Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

May 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:25 pm

26°C

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Hungary’s parliament voted to remain in the International Criminal Court, reversing a planned withdrawal and marking a shift in Budapest’s approach to Israel and the EU.

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Odeh was killed in a Tuesday strike in the Palestinian enclave just days after he assumed his leadership position.

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Analysis

'Very bad news’: Israel alarmed as Trump pushes ahead toward Iran deal

Israel fears that Iran could emerge from the war strengthened by access to its frozen financial assets and regional acceptance of its dominance over the Strait of Hormuz and potentially resume its nuclear program.

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

Latest News

Israel strikes near Lebanon’s Qaraoun dam as war intensifies: What to know

A partial view shows a drainage vacuum hole on the lake of Qaraoun in Lebanon's southern Beqaa Valley on April 5, 2019.

US gave Israel 'tacit agreement' to target senior Hezbollah figures

A view shows a Lebanese flag positioned among shattered concrete and twisted rebar, remnants of a destroyed building, in Sidon, Lebanon, on May 3, 2026.

Israel’s Shin Bet chief meets Mohammed Dahlan in UAE: What to know

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

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

Members of the United Nations Security Council vote on an Egyptian-drafted resolution regarding recent decisions concerning the status of Jerusalem, during a meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including Palestine, at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, New York, U.S., December 18, 2017. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid - RC16CA279060

Congress threatens to cut UN funding for voting against Israel

President Donald Trump and Congress are on the same page with a new law that would cut US funding for UN agencies deemed insufficiently supportive of Israel.

Palestinian women standing on a balcony look at the damaged interior of the home of Bahaa Allyan, a Palestinian who killed three Israelis in a shooting and stabbing attack with an accomplice on a bus in October, after Israeli forces used jackhammers to destroy the walls of the middle floor of a three-story building in the east Jerusalem Palestinian neighbourhood of Jabal Mukaber on January 4, 2016. Allyan, who was shot dead, had on October 13 along with a fellow Palestinian shot and stabbed passengers on a

Israelis, Palestinians both use demography as political tool

The aspirations of the political right to annex West Bank lands have never been more obvious, as reflected in this week’s stormy Knesset committee debate about Jewish-Arab demography.

Israeli mayor finds thorns in 'village of roses'

The head of a Jewish local council of Kfar Vradim in the Galilee halted the marketing of housing lots after half the bid winners were Arabs.

Israeli cartoonists draw on 70 years of history

Israel makes a rich canvas for cartoonists, whose works are displayed at the Israeli Museum of Caricature and Comics on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the country's independence this spring.

Abbas' parting shots

Despite Mahmoud Abbas' peaceful overtures, rhetoric and actions, the second Palestinian president is about to leave the political stage without peace in his lifetime.

Israeli leftist leader digs herself a hole

Instead of offering the dwindling Meretz a new beginning, the leftist party's newly elected chair, Tamar Zandberg, lied to her supporters.

Yahya Sinwar (C), the new leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip, arrives for the opening of a new mosque in Rafah town in the southern Gaza Strip on February 24, 2017. / AFP / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Will Hamas' Gaza chief resign?

Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar estimates that without reconciliation with Fatah, Hamas is doomed to lose its grip on the coastal enclave.

Decision to declassify Syria strike sparks 'war of the generals' in Israel

The Mossad, Israeli military intelligence, the IDF and former decision-makers are all fighting for credit over the 2007 Syrian reactor bombing.

Could container homes alleviate Israeli housing crisis?

Israeli architects and students explore the concept of using shipping containers as homes and shopping spaces.

Netanyahu needs Likud 'soldiers' to fight for his survival

The pre-Passover celebration of Likud members reflected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s success of turning the Likud into a one-man party.

Palestinians set to reject US peace plan

According to American sources, the peace plan elaborated by the Trump administration will offer Palestinians limited sovereignty on limited territory.

IDF demands 'excessive' transparency from rights groups

The Civil Administration in the West Bank has increased the information it requires from peace groups that organize face-to-face encounters between Palestinians and Israelis, and some activists say the new demands go much too far.