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Israel

September 2, 2026

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Analysis

Israel favors status quo as tensions in Iran's leadership fuel escalation risk

Israel would prefer to preserve the current balance of pressure — with US naval blockades and economic measures continuing without a return to active fighting — per a senior Israeli security source.

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

Mecca Alliance

Israel, Greece sign $3.5 billion air-defense deal: What to know

Against the backdrop of growing tensions with Turkey, Israel signed one of its largest-ever defense industry deals to supply Greece with advanced air defense systems.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) and Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrive for a joint press conference following their meeting at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Feb. 4, 2025.

Analysis

Why Turkey welcomes Israel-Syria talks despite mounting red lines

Turkey supports US-backed Israel-Syria talks but sees little prospect of a lasting accommodation until the Israeli elections.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Latest News

Israel, Hamas bide their time as Gaza peace plan stalls

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

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

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

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 attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 6, 2019. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC1851386D20

Analysis: Israel’s dirty election campaign kicks off

Shortly after announcing early elections, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is targeting his rivals with rumors, accusations and even fake news, especially former IDF chief Benny Gantz.

U.S. National Security Advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo attend the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons annual meeting at the White House in Washington, U.S., October 11, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC112D918F90

Rival fiefdoms emerge in scramble over Trump's Syria withdrawal

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and national security adviser John Bolton have offered different messages about President Donald Trump’s intentions for a Syria withdrawal.

A member of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas stands guard at the gate of Rafah border crossing, in the southern Gaza Strip January 7, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC16B100DC80

Intel: How cooperation at Gaza-Egypt border fell victim to Palestinian infighting

Kuwait's Foreign Minister Sabah Al Khalid Al Sabah attends a meeting of Foreign Ministers of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) member states, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, March 30, 2017. REUTERS/Faisal Al Nasser - RC1E163FE170

Kuwait breaks from GCC on warming up to Israel

While Kuwait is joining its fellow GCC nations in terms of supporting Syria's return to the Arab League, Kuwaiti officials want nothing to do with Israel.

Netanyahu’s Golan statement ignores new Syria reality

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partnering with the far-right and proclaiming sovereignty over the Golan Heights is more important than aspiring to regional alliances with Muslim and Arab countries.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli politicians cower before Jewish terror

The political outcry over settler youths arrested for causing the death of a Palestinian woman reflects the Israeli leadership's fear of the settlers’ political power.

Zionist Camp split reveals ethnic divide among Israeli left

The dissolution of the Zionist Camp is about much more than a rift between Labor head Avi Gabbay and Hatnua leader Tzipi Livni; it shows that the long years of bitterness between Mizrahi and Ashkenazi Jews are far from over.

How Israeli senior officials deal with an unpredictable Trump

The decisions by President Donald Trump to pull out of the Iranian nuke agreement, and recently to exit Syria, worry Israeli senior officials.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni of the Zionist Union addresses attendees at the "Haaretz Q: with New Israel Fund" event at The Roosevelt Hotel in the Manhattan borough of New York City, December 13, 2015. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly - GF10000264652

Unclear future for Livni's daring diplomatic agenda

After the dismantling of the Zionist Camp, Tzipi Livni’s Hatnua Party is almost the only party for which the diplomatic process remains at the top of its platform, and which doesn’t lean to the right or speak in vague terms.

Israel’s dangerous game on conditions of Palestinian prisoners

The declaration by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan about worsening Palestinian prisoners’ conditions would only generate unrest in prisons and on the Palestinian street.

Israel’s ‘shooting routine’ on Gaza border

Israel must re-examine the army’s open-fire orders that result in Palestinians shot to death during Friday protests near the Gaza border; one such gunshot killed Gaza volunteer paramedic Rouzan al-Najjar in 2018.

Will Egyptians ever accept normalization with Israel?

Even the hint of normalization efforts between Israel and Egypt creates a public outcry in Cairo.