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September 3, 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

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters chant slogans during last day of Ashura, in Beirut, Lebanon September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC1B0033DBD0

Iran’s shift of tactics endangers Israel

Israel Defense Forces are confronted with a new reality in which Hezbollah receives weapons from Iran by air cargo landing in Beirut and not by truck convoys from Syria.

Legal discrimination in Israel spreads to utilities, local governance

The Israel Electric Corporation's announcement that it will refrain from cutting off power for delinquent Jewish customers during the Jewish holidays marks another insidious ripple effect of the discriminatory nationality law.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, shows a map during an interview on home-renting company Airbnb's decision to remove listings in Israeli settlements, in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, November 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC17C73791A0

Intel: Why Israel is turning to US states to fight Airbnb’s West Bank boycott

Egypt proves itself a reliable mediator to Palestinians

Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abdel Khalek, the Egyptian intelligence officer in charge of Cairo's Palestinian portfolio, made an unprecedented appearance to pay respects to the families of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade fighters killed in clashes with Israel.

Netanyahu plays high-stakes game with defense portfolio

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys his role of defense minister, though he must worry that if any security crisis emerges, he will be perceived as solely responsible.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Czech President Milos Zeman attend the inauguration of the "Czech House" in Jerusalem November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC12B86811C0

Netanyahu’s diplomacy: buying friends by selling weapons

Rather than basing its global standing on the principles of equality and justice, Israel exports cyber weaponry to tyrannical, racist rulers.

Why Iran is also a strategic asset for Israel

A significant number of Arab and Muslim leaders in the Middle East and the world fear Iran. For them, Israel is the only real answer to the Iranian threat and the only country able to confront it.

El Al caves to ultra-Orthodox threats, retracts blame for flight fiasco

Following an outrageous incident in which a flight was forced to land in Greece to avoid the Sabbath, Israel's national carrier El Al has backed down from identifying ultra-Orthodox passengers as the cause of the commotion for fear of a boycott.

What’s behind the Chadian president's visit to Israel?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he will soon fly to Chad to re-establish diplomatic ties, but, before doing that, Netanyahu must consider which image of Israel he wants to advance in Africa.

Cease-fire agreement sends tremors through Israeli Knesset

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cease-fire agreement with Gaza led Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to submit his resignation, it also led the opposition to call for early elections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the plenum of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1C0029F120

Will Netanyahu’s coalition collapse?

Facing the danger of a negative vote, the narrow coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to withdraw two bills that were set to be approved this week.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement to the members of the media in Tel Aviv, Israel November 18, 2018. REUTERS/Corinna Kern - RC1117126B60

Netanyahu's security has little to do with peace

Instead of focusing on a lasting peace with Gaza and the best way to achieve it, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has built his security policies on existential threats.