withdrawal from Syria have created for Israel a new, complex strategic challenge.

Israel's Oscars pick explores mind of Rabin's assassin

Nearly a quarter century after Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin was felled by an assassin’s bullet, a new film exploring his killer’s motives is generating controversy, and garnering acclaim, in Israel.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate Senator Bernie Sanders holds a campaign rally in Detroit, Michigan, U.S. October 27, 2019. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook - RC1F1686AC20

Sanders runs to left of J Street and 2020 opponents on aid to Israel

Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., is calling for broad conditions on US military aid to Israel as many of his opponents come out in favor of more limited restrictions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks with member of the Knesset for Likud Zeev Elkin as they attend the swearing-in ceremony of the 22nd Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 3, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1F058B5430

Netanyahu’s opposition within the Likud

While Likud leaders don’t dispute Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc policy, a rebellious group within the party has launched a broad campaign against the alliance with the right-ultra-Orthodox parties.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White, delivers a statement before his party faction meeting in Tel Aviv, Israel September 19, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1D073452E0

Decision on unity government in Gantz’s hands

Blue and White party leader Benny Gantz is himself holding talks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and he will be the one to decide whether to strike a deal with the Likud.