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Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:25 am

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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

Major-General Amos Yadlin, Israel's chief of military intelligence, speaks at the annual Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) conference in Tel Aviv December 15, 2009. Israel is parlaying civilian technological advances into a cyberwarfare capability against its enemies, Yadlin, a senior Israeli general, said on Tuesday in a rare public disclosure about the secret programme. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS SCI TECH) - RTXRVGO

Former Aman Chief Offers Realism on Threats to Israel

Former IDF intelligence chief Amos Yadlin has discounted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s scare tactics and argues that in terms of conventional threats, Israel’s situation has never been better, reports Ben Caspit.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah January 29, 2013. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3D4HR

Abu Mazen Thanks Ahmadinejad For Iran's Support

The embrace between the Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was the wrong gesture, writes Shlomi Eldar.

Israel's President Shimon Peres (2nd L) meets Aryeh Deri (L), Eli Yishai and Ariel Attias (R), leaders of the religious Shas party, at his residence in Jerusalem January 31, 2013. Peres began talks with political parties on Wednesday over who should form a new government and appears certain to ask incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to assemble it. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3D6U4

Israel's Shas Party at Crossroads

The Shas Party has an opportunity to rekindle its traditional moderate vision of Judaism, writes Mazal Mualem.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives via Marine One at Leesburg Executive Airport to delivers remarks nearby at the House Democratic Issues Conference, in Leesburg, Virginia, February 7, 2013. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DGQT

Why Is Obama Rushing to Israel?

It is hard to believe that the announcement of the US presidential visit to Israel isn't timed with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's negotiations on a new government, writes Akiva Eldar.

U.S. President Barack Obama arrives with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) to make a statement on Middle East Peace talks in the East Room of the White House in Washington September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2HTEC

Obama Visit to Israel an Opportunity

US President Barack Obama's upcoming visit to Israel is an opportunity for a new start in US policy in the region, writes Clovis Maksoud.

Members of the 19th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, stand as President Shimon Peres arrives to their swearing-in ceremony in Jerusalem February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DDXN

New Israeli Knesset Prepares for Political Battle

Plenty of hugs and kisses were exchanged on the first day of the newly sworn-in Knesset, yet the gaiety will be short lived as the battles will soon commence, writes Mazal Mualem.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men walk behind Israeli soldiers at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City February 22, 2012. The Israeli Defence Force (IDF) has always been a 'Jewish' army. Its rations are kosher, its chaplains are rabbis, and it operates - with the exception of wartime - around the festival calendar. It has never drafted soldiers from Israel's 20-percent Arab minority. But its Jewish identity has always been more cultural than religious. IDF personnel data suggests

Can the IDF Absorb The Ultra-Orthodox?

Alon Ben David examines the politics of equally sharing the burden of military service, a winning slogan in the recent election.

U.S. President Barack Obama welcomes Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YVL0

Obama’s Visit to Israel a Chance To Reset US-Israel Ties

Ben Caspit writes that President Barack Obama's visit to Israel will remind Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that diplomacy between Israel and the Palestinians is still at the top of the US agenda.

Lebanese soldiers man a checkpoint after their deployment in Aarsal town in Lebanon's eastern Bekaa February 5, 2013. Four Lebanese soldiers and two gunmen were killed in clashes in the country's Bekaa Valley on Friday after militants attacked a Lebanese army unit, security sources said. REUTERS/ Ahmad Shalha (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3DDSC

Hezbollah: Israeli Strike On Syria Was Also a Strike at Iran

Tensions in Lebanon and the region are high amid fears that the Syrian crisis will spread, writes Nasser Chararah.

An Israeli border police officer uses pepper spray to disperse Palestinian activists after the group set up tents and makeshift structures in protest against a nearby Jewish settlement in the West Bank village of Burin, south of Nablus February 2, 2013. Palestinians who set up a makeshift encampment in the occupied West Bank on Saturday clashed with Israeli soldiers and settlers and some light injuries were sustained.
REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF T

Israel Boycotts UN Report On Settlements

Akiva Eldar asks whether Israel’s continuous boycott of international investigation commissions really serves its best interests.

An Israeli air force F15-E fighter jet takes off for a mission over the Gaza Strip, from the Tel Nof air base in central Israel November 19, 2012. Israel bombed dozens of targets in Gaza on Monday and said that while it was prepared to step up its offensive by sending in troops, it preferred a diplomatic solution that would end Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3AMGC

Each Side of Syrian Conflict Claims Israeli Strike in Its Favor

Following the Israeli aerial attacks on Syria, each side of the Syrian crisis questions the intentions behind the seemingly spontaneous offensive by their southern neighbor, writes Jean Aziz.

Palestinian first-graders sit with their schoolbooks during class in the West Bank city of Ramallah February 4, 2013. Israelis and Palestinians depict each other in schoolbooks as an enemy and largely deny their adversary's history and existence, according to a U.S. government-funded study published on Monday. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: EDUCATION POLITICS) - RTR3DCHK

Textbook Study Debunks Myth of Palestinian Incitement

A major study of Israeli and Palestinian schoolbooks found that Palestinian children are not incited to hate, contrary to popular belief, reports Dalia Hatuqa.