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Israel

September 15, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:29 pm

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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

The Iranian gap between Obama, Bibi

The perception gap between President Barack Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iranian agreement extends beyond negotiation tactics, with Obama aspiring to rehabilitate relations with Iran.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem February 15, 2015. Netanyahu, who is due to address the U.S. Congress on Iran on March 3 - to the annoyance of the Obama administration - has vowed "to foil this bad and dangerous agreement." REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4PN1Y

Why is Bibi's speech to Congress key for Israel's security?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has headed the battle against nuclear Iran for many years, and his upcoming speech to Congress fits in with his concerns for Israel's existence.

U.S. President Barack Obama and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walk away after a news conference at the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, March 20, 2013. Making his first official visit to Israel, Obama pledged on Wednesday unwavering commitment to the security of the Jewish State where concern over a nuclear-armed Iran has clouded bilateral relations. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F8TR

Israel fears rapprochement between US, Iran

Some officials in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel fear that the United States aspires to replace its traditional Middle East alliance with a moderate Iran.

Israeli Arab lawmaker Haneen Zoabi (C) speaks to the media as she enters a hearing at the Supreme Court in Jerusalem December 27, 2012. Zoabi appealed to the Supreme Court after Israel's electoral authority barred her from re-election on December 19, saying she had supported the nation's enemies by joining a protest ship that tried to break a naval blockade of Gaza. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BXBD

Israeli election discourse tests limits of democracy

The increasingly harsh public discourse in the current election campaign has Israel’s democracy teetering between freedom of expression and freedom to incite.

Palestinian youths hold Palestinian flags during a demonstration against the construction of a section of the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank town of Beit Jala near Bethlehem March 4, 2010. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2B7EQ

Ministry strike leaves East Jerusalemites in limbo

An open-ended staff strike at the Interior Ministry in Jerusalem has left Palestinian residents unable to access critical documents.

Las Vegas gaming tycoon Sheldon Adelson attends the second Annual Champions of Jewish Values International Awards Gala in New York, May 18, 2014. REUTERS/Mike Segar (UNITED STATES - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY) - RTR3PQTR

What does it mean to be a friend of Israel?

Some within the Republican Party have turned the Middle East conflict into a focal point of an internal political dispute.

Bibi's opulent lifestyle won't sway voters

The release of the state comptroller's report has confirmed the lavish household expenses of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his wife, Sara, but it may not matter on election day.

Palestinian labourers work on a construction site in the new Palestinian town dubbed Rawabi or "The Hills", near the West Bank city of Ramallah October 27, 2013. The crackdown on the Gaza Strip as Egypt demolishes the smuggling tunnels along its sandy border, and stagnation in the West Bank mean the Palestinian economy might shrink this year after average annual growth of about nine percent in 2008-2011. To match Analysis PALESTINIANS-ECONOMY/ REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS

Israel still refuses to run water to Rawabi

In an interview with Al-Monitor, attorney Dov Weissglass deplores the ongoing Israeli refusal to connect the Palestinian town Rawabi to the water network, claiming that the refusal by Ministers Moshe Ya'alon and Silvan Shalom is politically motivated.

JERUSALEM, : Candles burn with the image of the late Brooklyn born Rabbi Meir Kahane as a follower prays at his grave at the Givat Shaul cemetery on the outskirts of Jerusalem 09 November 2006, to mark the 16th anniversary of his assassination by an Arab gunman in Manhattan. The anti-Arab Jewish militant movement founded by Kahane has in the past claimed responsibility for dozens of shootings of Palestinians in the West Bank, including the notorious 1994 massacre of 29 worshippers at a Hebron Mosque. AFP

What the Kahane phenomenon can teach Israelis today

The Israeli far-right prefers to preserve late Meir Kahane as a historical figure, but with his recent production of "Kahane Was Right" playwright Yoav Itamar forces the Israeli public to confront contemporary Israeli stances on Kahane's controversial, far-right ideologies.

Lieutenant-General Gadi Eizenkot (R), the new Israeli Chief of Staff, and outgoing Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Benny Gantz embrace during a handover ceremony at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, in which Eizenkot replaced Gantz, February 16, 2015. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4PRN7

Israelis love to love their IDF chief of staff

Israel's chief of staff is treated like a sacred cow, admired and loved by a public tired of corruption and political squabbles.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with U.S.congressional pages after his speech before a joint meeting of Congress in Washington, May 24, 2011. Netanyahu's vision for ending conflict with Palestinians put "more obstacles" in front of the Middle East peace process, the spokesman for the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2MUB0 - RTXYDJ1

Bibi's speech to Congress could tip electoral scale

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Zionist Camp Chair Isaac Herzog are practically in a tie, according to polls, but Netanyahu might tilt the balance with a charismatic speech to Congress.

Former Israeli justice minister and HaTnuah party leader Tzipi Livni delivers a speech election campaign meeting in Tel Aviv, on January 25, 2015 ahead of the March 17 general elections. Oposition Labour party head Isaac Herzog and Livni have made an alliance to contest Israel's snap general election. Most Israelis would like to see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu replaced after March elections but, paradoxically, he is seen as most suitable for the job, an opinion poll said on December 18, 2014. AFP PH

Zionist Camp pushes Livni to background

The Israeli public has not been convinced by the Zionist Camp's idea of a rotating premiership, which has helped boost Benjamin Netanyahu's changes of re-election.