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Israel

September 16, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:12 am

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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

A worker cleans up in a torched classroom in an Arab-Jewish school in Jerusalem November 30, 2014. Suspected Jewish extremists set fire to the classroom, police said on Sunday, targeting a symbol of co-existence in a city on edge over a recent surge in violence.
REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION) - RTR4G4B3

After attack, Israelis show support for bilingual school

Around 2,000 people from across Israel — Jews and Arabs, religious and secular — marched in support of the Hand in Hand bilingual school in Jerusalem after it was tagged and set on fire by extremists.

An Israeli Air Force F-16 fighter plane flying above a traffic sign after taking off for a mission in Lebanon from an Israeli Air Force Base in northern Israel in this July 20, 2006 file photo. Israeli warplanes bombed unidentified Syrian targets early on September 6, 2007, causing no damage or casualties, the official Syrian news agency said. Syrian air defences fired at the incoming planes, which crossed into Syria after midnight local time, the agency said. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/Files (ISRAEL) - RTR1THUA

Israeli fly-over coincides with attack on Lebanese army

A day after the Lebanese army was ambushed in Baalbek on Dec. 2, Israeli aircraft violated Lebanese airspace in the same area, raising questions about a possible cooperation between Israel and Syrians on the border with Lebanon.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius speaks during a joint news conference with his Jordanian counterpart Nasser Judeh at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Amman July 19, 2014. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3ZC48

France promotes regional framework for Mideast conflict

French President François Hollande has decided to promote an initiative to convene an international Middle East peace conference out of concern that the current political stalemate might lead to further escalation in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry gives a statement after a round table meeting of the global coalition to counter the Islamic State militant group at NATO headquarters in Brussels December 3, 2014. The U.S.-led coalition has inflicted serious damage on Islamic State, carrying out around 1,000 air strikes so far in Iraq and Syria, but the fight against the militants could last years, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Eric Vidal (BELGIUM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES

Kerry calls Iran airstrikes on Islamic State 'positive'

Iran takes action against the Islamic State in Iraq; Obama administration cautious on Turkish buffer zone proposal; Turkey’s border under scrutiny; Russia’s diplomatic surge; Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman says "courageous" peace plan offers "painful concessions."

Labour party candidates Itzik Shmuli (R) and Stav Shaffir attend a mock election at a high school in Ramat Gan near Tel Aviv December 6, 2012. The leaders of a grassroots social protest movement that swept Israel in 2011, Shaffir and Shmuli, have shot to the top of a rejuvenated Labour party that polls say will at least double its power in a Jan. 22 general election that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing Likud is forecast to win. Picture taken December 6, 2012. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags

Low turnout expected in Israeli elections

The 2013 Israeli government promised reforms in education, transport, housing prices and cost of living, but the early elections set for March 17 have cut short the formulation of these reforms, disappointing large parts of the public.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House in Washington October 1, 2014. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR48IYO

Ahead of elections, Lapid rebukes Netanyahu on US tensions

Elections in Israel are usually decided over issues such as security, the economy or the personalities of the candidates, but this time it seems as if the serious crisis between the United States and Israel will be part of the agenda.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives to a Likud party meeting at the parliament in Jerusalem December 3, 2014. Israeli legislators agreed in a preliminary vote on Wednesday to dissolve parliament, and they set March 17 as the date for a new parliamentary election after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fired two centrist cabinet members and declared an early national ballot. According to opinion polls, Netanyahu, whose current government took office only two years ago, is on course to win a

Who will replace Netanyahu as prime minister?

The main agenda of the forthcoming Israeli elections will not revolve around security issues or the economy, but will focus on removing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from the premier's seat — his rivals each running separately.

Women have their identities checked before voting for the parliamentary election at a polling station in the northern Israeli Arab town of Sakhnin January 22, 2013. Israelis voted on Tuesday in an election that is expected to hand hawkish Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a third term, opening the way for a showdown with Iran and bolstering opponents of Palestinian statehood. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CT0S

Voter apathy expected to linger among Israeli Arabs

It's unlikely that the upcoming early elections will encourage disappointed Israeli Arabs to show en mass at the ballot boxes, though they are a political force to reckon with.

Israelis raise funds for Syrian children

The fundraising event in Tel Aviv for Syrian children had a slow start, as many Israelis show apathy to the suffering of their neighbors, but the Israeli committee supporting war-stricken Syrian children is determined to address the indifference in Israeli society.

A member of the Palestinian security forces takes part in a training session to find and remove landmines, organised by the Palestinian Ministry of Interior and the United Nations, in the West Bank city of Jericho June 25, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR344XT

Israel's unexploded ordnance endangers Jordan Valley residents

The Israeli army leaves behind unexploded devices and mines each time it conducts military drills in the Jordan Valley, and prevents local Palestinian forces from performing demining activities.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman gives a statement to the media at his Jerusalem office December 2, 2014. Israel appeared to be heading on Tuesday towards an early election after right-wing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his major centrist coalition partner failed to patch up differences. Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, head of the far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, told a news conference, "An election is a now a fact." REUTERS/ Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4GEQU

Liberman eyes premiership

Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman has identified this moment as a golden opportunity to determine who would be the next premier, and even perhaps become the prime minister himself.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman attends a meeting with the business community in Uganda's capital Kampala, September 10, 2009. Lieberman, accompanied by business and military delegation, is on an official African visit to Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria. REUTERS/James Akena (UGANDA POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR27O1U

Liberman outlines his regional peace plan

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman details his comprehensive regional proposal, including land and population swaps.