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Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:53 am

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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

Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Arens and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at a news conference in Tel Aviv February 28. Arens said fighter planes had already raided key Hizbollah targets in Lebanon. The Israeli assault came in response to a roadside bomb that went off near an Israeli convoy in the south Lebanon occupation zone killing [Brigadier-General Erez Gerstein,] and a Radio Journalist and two soldiers.
**DIGITAL IMAGE** - RTXISY0

Arens: Netanyahu Made A "Mistake" With Livni

Former Defense Minister Moshe Arens, in an interview with Mazal Mualem, criticizes Prime Minister Benjamin Netantahu's decision to ask Tzipi Livni to join his government, while praising Netnayahu's handling of Iran.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 26, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EAX8

Abu Mazen: The Strongest of Weak Leaders

Abu Mazen is not a weak leader as so many tend to claim, Ben Caspit writes; it's Israel that's been suffering from weak leadership ever since the days of the late Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin.

Israel's President Shimon Peres (C, seated) sits between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L, seated) and Labour party lawmaker Binyamin Ben-Eliezer (R, seated) as party leaders of the 19th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, pose for a group photo at a reception following their swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DE0A

Israel Looks Inward

The results of the Israeli election were all about nation building, and not peacemaking, writes Einat Wilf.

Members of the Hamas security forces and United Nations international experts prepare to destroy the remains of ordnance from an eight-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in 2012, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3E9UU

Hamas and Israel Seek To Maintain Gaza Peace

Months after the Egypt-brokered cease-fire between Israel and Hamas, both sides seek to maintain peace in Gaza for political and other motives, writes Hazem Balousha.

Israel's First Arab Soccer Superstar Tells His Story

Rifaat Turk, Israel’s first Arab soccer superstar, who paved the way for dozens of Arab players, tells Shlomi Eldar about the racism and challenges he has faced.

Children wearing costumes for the Jewish holiday of Purim wait to get out of a car in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood February 25, 2013. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR3E9X6

Israel Cannot Afford to Cut Benefits for Children

Cutting already-low child benefits in Israel under the pretext of equal sharing of the economic burden is liable to cause irreparable damage, warns Idan Grinbaum.

Members of the Hamas security forces and United Nations international experts destroy the remains of ordnance from an eight-day conflict between Israel and the Palestinians in 2012, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip February 25, 2013. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3E9V3

US, Abu Mazen Sidelined on Gaza Talks

Israel and Hamas, under Egyptian sponsorship, continue to talk about Gaza, leaving Fatah and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the margins, writes Geoffrey Aronson.

The headstone of the grave of Ben Zygier, the Australian whom local media have identified as the man who died in an Israeli prison in 2010 and who may have been recruited by Israeli intelligence agency Mossad, is pictured at a Jewish cemetery in Melbourne February 14, 2013. Israel broke its official silence on Wednesday over the reported suicide in jail of an Australian immigrant recruited to its spy service Mossad, giving limited details on a closely guarded case. After appeals by local media chafing at Is

Prisoner X, the Mossad andThe Futility of Censorship

Yossi Melman reviews the recent history of Israeli censorship in the name of security and recommends that Israel end the practice.

Palestinian women take part in a protest against the death of a Palestinian detainee in an Israeli jail, in Gaza City February 24, 2013. Palestinian officials on Saturday demanded an international investigation into the death of a Palestinian detainee who died in an Israeli jail hours earlier. A spokeswoman for Israel's Prison Authority said that the detainee, 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat, had apparently died of cardiac arrest. An emergency service team had tried to resuscitate him but failed, she said. REUTE

Israel Wants PA to Crack Down On Protests Over Prisoners

Israeli media have reported that Israel is ready to release $100 million it collects on behalf of the Palestinian government in return for the Ramallah leadership cracking down on the protests, reports Daoud Kuttab.

Labourers reinforce the fence near Israel's border with Syria in the Golan Heights February 14, 2013. Israel captured the Golan Heights from Syria in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed the territory in 1981, a move not recognised internationally. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS) - RTR3DSEM

Bad Timing: Israel Allows Oil Exploration in Golan

Akiva Eldar writes that the decision to allow a US energy company to explore for oil in the Golan is not meant to antagonize President Obama in advance of his visit to Israel, but a sign that Israel considers the Golan an integral part of the state.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (R) meets International peace envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in Damascus December 24, 2012 in this handout photograph released by Syria's national news agency SANA. Brahimi met with Assad in Damascus on Monday to discuss a solution to the country's 21-month-old conflict. Brahimi told journalists after the meeting that he discussed the situation in Syria overall and gave his views on how to solve the crisis. He said conditions in the country were still poor. REUTERS/Sana (S

No Conditions on Syrian Dialogue

Al-Monitor’s coverage and analysis of the demonstrations in the West Bank, the role of Hezbollah in Syria, and the urgency of starting negotiations between the Syrian government and the opposition without conditions.

A Palestinian woman raises her hand written with the Arabic words "our prisoners are our dignity" as she takes part in a protest against the death of a Palestinian detainee in an Israeli jail, in Gaza City February 24, 2013. Palestinian officials on Saturday demanded an international investigation into the death of a Palestinian detainee who died in an Israeli jail hours earlier. A spokeswoman for Israel's Prison Authority said that the detainee, 30-year-old Arafat Jaradat, had apparently died of cardiac ar

PA Seeks to Exploit West Bank Protests

Warnings of a Third Intifada fail to address the core issues behind the West Bank protests, namely Israel's occupation, Dalia Hatuqa writes.