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Israel

September 20, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:09 am

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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

Children cross the street as residents of south Tel Aviv carry Israeli flags during a protest against African migrants living in their neighbourhoods May 30, 2012. Last week a similar protest held by residents of the low-income neighbourhoods where many of the border-jumpers from Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan live led to violence, including a rampage that an Israeli broadcaster dubbed a "pogrom". Fleeing poverty, fighting and authoritarian rule, some 60, 000 Africans have crossed illegally into Israel thro

Israel's Right Wing Embarrasses Itself Over Court Ruling

The overreaction of the Israeli right to the supreme court decision on illegal immigrants reflects its self-perception as a persecuted opposition, not as the party in power.

A bulldozer works at a construction site in Pisgat Zeev, an urban settlement in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war, August 13, 2013. A 10-minute drive from where negotiators will sit down on Wednesday to resume long-stalled Middle East peace talks, Israeli bulldozers are busy reshaping land that Palestinians want for their future state.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTX12JQ0

Two-State Solution Under Siege

US political scientist Ian Steven Lustick is the latest intellectual to jump on the one-state bandwagon for resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Sadat: Egypt Will Keep The Peace with Israel

Esmat al-Sadat, nephew of the late Egyptian president, is confident about the future of the Israeli-Egyptian peace agreement: "It will be maintained even when there’s utter chaos in Egypt."

Children of migrant workers play on a beach in Tel Aviv, on Israel's Independence Day, marking the 65th anniversary of the creation of the state, April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION ANNIVERSARY) - RTXYNUK

Israeli Supreme Court Rules For Democracy

Israel's highest court strikes down a controversial immigration law.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives for the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem September 17, 2013. Netanyahu will meet U.S. President Barack Obama in Washington on September 30, an Israeli official said on Tuesday, for talks expected to focus on Iran's nuclear programme. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13O85

Netanyahu to US: Iran for Palestine?

The Israeli right fears that Netanyahu might agree to an interim arrangement that will include a settlement evacuation in exchange for US guarantees on the Iranian file.

Norweigan ambassador.jpg

Norwegian Diplomat in Israel Doubts Settlements Can Be Stopped

After years of involvement in the Middle East, Norwegian Ambassador to Israel Svein Sevje is concerned that he is more worried about the future of Israel than Israelis are.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath during a memorial ceremony for Israeli soldiers killed in the 1973 Middle East War at Mount Herzl Military Cemetery in Jerusalem September 15, 2013. Netanyahu gave a guarded response on Sunday to a U.S.-Russian deal on Syria's chemical weapons, saying it would be judged on whether it achieved "complete destruction" of the arsenal. REUTERS/Lior Mizrahi/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTX13LZJ

The Lingering Trauma Of the Yom Kippur War

Processing the trauma of the Yom Kippur War has taken Israelis four decades, with testimony by former Prime Minister Golda Meir finally being disclosed Sept. 12.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin stand with children during a welcoming ceremony for Putin in the West Bank town of Bethlehem June 26, 2012. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR345WH

Russia's Mideast Role A Plus for Palestinians

Active Russian involvement in the Middle East will be welcomed by Palestinians, as they seek to counter Israel's hold on US policy.

Supporters of Palestinian leftist parties burn a replica Israeli flag during a rally calling for the cancellation of the Oslo peace agreement and the end of the latest round of peace talks with Israel in Gaza City September 15, 2013. The Oslo peace accord was signed by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO) and Israel in 1993 and was meant to pave the way to a permanent peace between the Palestinians and Israel. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX13LZB

Twenty Years After the Oslo Accords! What Now?

With the Oslo Accords, there is the illusion of negotiations.

An Israeli military vehicle drives along Israel's border with Egypt's Sinai desert, near the Nitzana crossing August 20, 2013. Egypt began three days of official mourning for 25 policemen killed on Monday by suspected Islamist militants in the Sinai near the desert border with Israel. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12RGP

Israel-Egypt Forge New Ties Over Sinai

The United States is no longer the glue between Israel and Egypt.

Boys watch as Palestinian militants on a truck protest against peace talks between Israel and the Palestinians, as well as possible U.S. attacks on Syria, in the northern Gaza Strip September 6, 2013. The protest was organized by Hamas militants and other Palestinian factions. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX139GR

Hamas Emphasizes Resistance

Hamas' Al-Qassam Brigades have held two military parades in recent weeks and intensified its resistance rhetoric as problems with Egypt and Israel escalate.

An Israeli soldier walks near tanks in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 1, 2013. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu played up Israel's ability to take on foes alone on Sunday after Washington backed off a threatened attack on Syria, prompting some Israelis to question their main ally's resolve against Iran. Israel remains technically at war with Syria, which has long demanded an Israeli withdrawal from the strategic Golan Heights, land that Israel captured in a 1967 war. REUTERS/Ronen Z

The Myth of Israeli Self-Reliance

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's statement that Israel relies only on itself contradicts Israel's military history, throughout which Israel has needed American arms shipments.