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

Israel cover image

Israel

November 13, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:16 pm

27°C

Displaced Palestinian children carry buckets and scoop water from a flooded area outside their tents at a displacement camp in Gaza City, Gaza Strip on November 7, 2026. Gaza's Government Media Office reported that heavy rain flooded at least 70,000 tents sheltering displaced Palestinians across the Gaza Strip within 12 hours. (Photo by Mohammed Al Qumsan / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Trump’s Gaza plan under fire as Israel restricts flood aid

More than a year after President Donald Trump announced a ceasefire to end the war in Gaza, Israel continues to restrict the delivery of shelter materials and rubble-clearing machinery.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang listens as US President Donald Trump delivers remarks at the US-Saudi Investment Forum at the Kennedy Center, on Nov. 19, 2025, in Washington.

Explainer

What does Nvidia CEO’s resignation mean for the Middle East’s AI buildout?

Jensen Huang’s sudden resignation amid an explosive espionage scandal has thrown the future of the world’s most valuable chipmaker into uncertainty, potentially creating fallout that could buffet the Middle East's technology sector at a crucial moment.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Eisenkot meets Netanyahu in bid to avoid Iran strikes

Yashar leader Gadi Eisenkot met Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for a security briefing amid opposition concerns that the government could launch a military operation against Iran.

Silvia Casadei / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

France, US push rival UNIFIL plans ahead of Lebanon mandate expiry

With the mandate of the UN peacekeeping force in Lebanon due to expire in six weeks, France and the United States are advancing sharply different proposals for the country's future after UNIFIL's departure.

Latest News

France denies entry for Israeli settler leader: What to know

Marco Longari / AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

From Oct. 7 inquiry to blocking Netanyahu: Eisenkot's bloc maps out Knesset agenda

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) casts his ballot, next to his wife Sara

Analysis

Trump officials look past Netanyahu, push Eisenkot to form government quickly

Amir Levy/Getty Images

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

Explainer

Uphill battle: Gadi Eisenkot's 3 paths to forming Israel's next government

Former Israeli army chief of staff and Yashar Party leader, Gadi Eisenkot, greets supporters

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 President Mahmoud Abbas (C) welcomes Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in the West Bank city of Ramallah early December 31, 2013. Israel set free 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday as part of U.S.-brokered peace efforts, after pledging to press ahead with plans to build more homes in Jewish settlements. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16XON

Abbas falls into prisoner release trap

The release of Palestinian prisoners has been diverted from a trust-building measure to a decisive issue for the negotiations' advancement and for the credibility of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vis-a-vis his people.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Finance Minister Yair Lapid (back to camera) congratulate Israeli far-right leader Avigdor Lieberman after he was sworn in as Israel's Foreign Minister at the parliament in Jerusalem November 11, 2013. Lieberman was sworn in as foreign minister on Monday after his acquittal on corruption charges, a development that could further complicate peace talks with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX159MP

Israeli politicians easy targets on April Fools' Day

Facebook has become the platform for April Fools' Day hoaxes in Israel, where politicians are mocked on the background of social and security tensions.

Palestinian women hold pictures of jailed relatives during a protest marking "Palestinian Prisoners Day" in the West Bank town of Ramallah April 17, 2007. The women were calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that Marwan Barghouthi, a Palestinian uprising leader, is on a list of prisoners the Hamas movement demands Israel release in exchange for a captive soldier. REUTERS/Oleg Popov (WEST BANK) - RTR1OPVW

Both Pollard, Barghouti should be released

Jonathan Pollard should be released on humanitarian grounds, but the release of prominent Fatah member Marwan Barghouti could resuscitate negotiations with the Palestinians.

The illusion of Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert's conviction is a blow to Israel's center-left and an illustration of the moral relativism of Israeli politics

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Jerusalem January 8, 2008, in this picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). Olmert and Abbas met on Tuesday, the eve of a visit by President George W. Bush, to try to get peace talks moving. REUTERS/Moshe Milner/GPO/Handout (JERUSALEM) ISRAEL OUT. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. - RTX5C98

The tragedy of Ehud Olmert

The chance for a peace agreement with the Palestinians disappeared with the former Israeli prime minister, who has been sentenced to prison for bribery.

Israeli soldiers and border policemen stand in front of a section of Israel's controversial barrier at Aida refugee camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem March 24, 2014, where witnesses say Israeli forces confronted stone-throwing Palestinian protesters on Monday. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3IE2E

Netanyahu weighs collapse of peace talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must manage a right-wing coalition that has no interest in a release of Palestinian prisoners to keep the peace talks going.

A Palestinian woman stands at the entrance to her house in the Shuafat refugee camp in the West Bank near Jerusalem November 26, 2013. Marooned behind the wall, Israel's controversial barrier, the Shuafat refugee camp reveals the state's uneven treatment of Arab and Jewish neighbourhoods, creating a de facto partition of Jerusalem, which is the epicentre of the Middle East conflict. Picture taken November 26, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTX16PGL

Jerusalem’s water crisis

Because Israeli authorities are neglecting East Jerusalem residents by failing to ensure a constant water supply, both Israelis and Palestinians have to cooperate on water management as a pollution catastrophe nears.

The twilight of Maariv in Israel

The Israeli daily Maariv, currently on life support, was once "the most widely read paper in the country."

1980: President Sadat of Egypt (1918 - 1981) meets Prime Minister Menachem Begin (1913 - 1992) of Israel for talks on the normalisation of relationships between their two countries. The meeting took place in Aswan in Upper Egypt. In 1978 both men were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Netanyahu and Abbas are not Begin and Sadat

Documents released from Israel's State Archives this week on the Israel-Egypt peace negotiations reveal the commitment of both leaders to achieve such an agreement, unlike current negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (R) speaks to his attorney during his hearing at Jerusalem's District Court September 24, 2012. An Israeli court spared Olmert a prison term over a conviction for breach of trust on Monday, potentially paving his way to a political comeback. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTR38CUK

Olmert soap opera tries Israeli judicial system

Charges against former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and a complaint of sexual harassment against Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom emphasize the freedom of the Israeli legal system to act.

The Turkish-owned cruise liner Mavi Marmara is seen under maintenance at a shipyard in Istanbul April 21, 2013. An Israeli delegation will visit Turkey for the first time in three years in another sign of thawing relations since the U.S. brokered a breakthrough in March, but any further advancement in ties was expected to be incremental. Israel apologised to Turkey over the killing of nine Turks in a 2010 naval raid on a Gaza-bound flotilla, which included the Mavi Marmara, and the two agreed to normalise r

Is Turkish-Israeli reconciliation back on track?

The shifting regional picture may be forcing Israel and Turkey to rebuild ties, but only after Turkey’s elections on March 30.

Supporters listen as Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas Gaza government, speaks during a Hamas rally marking the anniversary of the death of its leaders killed by Israel, in Gaza City March 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3I86Q

Hamas takes Israeli threats seriously

Hamas is paying close attention to Israel's latest threats of military retaliation and a possible re-invasion of Gaza.