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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 16, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:06 am

24°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

Israeli policemen prevent Palestinian women from entering the compound which houses al-Aqsa mosque and is known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City April 16, 2014. Israeli riot police entered one of Jerusalem's most revered and politically sensitive religious compounds on Wednesday to disperse rock-throwing Palestinians opposed to any Jewish attempts to pray there. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTR3LHFX

Al-Aqsa’s women resist

Palestinian women have taken it upon themselves to protect the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound from the trespasses of Israeli extremists.

US President Bill Clinton applauds as Jordan s King Hussein reaches out and shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (L) at the end of the Israeli - Jordanian peace treaty signing ceremony - RTXF6XE

Israel should protect 'old front' with Jordan

To maintain the special Israeli-Jordanian ties, Israel should be sensitive to the internal pressures facing the Hashemite kingdom and promote a real diplomatic process with the Palestinians.

What does Hezbollah mean by 'painful concessions' in Syria?

UN Syria envoy meets Hezbollah official; Erdogan sets back Turkey-Iran ties and points out US "mistake"; Israel seeks to suppress "silent intifada" in Jerusalem.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the 69th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York September 29, 2014.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR487YD

Is Israel's reputation in decline?

The United States and the European Union once regarded Israel's occupation as a temporary evil, but now its settlement expansion is perceived as no less detrimental to the peace process than Palestinian terror.

A Palestinian walks in the neighbourhood of Silwan in Arab East Jerusalem March 4, 2009. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton criticised Israel on Wednesday over plans to demolish Palestinian homes in Arab East Jerusalem and said Washington would engage Israeli leaders on Jewish settlements. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM) - RTXCCF2

Neglect, provocation feed East Jerusalem unrest

Coping with the growing violence requires more than increased policing in East Jerusalem, where discrimination and neglect deprive residents of infrastructure, education and services.

Israeli Jewish, Arab authors collaborate on bilingual book

The ''two languages'' project, including a website and an anthology that was just published, was born out of the mutual curiosity of Jewish and Arab writers and editors about each other's literary scene, so unknown to either side.

A Palestinian stone-thrower takes cover behind a street pole during clashes with Israeli police in the east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya October 23, 2014. Tension in Jerusalem rose on Wednesday after an Israeli baby died and eight other people were hurt when a Palestinian man slammed his car into pedestrians at a Jerusalem light railway stop. Police shot the driver as he fled. A hospital official said the driver later died of his injuries. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)

Jerusalem's 'silent intifada'

Following the latest Jerusalem terror attack in which a baby girl was killed, calls were being heard in Israel to quickly suppress the "silent intifada," even though one incident on Temple Mount might explode the region.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGS8

Bibi's Iran nuclear talks blunder

Israel's failure to influence the emerging agreement between the world powers and Iran should be cast on Prime Minister Netanyahu, who failed to adapt to the evolving reality of a new Iranian regime, in which the West sees a potential partner.

Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei speaks during Friday prayers in Tehran September 14, 2007. REUTERS/Morteza Nikoubazl (IRAN) - RTR1TTSE

Khamenei preaches Shiite-Sunni unity against Islamic State, US

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's Eid al-Ghadeer speech revealed his concern that the coalition against the Islamic State might give Sunnis and the United States the upper hand in the region.

Moshe Kahlon, Israel's Communications and Social Welfare Minister (L) speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 15, 2012. Netanyahu's Likud party suffered a setback to its popularity on Monday following the announcement by Kahlon, one of the party's best appreciated ministers, that he would step down after an upcoming general election. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3966V

Kahlon's new party will challenge Likud, Shas

Former Likud Communications Minister Moshe Kahlon is capable of changing the political game and tipping the scales — provided he manages to undermine the power base of the Likud and Shas parties.

Israelis take part in a mass rally marking the 17th anniversary of the assassination of former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, in Tel Aviv October 27, 2012. Israel on Saturday marked the 17th anniversary of Rabin's assassination by an ultra-nationalist Jew. The words in Hebrew near Rabin's photo read "Remembering the murder, fighting for democracy". REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR39NVH

Israeli left shuns Rabin's legacy

Two ceremonies in November will commemorate the assassination of former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, neither of which will focus on the reason he lost his life: his efforts to achieve peace with the Palestinians.

An Israeli soldier stands guard at a check point near the Lebanese-Israeli border, southern Lebanon October 8, 2014. An attack by Hezbollah on Lebanon's border with Israel which wounded two Israeli soldiers was a message that the group remained ready to confront its old foe despite its engagement in Syria's civil war, the group's deputy leader said. The soldiers were wounded by a bomb planted by Lebanese Hezbollah fighters in the Shebaa hills, drawing Israeli artillery fire in response. It was the first tim

Is Hezbollah preparing large assault on Israel?

If Iran succeeds in securing an agreement that enables it to preserve nuclear capabilities, it might decide to attack Israel through Hezbollah on the Lebanese and Syrian borders.