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August 12, 2026

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Analysis

Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan while quietly implementing it

Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he rejects US President Donald Trump’s Gaza reconstruction plan, Israel is advancing its implementation.

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

Alex Wong/Getty Images

Analysis

As pro-Palestinian candidates gain ground, will AIPAC's influence wane?

The American Israel Public Affairs Committee’s influence has weakened in the Democratic Party and may also be at risk among Republicans.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Hussein FALEH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

As US rethinks regional presence, Israel shifts focus to destabilizing Iran

Uncertain how to interpret the American regional redeployment, Israel is focusing on efforts to destabilize the Iranian regime and stop its nuclear program.

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

Latest News

AIPAC to oppose El-Sayed after major Michigan primary victory

Michigan Democratic Senate primary winner Abdul El-Sayed

Israel-Lebanon talks suspended amid escalation, set to resume Thursday

Israeli battle tanks deploy in the village of Zawtar al-Sharqiyah (Eastern Zawtar) in southern Lebanon as pictured from the nearby village of Zawtar al-Gharbiyah (Western Zawtar) on August 2, 2026. Under a US-sponsored agreement signed in June, Lebanon's army is to disarm Hezbollah and the Israeli military is to withdraw from "pilot zones" where Lebanese forces will subsequently deploy. The deal came more than three months after Hezbollah drew Lebanon into the Middle East with rocket fire at Israel in suppo

Adam Lucente

News and Business Correspondent

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change

Elizabeth Hagedorn

Diplomatic Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Jared Szuba

Defense and Security Correspondent

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Joyce Karam

Editor-in-Chief

Rosaleen Carroll

News Reporter and Supporting Editor

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Paul J. Saunders

In Washington, DC, reporting on Russia in the Middle East

TOPSHOT - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Crickets as Netanyahu's annexation date comes and goes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had to admit his annexation plan did not move forward July 1 amid tepid US support and a populace distracted by more pressing issues.

A picture taken during a guided tour organised by Egypt's State Information Service on February 11, 2020, shows an Egyptian policeman near watch towers at Tora prison in the Egyptian capital Cairo. (Photo by Khaled DESOUKI / AFP) (Photo by KHALED DESOUKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Intel: Working Group on Egypt urges Pompeo to get tough on Sisi

As Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi widens his crackdown on government critics, a bipartisan group of foreign policy experts urged US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to call out America's longtime ally for human rights abuses.

This aerial picture taken on June 28, 2020 in Istanbul shows Hagia Sophia museum in Istanbul. - Turkey's top court is due on July 2, 2020 to deliver a critical verdict on the status of Istanbul's emblematic landmark church-turned-mosque-turned museum Hagia Sophia, a ruling which could inflame tensions mainly with neighboring Greece.
The sixth-century edifice -- a magnet for tourists worldwide with its stunning architecture -- has been serving as a secular museum since the 1930s which makes it open to believ

Intel: Pompeo warns Turkey against reverting Hagia Sophia to mosque

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo waded into the Turkish debate today over whether the historic Hagia Sophia museum should be made back into a mosque.

ANN ARBOR, MI - MARCH 08: Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) addresses supporters during a campaign rally for Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders on March 8, 2020 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Ocasio-Cortez has become a Democratic Party favorite among millennials and Gen Z. Sanders covered his policy agendas for immigration, women's rights, healthcare and economic inequality. (Photo by Brittany Greeson/Getty Images)

Intel: AOC incurs AIPAC’s wrath with anti-annexation letter

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., and the powerful American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) are facing off over a letter the progressive firebrand sent Tuesday warning against Israeli efforts to annex parts of the West Bank.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington,DC on June 10, 2020. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo pledged a probe Wednesday into complaints that foreign news crews covering the street protests against racism and police brutality were mistreated. Australia, for instance, is investigating a US police attack on two Australian television journalists outside the White House last week."I know there have been concerns from some countries of their reporter

Pompeo’s push to extend Iran arms embargo faces uphill battle at UN

The UN Security Council is not keen on extending the Iran arms embargo despite US threats to instate snapback sanctions.

Syrians buy bread in the town of Binnish in the country's northwestern Idlib province on June 9, 2020. - Syrians held a third day of rare anti-regime protests over deteriorating living conditions Tuesday in the government-held city of Sweida, a war monitor said, as the value of the pound sunk. The value of the Syrian pound has plummeted with dizzying speed in recent days on the informal market, sending prices skyrocketing nationwide and shuttering shops. Dozens rallied in the majority-Druze city of Sweida i

Intel: US pledges nearly $700M in humanitarian assistance for Syrians

The US State Department announced it would be providing an additional $696 million in humanitarian assistance to Syrians.

Netanyahu calls for 'snapback sanctions' against Iran

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with US Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook — the perfect opportunity for the premier to show his tight ties with Washington and control of the Iranian file.

Israeli alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem while wearing a protective mask due to the COVID-19 pandemic, on June 7, 2020. - Netanyahu urged world powers to reimpose tough sanctions against Iran, vowing to curb Tehran's regional "aggression" hours after another deadly strike on pro-Iranian fighters in Syria. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Gantz calls July annexation target 'not sacred'

With two days to go before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's target annexation date, Defense Minister Benny Gantz says other issues such as the coronavirus crisis are more urgent.

US President Donald Trump and Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) take part in a joint press conference in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC on November 13, 2019. - President Donald Trump greeted his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House for a high-stakes meeting Wednesday that underlined his claim to be ignoring the impeachment drama unfolding simultaneously in Congress. (Photo by JIM WATSON / AFP) (Photo by JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images)

Turks lose trust in Russia, warm to US

The Turkish public’s trust in Russia has declined in favor of the United States due to the rising conflicts between Ankara and Moscow over the Libyan and Syrian civil wars, according to a survey.

Iran slams US efforts to reimpose arms embargo, UN sanctions

The remarks from the Iranian ambassador to the UN follow a US proposal to the UN to extend an arms embargo on Iran.

Intel: Congress pushes European Union to fully designate Hezbollah as terrorist group

A bipartisan group of 30 US lawmakers sent a blanket letter to all European Union member states Thursday asking them to designate the entirety of Lebanon’s militia-cum-political party Hezbollah as a terrorist organization.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference at the State Department in Washington, DC on June 24, 2020. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANDEL NGAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Pompeo dismisses Rouhani’s terms for talks as Iran admits ‘no plan B’ for Syria

Israel, Iran and the United States are all not backing down in Syria, but US-Iran prisoner talks may still have a chance.