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Israel

September 20, 2026

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Serbia opens factory to assemble Israeli-made drones: What to know

Serbian President Vucic said the factory will put together “state-of-the-art” Israeli-designed drones and employ around 100 workers.

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

The move will mark the first time Morocco and Israel have exchanged ambassadors.

Latest News

Culture

Israeli show ‘Fauda’ tops Netflix in Lebanon, hits top 10 across Arab states

ISRAEL-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-MASS-MEDIA-D (L to R) Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-creators of the hit Israeli TV show "Fauda", attend a demonstration against the Israeli government's plans to shut-down public broadcaster KAN, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 25, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

Exclusive

Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Analysis

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

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu points to a red line he has drawn on the graphic of a bomb as he addresses the 67th United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. Headquarters in New York, September 27, 2012. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR38I6N

Israel's Hypocritical Attack On Rouhani

While Israel accuses Iran of buying time with its charm offensive, it is doing exactly the same with the Palestinians as negotiations stall and settlements continue.

Israeli soldiers scuffle with Palestinians near a truck loaded with items European diplomats wanted to deliver to locals in the West Bank herding community of Khirbet al-Makhul, in the Jordan Valley September 20, 2013. Israeli soldiers manhandled European diplomats on Friday and seized a truck full of tents and emergency aid they had been trying to deliver to Palestinians whose homes were demolished earlier this week. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTX13SGZ

European Diplomats Provoke IDF Again

The altercation between French Cultural Attaché Marion Fesneau-Castaing and Israeli soldiers at a West Bank village was an act of provocation, undermining Israel's authority.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 26, 2013. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX140YE

Israeli-Palestinian Interim Deal Is the Only Feasible Solution

In his UN speech, Palestinian President Abu Mazen rejected any possibility of an interim deal, but given the state of current negotiations, reaching a permanent agreement in the next months is impossible.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media after a meeting with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem September 15, 2013. Kerry briefed Netanyahu on Sunday on a U.S.-Russian deal to remove Syria's chemical weapons, an accord that drew a guarded response from the Israeli leader. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13M58

Netanyahu Swimming Upstream After Iran's Diplomatic Flurry

US President Barack Obama, Palestinian President Abu Mazen and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's told the UN: Israel must compromise on Palestine, while Iran compromises on its nuclear program.

Former Israeli foreign minister Avigdor Lieberman is seen in Jerusalem's magistrate court at the continuation of his trial April 25, 2013. Lieberman was indicted on charges relating to the promotion of an Israeli diplomat who had illegally given him information about a police investigation against him. The allegations led Lieberman, a key ally of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, to resign from cabinet last December. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTXYZC4

Israeli 'New Politics' Unwilling To Deal With Corruption

Labor Knesset member Moshe Mizrahi was surprised by the lack of support in the Knesset for the lobby he is heading against public corruption.

A Palestinian boy uses a sling to throw a stone during clashes with Israeli police following Friday prayers in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Ras Al Amoud September 27, 2013. An Israeli police spokesman said on Friday that 10 Palestinians were detained on suspicion of throwing stones at policemen who were deployed in the Old City and in nearby Palestinian neighbourhoods of Jerusalem, amid recent tensions over Israel's admittance of Jewish visitors to a holy site in the Old City, which houses the al-Asq

Israel Can Prevent Third Intifada By Ending Occupation

Israel should address the root cause of Palestinian anger — occupation — if it truly wants to prevent a third intifada.

Bethlehem film - photo 1.jpg

'Bethlehem': Story of an Israeli Agent And His Palestinian Informant

Yuval Adler’s film 'Bethlehem' unveils some of the mystery surrounding the work of Shin Bet officers and their relationship with Palestinian informants and in the process reveals the disillusionment of the Israeli left's Oslo generation.

Aryeh Deri, (L), a political kingmaker and head of the ultra-Orthodox Shas party, kisses the hand of the party's spiritual leader, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, at a women's conference March 16, a day before an Israeli court is due to rule in his fraud and bribery trial. Israeli Police are preparing for large protests by Shas supporters if the verdict goes against Deri, who has been on trial since 1993 on charges he illegally channelled government funds to Shas-affiliated organisations and pocketed some of the money

The Ailing Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, Who Sought to Prevent Wars

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the first rabbi who ruled that preventing bloodshed takes precedence over keeping territories, is fighting for his life.

A Shas supporter, wearing a poster of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef the spiritual leader of the ultra-orthodox Shas party, joins thousands of other supporters outside the Rabbi's home March 27 after Israel's attorney-general ordered police to investigate the Rabbi on suspicion of incitement against a political adversary. [Shas' support is vital to Ehud Barak's hopes of making peace with Syria and the Palestinians. The police probe stems from remarks Yosef made about Education Minister Yossi Sarid, calling him a devil

Can Israeli Shas Party Outlive Its Spiritual Leader?

No man has shaped the face of modern Israel as has the spiritual leader of the ultra-Orthodox Shas Party, the official king of Sephardic Judaism, Rabbi Ovadia Yosef.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the inauguration ceremony of a hi-tech industry park in the southern city of Beersheba September 3, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS SCIENCE TECHNOLOGY) - RTX135KM

Netanyahu to Adapt His Position On Changing Iran

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems unable to readjust his conservative position on Iran, when facing President Hassan Rouhani's new approach to the West.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani addresses the 68th United Nations General Assembly at UN headquarters in New York, September 24, 2013. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13YDU

Israel Should Put Rouhani to Test

Instead of denigrating the new foreign policy of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Israel should put him to the test and demand concrete, confidence-building action.

No Longer David: The State of Israel As Goliath

In a new book, journalist Max Blumenthal leaves the ''comfort zone'' of the Jewish American community, opening the issue of Israel and the conflict with the Palestinians to critical debate.