Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

September 22, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:49 pm

26°C

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

No meeting has been announced between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York.

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

Gargash

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

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

Latest News

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

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.

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

Senior Fatah official Sufian Abu Zaida (C) speaks on the phone after he was freed in Gaza December 18, 2006. The armed wing of the governing Palestinian movement Hamas said it had freed a senior Fatah official who was abducted earlier in the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA) - RTR1KJKK

Obama's Visit Just to Sightsee, Says Abu Zaida

In an interview with Shlomi Eldar, senior Fatah member Dr. Sufian Abu Zaida reveals that he isn’t placing much hope in the US president’s visit — or in the new Israeli government, for that matter.

A Palestinian woman sits on the rubble of her destroyed house after an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip December 30, 2008. Israel rejected any truce with Hamas Islamists on Tuesday and said it was ready for "long weeks of action" on a fourth day of the fiercest air offensive in the Gaza Strip in decades. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA) - RTR22XFB

Israeli Court Rejects Gaza War Crime Case

An Israeli court has rejected a lawsuit filed by a Gazan who lost family members and his home to an Israeli airstrike in 2009, Mohammed Suliman reports.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leaders Kaled Al-Batsh (L) and Khader Habib attend a news conference in Gaza February 8, 2006. Islamic Jihad ruled out on Wednesday joining a new Palestinian government following Hamas's election victory or forging any long-term truce with Israel. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTR15ZBZ

Islamic Jihad to Run In Palestinian Elections

Islamic Jihad's leader in Gaza, Khader Habib, confirms to Abeer Ayyoub that his faction intends to run for the first time in Palestinian National Council elections.

Israel's Likud party leader Benjamin Netanyahu listens to Gideon Sa'ar, a member of the Knesset, during a party meeting at the Israeli parliament in Jerusalem February 11, 2009. Israel headed for political gridlock on Wednesday with both Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's centrist Kadima party and Netanyahu's right-wing Likud party declaring victory in an election that left the prospect of Israel and the Palestinians making peace as distant as ever. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM) - RTXBIAC

Bilingual School Teaches Lesson in Coexistence

A bilingual school for Jewish and Arab children is showing promising results for tolerance even as random aggression toward Arabs has increased in Israel in the last three months without reaction from the government, writes Akiva Eldar.

Members of the 19th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, stand as President Shimon Peres arrives to their swearing-in ceremony at the parliament in Jerusalem February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DDTH

Knesset Members Spend Big On 'Contact With the Electorate'

Knesset Members spend unnecessarily large sums of money in the context of ''sustaining contact with the electorate," writes Idan Grinbaum.

A Palestinian man walks near placards designed by an activist depicting U.S. President Barack Obama, ahead of his visit to the region, in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 12, 2013. The White House has yet to officially announce the dates for the trip, but Israeli news media have reported that Obama will arrive in the region on March 20. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EVUU

US Locked Into the Middle East

While events will not allow the United States to pivot from the Middle East to Asia, the US still needs a coherent strategy for the region, writes Jean-Loup Samaan.

Israeli soldiers lead arrested Palestinian youths brought into Israel from the Gaza strip, next to Kibbutz Kfar Azza early March 3, 2008. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL) - RTR1XTHP

Israel Arresting Children To Prevent Third Intifada

Israel is arresting and mistreating Palestinian children to prevent a third intifada, Jillian Kestler-D'amours reports.

Moshe Yaalon the Chief of Staff of the Israeli army stands in front of the Warsaw Ghetto monument, May 18, 2005. Yaalon is in Warsaw for one day working visit. The memorial is a 1948 tribute to the heroic struggle of Warsaw's doomed Jews and the resistance fighters who helped the 450,000 persons packed into the Warsaw Ghetto by the Nazis during World War Two. REUTERS/Katarina Stoltz KS/AA - RTRBLDC

Moshe Ya'alon Will Bring Balance To Israeli Defense Ministry

Ben Caspit retraces the career of Moshe “Bogie” Ya’alon, the expected choice for defense minister in the new Israeli government.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) sits next to Vice Prime Minister Moshe Yaalon during a memorial service for the late Israeli Tourism Minister Rehavam Zeevi at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem November 2, 2011. Zeevi was assassinated 10 years ago by Palestinian militants. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR2TIPX

New Israeli Defense Minister No Threat to Netanyahu's Policies

Israel's next defense minister, Moshe Ya’alon, is not expected to challenge Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the Iranian threat or the Palestinians issue, writes Mazal Mualem.

A Palestinian boy arranges traditional cookies in a box to be sold in the West Bank city of Nablus, ahead of Eid al-Adha, October 24, 2012. Muslims across the world are preparing to celebrate Eid al-Adha to mark the end of the haj by slaughtering sheep, goats, cows and camels to commemorate Prophet Abraham's willingness to sacrifice his son Ismail on God's command. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusin (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION FOOD) - RTR39IVB

Visiting Nablus Since Last Intifada Shows Renewed City

After 10 years, Shlomi Eldar returns to Nablus and discovers it different from the city he remembers from the second intifada.

Israeli border guards detain a Palestinian protestors outside Israel's Ofer prison near Ramallah on February 28, 2013 following protests in support of hunger-striking Palestinians in Israeli prisons. Israel's health ministry said the cause of a Palestinian prisoner's death remains unclear following tests on samples from his body, after Palestinian charges he was tortured in detention. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinians Find Little Justice In Israeli Military Courts

Palestinians in the West Bank are subject to Israeli military courts, which offer them little chance for justice, writes Jillian Kestler-D'Amours.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem March 10, 2013. Netanyahu on Sunday convened his outgoing cabinet for probably the last time, he said, increasing speculation that he will complete forming a new administration within days. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3ESZR

Netanyahu Sets Scene For Obama Visit

Israel's prime minister has stepped up demands for US support while minimizing the visibility of the settlement issue in preparation for the US president's upcoming visit, writes Clovis Maksoud.