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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

Oil pump at Marmul, Oman (Photo by: Bildagentur-online/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

What oil markets' 'bloody Monday' means for Gulf producers

Gulf producers must navigate between an angry White House and Congress, with the threat of tariffs, and uncertainty regarding Asian partners and demand as a result of the pandemic.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad and Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, wearing face masks as protection against the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), meet in Damascus, Syria, in this handout released by SANA on April 20, 2020. SANA/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THIS IMAGE - RC2C8G9VK2MV

Iranian FM meets with Syria’s Assad amid coronavirus pandemic

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif meets with his counterpart Walid Moallem and Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as Turkey accuses Syria of breaking the cease-fire in Idlib province.

A carpet seller wears a protective face mask as he talks to a customer, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), after shopping malls and bazaars reopened in Tehran, Iran, April 20, 2020. WANA (West Asia News Agency)/Ali Khara via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC2E8G9PKEW3

Iran says pandemic will not force talks with the US

In today's Iran media review, Iranian officials have rejected a statement by US President Donald Trump to enter negotiations with the United States.

Intel: Trump, Erdogan discuss coronavirus as pandemic worsens in Turkey

President Donald Trump and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan discussed the COVID-19 pandemic on Sunday as the coronavirus rapidly spreads through both countries.

Back to the future on US-Iraq strategic dialogue

The announcement of US-Iraq talks in June is considered by many Iraqis and observers as overdue, and comes as there appears to be backing for continuing the partnership, under adjusted terms.

WILMINGTON, UNITED STATES - MARCH 12, 2020: Former Vice President Joe Biden (D) speaks about the Coronavirus and the response to it at the Hotel Du Pont in Wilmington, DE.- PHOTOGRAPH BY Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/ Barcroft Studios / Future Publishing (Photo credit should read Michael Brochstein / Echoes Wire/Barcroft Media via Getty Images)

Meet Joe Biden’s foreign policy advisers

Al-Monitor's walk-through of the views of the individuals tasked with crafting presidential candidate Joe Biden’s Middle East policies

A healthcare worker checks the body temperature of Palestinian workers returning from Israel, amid concerns over the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside the Israeli-controlled Meitar checkpoint, near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank April 7, 2020. Picture taken April 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RC280G9AG6MG

Trump’s COVID-19 aid for Palestinians, Yemenis falls short of Congress’ directives

The Donald Trump administration’s new COVID-19 aid for Palestinians and Yemenis represents a tiny portion of the funding Congress actually appropriated to help both peoples.

Fall of Blue and White party leaves opening on Israeli political map

With Blue and White splitting and the Labor party declining, there is an opening for a new political alignment on the social-liberal side of the Israeli political map.

Democratic U.S. presidential candidate and former Vice President Joe Biden speaks during the 11th Democratic candidates debate of the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, held in CNN's Washington studios without an audience because of the global coronavirus pandemic, in Washington, U.S., March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - HP1EG3G048LEH

Intel: J Street endorsement sets up battle with AIPAC for Biden’s ear

Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, accepted a major endorsement from the lobbying group J Street today, setting up a battle for the former vice president’s ear with the left-leaning organization’s main rival, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee.

How US dumping duties will affect Egypt’s aluminum industry

The United States, one of Egypt’s key target markets, intends to impose customs duties on Egyptian aluminum sheets imports, which could hamper expansion and production increase.

GAZA CITY, GAZA - MARCH 19: Palestinians gather for a demonstration to demand coronavirus (COVID-19) protection for Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails, in Gaza City, Gaza on March 19, 2020. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

Saving Palestinian prisoners’ lives requires releasing the elderly and sick

As Palestinians commemorate Prisoners' Day on April 17, the biggest demand appears to be how to safeguard prisoners from the threat of the coronavirus pandemic.

An Iranian flag flutters in front of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) headquarters in Vienna, Austria September 9, 2019. REUTERS/Leonhard Foeger - RC13159EFD90

Trump administration doubles down on Iran nuclear treaty allegations

The Donald Trump administration is using a new arms control report to build upon its case that Iran could potentially be in violation of a key nuclear nonproliferation treaty.