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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

Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (C) directs remarks to Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (L) during a news conference with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) at the end of talks at the State Department in Washington July 30, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators held their first peace talks in nearly three years on Monday in a U.S.-brokered effort that Kerry hopes will end their conflict despite deep divisions. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX124ZT

Referendums to Put Pressure On Palestinian, Israeli Negotiators

The decision by Israel and the Palestinians to put any final deal to referendums will have a profound influence on the negotiation process.

A man sprays water on supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi, as they shout slogans during a protest at the Rabaa Adawiya square where they are camping, in Cairo August 2, 2013. Tens of thousands of supporters of Mursi marched through Cairo on Friday, demanding Mursi's reinstatement amidst a looming threat that Egyptian authorities will clear out two pro-Mursi sit-ins with force. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX128JA

Obama Administration Navigates New Egypt

Al-Monitor’s coverage and analysis of Egypt.

Olivier Fitoussi/Israel Sun photo
Credit must be given

בביקור רישמי ראשון מסוגו בחסות Project Interchange/AJC ובתיאום עם משרד החוץ באו לישראל שרי חוץ ונציגי ממשלה מהאיים הקריבים גרנדה, סיינט קיטס ונוויס ונפגשו עם רה"מ בנימין נתניהו. פקידי הממשלה מהקריבים יתמקדו בביקורם בשיתוף פעולה בתחומי החקלאות, טכנולוגית בריאות הציבור ובבדיקת נושא השיטור הקהילתי. הם נפגשו עם הנשיא שמעון פרס, שר החוץ אביגדור ליברמן ורה"מ הפלשתינאי סלאם פאייד. במשך ביקורם הם יקבלו סקירות ממומחים בעלי שם עולמי.

In a first-ever official v

Engel: Sanctions, Not Rouhani, Only Chance for Iran Deal

Eliot Engel, ranking Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, discusses sanctions on Iran, his support for missile strikes against Syrian airfields and the need to maintain US military assistance to Egypt.

More Iran Sanctions A Mixed Bag for Netanyahu

The Israeli prime minister may still have to defer his “mission accomplished” moment in Iran.

Palestinian tunnel workers rest inside a smuggling tunnel dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip July 19, 2013. Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are reeling from another devastating blockade but this time they are blaming Egypt, the neighbouring Arab power they once hoped would end their isolation, rather than their old foe Israel. Picture taken July 19, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX11TRO

Egyptian Crisis Reduces Friction Between Israel and Hamas

Both Israel and the Hamas government in Gaza have an interest in preventing a further deterioration on the Egyptian border.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) announces further peace talks at a news conference with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (L) and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (R) at the State Department in Washington, July 30, 2013. Israel and the Palestinians will seek to reach a peace agreement within nine months and negotiators will meet again within two weeks after holding a "positive" first round of talks, Kerry said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12516

US Must Sell Peace Talks To Israeli, Palestinian Public

The US has the additional task of having to convince the Israeli and Palestinian people of the merits of the current talks.

Members of the Muslim Brotherhood and supporters of deposed Egyptian President Mohamed Mursi pray in front of a poster during a funeral for two people killed in recent clashes at Rabaa Adawiya Square, where they are camping in Nasr city area, east of Cairo August 1, 2013. Egypt's army-backed government on Thursday urged supporters of deposed president Mohamed Mursi to abandon their Cairo protest camps, promising them a safe exit if they gave up without a fight. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh (EGYPT - Tags: PO

Israel, US Navigate Slow Trend To Arab Democracy

The US and Israel continue to be surprised by events in Egypt and Syria.

Jamal Zahalka, an Israeli Arab lawmaker from the Balad party, speaks to the media during a news conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 23, 2007. Israeli Arab lawmaker Azmi Bishara, under criminal investigation in Israel, resigned from the Knesset on Sunday at the Israeli embassy in Cairo and said he would stay abroad for a time because of a "racist" climate. Bishara, who heads the anti-Zionist party Balad, has clashed with Israel's justice system in the past by making solidarity trips to Syria a

Israeli Arab Knesset Members Protest Change in Electoral Law

Despite the theatrical panic show of Arab Knesset members, raising the electoral threshold is just a minor change, not even consolidating Israel’s governability.

A protester holds a placard as another holds an Islamic movement flag during a demonstration to show their solidarity with Bedouin citizens, near the Bedouin town of Rahat in southern Israel August 1, 2013. Hundreds demonstrated against an Israeli cabinet plan to relocate some 30,000 Bedouin citizens who live in unrecognized villages in Israel's southern Negev desert and relocate them to towns built by the government. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX127DJ

The Anguish of Israel's Bedouin

Israel's Bedouin tribes are calling upon the government to stop their forced relocation under the Prawer law, and use dialogue and compromise to avoid more violence.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) takes the lectern to announce further peace talks at a news conference with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni (L) and chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat (2nd R) at the State Department in Washington July 30, 2013. Israel and the Palestinians will seek to reach a peace agreement within nine months and negotiators will meet again within two weeks after holding a "positive" first round of talks, Kerry said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags

Israeli-Palestinian Talks: The Perils of Pessimism

Some cautiously optimistic signals from the Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington.

Gila Gamliel.JPG

Israeli Politician Calls to Annex Palestinians to Jordan

Likud Knesset member Gila Gamliel does not believe in the outcome of the Washington negotiations: "The state of Israel is the only state we have" and "The Gaza Strip can annex itself to Egypt, some of the Palestinians can annex themselves to Jordan.”

Israeli soldiers and a security personnel open the gate of a check-point in the West Bank city of Hebron July 21, 2013. The Israeli government reopened a main road at the southern West Bank district of Hebron after a 12-year closure, a Palestinian Authority liaison official said. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma (WEST BANK - Tags: CIVIL UNREST TRANSPORT POLITICS MILITARY) - RTX11U38

Israel Reopens Hebron Checkpoint As Gesture to Palestinians

A checkpoint near Hebron has been reopened after 12 years, but local Palestinians are skeptical of the "goodwill gesture."