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Israel

June 21, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:43 am

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Former Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot gives a press conference in Tel Aviv, on December 4, 2018.

Can political novice Eisenkot defeat Netanyahu in upcoming elections?

The former military chief of staff is emerging as the prime minister's strongest rival in upcoming elections, overtaking former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in recent polls.

US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025.

Analysis

How Netanyahu used Lebanon strikes to push back on Trump’s Iran deal

The latest ceasefire in Lebanon leaves Netanyahu squeezed between Washington and domestic pressure.

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

Latest News

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Explainer

Ben-Gvir's move to run separately in Israel elections revives debate over party alliances

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir takes part in the Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 14, 2026, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

Why Israel is keeping a close eye on Iran’s parliamentary elections

Some Israeli security experts view the Iran nuclear deal and lifting of sanctions with cautious optimism, and consider upcoming elections a test case to see what path the Iranian people will choose.

Former Israeli minister calls removal of Iran sanctions a 'black day'

Former Minister Ephraim Sneh argues that the US administration was so keen to sign the nuclear deal that it ignored Iran's true nature and global aspirations.

Latest spat with Sweden highlights Israeli diplomatic shortcomings

Instead of working the diplomatic front and dialoguing with Sweden about the incendiary statement by Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom, reactions from Israel's Foreign Ministry have been uncoordinated and emotional.

22 years after corruption scandal, Deri returns to Israel’s Interior Ministry

Supporters of Shas leader Aryeh Deri are celebrating his appointment to once again head the Ministry of Interior, from which he was forced to resign in 1993.

Who are Israel's true friends?

The Israeli government tends to label every policy critical of Israel as an anti-Israeli policy.

Can Abbas bring hope to desperate young Palestinians?

Demonstrating against the Israeli occupation, young Palestinians have also been pointing a finger at President Mahmoud Abbas, who has finally addressed them and their problems in his latest speeches.

FOR RELEASE WITH FEATURE MIDEAST-SETTLERS - Jewish settler and manager of the Mofaz Etzion bullet-proof vest factory Shamai Ben-Baruch (L) helps his daughter Itamar model a child-sized bullet proof jacket in the West Bank settlement of Gush Etzion, near Hebron. Almost a day does not pass without Jewish settlers being shot at and sometimes killed as they drive on West Bank "bypass" roads. Many settlers are now buying bullet-proof vests to wear when they travel to and from their settlements.

NB - RTRJYGM

Israeli fashion gets tactical

Business is booming for Israeli clothes manufacturers that have developed bullet- and knife-resistant fabrics and apparel, though they may not all deliver what they promise.

A Palestinian worker straightens scrap metal collected from the rubble of a hotel in Gaza City that was destroyed during Israel's three-week offensive nearly two years ago November 7, 2010. Thousands of Gazans, mainly young men and boys, go close to a no-go border zone in the Gaza Strip daily to pick over the wreckage of factories and houses flattened by Israel in the past few years in its conflict with Islamist Hamas militants who control the enclave. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) -

Gaza scrap collectors finally back in business

Following years of interruption due to Israel's blockade on the Gaza Strip, the scrap trade there has resumed, sparking economic hope.

A member of the Druze community holds a Druze flag as he speaks to an Israeli soldier near the border fence between Syria and the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, near Majdal Shams June 18, 2015. Gathered at a hilltop in the Israeli-held Golan Heights, a group of Druze sheikhs look through binoculars at the Syrian village of Hader, surrounded by Islamist fighters. They fear their brethren are in imminent danger. Intense battles this week have left Syria's al Qaeda branch, the Nusra Front, in control of hills

Does Bibi limit rights to those who are 'Israeli all the way'?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has tied "loyalty" to the state to budget allocations for improvements in minority communities.

Knesset's public image in free fall

The Israeli public has lost trust in the Knesset as its members advance anti-democratic legislation and provoke each other into embarrassing public altercations.

B'Tselem field researcher Iyad Hadad (2nd R) listens to a testimony from a Palestinian farmer, who said his land was damaged in an attack by Israeli settlers, in the West Bank village of Turmus Aya near Ramallah June 8, 2015. B'Tselem is an Israeli NGO that has long been a bane of the government, tirelessly flagging human rights abuses by Israel's military in the Palestinian territories. Set up by a group of academics, lawyers, journalists and politicians more than 25 years ago, the organisation - whose nam

The dirty war between Israel’s right-wing and left-wing NGOs

Israeli human rights nongovernmental organizations object to an investigative report by Channel 2 that accuses an activist of plotting against Palestinian land owners selling their property to Jews but stained all the NGOs in the process.

Netanyahu offers royal welcome to new IDF submarine

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally welcomed Israel's fifth German-made submarine.