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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 14, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:24 pm

28°C

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

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

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

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

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah waves during a news conference in Gaza City March 25, 2015. Hamdallah, who arrived to Gaza on Wednesday, urged donor countries to fulfill their financial obligations for the reconstruction of Gaza. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

- RTR4UTH1

Shifting tides in PA-EU relationship

Since the Vatican recognized the state of Palestine, Palestinians are hoping more European states will follow suit.

Arab Israeli coed marathon canceled after threats

The struggle to hold a coed marathon in Tira exposed the clash in Arab Israeli society between increasing liberalization and traditional religiosity.

RAFAH, GAZA STRIP - AUGUST 16: Ahmed Youssef, an adviser to Ismail Haniya of Hamas, the dismissed Palestinian prime minister speaks as he sits at his home August 16, 2007 in Rafah, southern of the Gaza Strip. Today, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas issued an executive decree convicting any one who joins the administrative forces or militia of the rival Hamas movement. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images) *** Local Caption *** Ahmed Youssef

Former Hamas official speaks out

In this interview with Al-Monitor, Ahmed Yousef, former political adviser to deputy chairman of Hamas’ political bureau, Ismail Haniyeh, weighs in on the negotiations with Israel, the future of a potential reconciliation with Fatah and international relations.

Part of a tunnel exposed by the Israeli military is seen on the Israeli side of the Israel-Gaza border August 14, 2014. A renewed truce between Israel and Hamas appeared to be holding on Thursday despite a shaky start, after both sides agreed to give Egyptian-brokered talks more time to try to end the Gaza war. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR42EPD

Israel silent while Hamas digs tunnels

Before getting into another round of fighting in Gaza, Israel must use its nonmilitary tools to stop the tunnel digging that Hamas has continued to pursue so vigorously.

The head of Lebanon's Hezbollah parliamentary bloc Mohamed Raad speaks during a news conference in Beirut March 4, 2011. Raad spoke out against the Special Tribunal for Lebanon (STL), which was established in 2007 to prosecute, under Lebanese law, criminal acts relating to the 2005 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Lebanon. REUTERS/Jamal Saidi (LEBANON) - RTR2JFBJ

Senior Hezbollah official speaks out

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, the head of Hezbollah’s parliamentary bloc in Lebanon discusses the war in Syria and the party’s role there, the Saudi war against Yemen and the presidential stalemate in Lebanon.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) sits next to armed forces chief Major-General Benny Gantz (L) and Gilad Erdan, minister of communications and home front protection, during a drill simulating a chemical rocket attack in Jerusalem May 29, 2013. Israel continued on Wednesday with its annual home front defence exercise, launched on Monday, preparing soldiers and civilians for missile attacks. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX104PX

Erdan challenges Netanyahu, refuses Cabinet position

In a surprising move, senior Likud member and former Interior Minister Gilad Erdan rejected Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s offer of a Cabinet position and is staying out of the new government.

The Minister of Public Diplomacy and Diaspora Affairs, Yuli- Yoel Edelstein briefs journalist at the Crown Plaza hotel in Jerusalem.

שר ההסברה והתפוצות, יולי- יואל אדלשטיין מתדרך עיתונאים במלון קראון פלזה בירושלים.

Knesset speaker calls for unity government

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset speaker Yuli (Yoel) Edelstein argues that the new coalition is too fragile to survive, and calls on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to form a unity government with the Zionist Camp.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) shakes hands with members of the opposition after he was sworn-in as Prime Minister for the fourth time, to lead the 34th Israeli government, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem May 14, 2015. Netanyahu's new rightist coalition government, hobbled from the outset by its razor-thin parliamentary majority, was sworn in late on Thursday amid wrangling within his Likud party over cabinet posts. Picture taken May 14, 2015. REUETRS/Jim Hollander/Pool -

Netanyahu's new government already on shaky ground

With the numerous challenges facing the new Netanyahu government, and with a slender majority, many are predicting his coalition won't last long.

An Israeli soldier walks near his tank just outside the Israeli border with the northern Gaza Strip August 23, 2014. Egypt called on Israel and the Palestinians on Saturday to halt fire and resume peace talks, but violence continued unabated with Israeli air strikes in the Gaza Strip and Hamas militants firing rockets at the Jewish state. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY CONFLICT) - RTR43H0K

Israel debates ethics of IDF during Gaza war

An NGO report has stirred controversy in Israel over the behavior of IDF soldiers during the Gaza war and the policies of the military forces.

A worker releases steam at the research site of solar power company Brenmiller Energy in Israel's Negev desert, near the town of Dimona September, 9, 2014. Brenmiller Energy, says it has developed a new, more efficient way to store heat from the sun that could give a boost to the thermal solar power industry by enabling plants to run at full capacity night and day. Picture taken September 9, 2014. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY ENERGY) - RTR47CU6

Struggle of Negev region against layoffs

The well-connected employees of Israel Chemicals have succeeded in making waves against a layoff plan, but there's little correlation between their struggle and the socio-economic problems of the Negev residents.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to deliver a statement to the media in Jerusalem April 1, 2015. Netanyahu said on Wednesday it was not too late for world powers still locked in nuclear negotiations with Iran to demand a "better deal". REUTERS/Debbie Hill/Pool - RTR4VQNP

Will Israel join Turkey-Saudi coalition?

The common geostrategic interests of Israel and Turkey are greater than ever before.

France's President Francois Hollande speaks during the U.N. Security Council meeting in New York September 24, 2014. REUTERS/Adrees Latif (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR47KVC

Will US endorse French UN resolution on Palestinian statehood?

In view of the composition of the new Israeli government and its policies, France could replace the United States in leading the efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, by advancing a UN resolution on Palestinian statehood.