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Israel

September 21, 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) arrives for talks with Israel's Justice Minister Tzipi Livni and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry 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) - RTX124QA

Peace Talks in Need of Clarity

Legal clarity will be crucial as the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks resume.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem July 28, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday urged divided rightists in his cabinet to approve the release of 104 Arab prisoners in order to restart peace talk with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX122AK

American Jewry Embraces Netanyahu's Decision on Peace Talks

Senior leaders from the American Jewish community have sent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a letter congratulating his decision to hold negotiations with the Palestinians.

Naftali Bennett (C), leader of the Bayit Yehudi party, gestures as he leaves the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City ahead of Israel's parliamentary election on Tuesday, January 21, 2013. Bennett, leader of this far-right party, has emerged as the surprise success story of the country's election campaign. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS RELIGION) - RTR3CQYX

Hypocrisy and Theatrics Over Palestinian Prisoner Release

Seven ministers opposed the decision to release Palestinian prisoners without endangering the prime minister's majority, and without leaving the government about to jump-start negotiations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shakes hands with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas in front of U.S. President Barack Obama (C) during a trilateral meeting at President Obama's hotel in New York September 22, 2009. Obama, making his most direct foray into Middle East diplomacy, on Tuesday called Israelis and Palestinians to act with a sense of urgency to get formal peace negotiations back on track. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES POLITICS) - RTR285E9

Netanyahu Crosses Red Line With Prisoner Release

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu decided to release Palestinian prisoners as a token of good will toward the Palestinians, instead of a settlement freeze.

A view of the Dome of the Rock on the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City is seen from the Mount of Olives January 24, 2011. Palestinian negotiators secretly told Israel it could keep swathes of occupied East Jerusalem, according to leaked documents that show Palestinians offering much bigger peace concessions than previously revealed. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXWZNK

US Courts Will Not Determine Jerusalem's Fate

The latest US decision on the legal status of Jerusalem citizenship is just another round in the American political and legal battles over Jerusalem's fate.

Supporters of the Jordanian Muslim Brotherhood and Islamic Action Front party attend a rally in Amman February 18, 2011. Several thousand Jordanian supporters of the country?s largest opposition party, the Islamic Action Front, held a rally to celebrate the new Egypt on Friday and the people power that swept away autocrat Hosni Mubarak in just 18 days. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR2IS5R

Jordan Brotherhood Leader Says Morsi Ousted for Opposing Israel

The deputy leader of Jordan's Muslim Brotherhood, Zaki Bani Arshid, warns in an exclusive interview that Egypt's crisis will have a "great effect" on Jordan.

Rayya, mother of Palestinian Fares Baroud, who has been held prisoner by Israel for 22 years, wipes her tears as she holds his picture after hearing news on the possible release of her son in her house at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City July 28, 2013. Baroud was expected to be among more than 100 Arab prisoners to be released as a step to renew stalled peace talks with the Palestinians ahead of plans to convene negotiators in Washington later this week. Israeli ministers have yet to vote on the releases. R

The Price of Peace: Releasing Palestinian Prisoners

Yesterday's terrorists are today's heroes, whose release is essential to prevent the wars of tomorrow — in South Africa, Israel and Palestine.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (C) shakes hands with Israeli President Shimon Peres (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the World Economic Forum on the Middle East and North Africa at the King Hussein Convention Centre, at the Dead Sea May 26, 2013. REUTERS/Jim Young (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY BUSINESS) - RTX101SC

Signs of Seriousness In Israel-Palestine Peace Talks

Despite the pessimism of pundits, there are indications that US Secretary of State John Kerry might not be wasting his time.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu before attending the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) security meetings in Bandar Seri Begawan July 2, 2013. REUTERS/Jacquelyn Martin/Pool (BRUNEI - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX119IY

Al-Monitor’s Gursel Wins Award; Watch US House on Syria

Al-Monitor’s coverage of press freedom in Turkey, the US House of Representatives on Syria, and Iraq as possible mediator on Iran; Daoud Kuttab discusses the Middle East with Fareed Zakaria.

Protesters cheer and dance with flares as they gather for a mass protest to support the army in front of the presidential palace in Cairo July 26, 2013. At least seven people were killed and hundreds wounded in scattered violence across Egypt during mass rallies for and against the army's overthrow of Islamist President Mohamed Mursi, who was placed under investigation for murder. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX120O6

Egypt, Tunisia, Gaza Still Waiting for Democracy

Developments in Egypt, Tunisia, Gaza and Ramallah show that elections alone do not make a democracy, just as US President Obama had warned in his 2009 Cairo speech.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas smiles during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 18, 2013. As Palestinian leaders discussed a possible U.S-brokered resumption of peace talks on Thursday, the Israeli government denied a shift in its conditions that might help end a three-year stalemate. Abbas began briefing fellow PLO leaders in Ramallah on his meetings this week with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, who has extended his stay in the region and appears to be

Hamas Warns Abu Mazen On Peace Talks With Israel

The rift is widening between Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Hamas after the announcement that talks with Israel may resume.

Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Mohammad Dahlan speaks during a news conference at King Hussein Medical City in Amman. Palestinian Minister of Civil Affairs Mohammad Dahlan speaks during a news conference at King Hussein Medical City in Amman September 4, 2005. Dahlan received treatment in Jordan for a back complaint. REUTERS/Ali Jarekji - RTRMKD0

Former Favorite Son Dahlan Slams Abu Mazen for Corruption

Two recent cases raise questions about the democratic practices of the parties to the peace.