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Israel

September 20, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:17 pm

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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

Gila Molcho, sister of Ian Feinberg, who was killed in 1993 by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, speaks on the phone while holding a framed portrait of Feinberg, during a protest against the government's plan to free Palestinian prisoners, in Tel Aviv August 12, 2013. Israel on Monday named 26 Palestinian prisoners, one of them convicted of killing Feinberg, to be freed this week under a deal enabling U.S.-backed peace talks to resume, although Palestinians said these had been undermined by newly announced pl

Will Release of Palestinians Who Killed Israelis Bring Peace?

How can the release of the Palestinian prisoners who murdered Israeli peace activist Ian Feinberg promote peace negotiations between the two sides?

Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel speaks to reporters at a ceremony announcing the resumption of construction of an Israeli neighbourhood in East Jerusalem August 11, 2013. Israel moved forward on Sunday with plans to build nearly 1,200 new homes for Jewish settlers holding fast to a defiant settlement policy just days before its expected release of Palestinian prisoners. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12HFR

New Housing Units No Obstacle To Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

The new tenders for construction in the settlements were intended to provide the Israeli right with an imaginary achievement, allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue negotiations.

Israeli parliament employees set up a Palestinian flag (L) next to an Israeli one as they prepare ahead of a meeting between Israeli parliament members and a delegation of Palestinian politicians and businessmen, aimed at encouraging Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem July 31, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Tuesday gave themselves about nine months to try reach an agreement on ending their conflict of more than six decades in U.S.-brokered pe

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Faces Enormous Challenges

As long as the US is not playing a forceful role, there will be numerous difficulties that could prevent the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process from successfully moving forward.

Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel speaks to reporters at a ceremony announcing the resumption of construction of an Israeli neighbourhood in East Jerusalem August 11, 2013. Israel moved forward on Sunday with plans to build nearly 1,200 new homes for Jewish settlers holding fast to a defiant settlement policy just days before its expected release of Palestinian prisoners. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12HFR

Israel's Settlement Plan Threatens Talks Before They Begin

Israel's decision to approve more settlements only adds to the widely held view that it is not interested in peace with the Palestinians.

A man hangs pictures of (from R to L) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, near
the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, July 9, 2013. A car bomb exploded on Tuesday in a Beirut stronghold district of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria's civil war, wounding at least 38 people, a hospital official told Reuters. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan (L

Iran's Ties to Hezbollah Unchanged

Although there are expectations of a more moderate approach to foreign affairs under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran's relations with Hezbollah will remain the same.

An Israeli soldier cleans the barrel of a tank near the border with Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights July 17, 2013. Syria's civil war has brought an end to decades of calm on the Golan Heights, a strip of land which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Battles between rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syrian villages nearby are being watched intensely by Israel's military. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX11P94

Israel Prepares for Next War With Hezbollah

The Israel Defense Forces is watching with concern as Hezbollah improves its military capabilities in Syria.

Eitan Cabel, an Israeli minister without portfolio and member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet, holds a news conference in Tel Aviv May 1, 2007. Cabel announced he was stepping down on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israel's government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last year's costly Lebanon war. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL) - RTR1P7RE

Israel’s Labor Party Splits Again

Knesset member Eitan Cabel says Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich must go.

A Jewish ultranationalist shouts slogans in front of Israeli police during a rally in Nazareth, Israel's largest Arab town, calling to draft Israeli Arabs July 15, 2012. Military service is a rite of passage for most Israelis, who view the army as a core element of national identity. That is where the problem starts for many Arabs, who associate more closely with the Palestinians and feel alienated in a country created in 1948 that defines itself as a Jewish state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITIC

Mayor of Upper Nazareth on Mission To Rid City of Arabs

Embattled Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso is running his campaign for reelection on expelling the city's Arab residents.

A section of the controversial Israeli barrier snakes around Shuafat refugee camp (R) in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 27, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and

Is Normalization Possible Before Israel Ends the Occupation?

The resumption of peace talks has again raised the question of whether a people-to-people track should be pursued to boost the chances of peace.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (C), Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) attend a graduation parade for Lebanese officer cadets at a military academy in Fayadyeh, near Beirut, marking the 68th Army Day, August 1, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY MILITARY) - RTX126UK

Lebanon-Israel Border Incident Tests UNIFIL-Hezbollah Ties

Following the Israeli military’s violation of the UN Blue Line this week, the reactions of both UNIFIL and Hezbollah may provide a litmus test for their relationship.

An African migrant sleeps in a playground at Levinsky park in South Tel Aviv June 12, 2012. About 60,000 Africans have crossed into Israel across its porous border with Egypt in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are job seekers, disputing arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum. Picture taken June 12, 2012. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTR33VHH

Israelis Divided on African Immigrants

The African immigrant community sparks bitter disputes within Israeli society between those who sympathize with their hardships and those who advocate their deportation.

Arab foreign ministers attend a bi-annual meeting of the Arab League in Cairo September 9, 2009. Among the issues being discussed is US President Barack Obama's Middle East peace initiative where he has called on Israel to freeze all settlement activity, as a basis for a peaceful solution to the Middle East conflict. Israel recently authorized construction of hundreds of housing units on occupied Palestinian land. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT POLITICS) - RTR27MDV

Middle East Needs 'Win-Win' Approach to Regional Security

An approach is overdue for regional security that recognizes the interests of Iran, Israel and all the states of West Asia.