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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 7, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:45 am

26°C

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Greece conduct military drills ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

Photos published by the Greek military showed fighter jets from both countries flying side by side over the Aegean Sea.

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

In an interview with Al-Monitor, head of the Arab-Israeli Hadash-Ta'al Knesset faction, Ayman Odeh, said his party is prepared to make difficult decisions to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

Latest News

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 28: (ISRAEL OUT) Israelis during a march marking Jerusalem Day on May 28, 2014 outside Jerusalem's old city, Israel. Israel is celebrating the anniversary of the 'unification' of Jerusalem, marking 47 years since it captured mainly Arab east Jerusalem during the 1967 Middle East war. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

Israeli High Court authorizes Jerusalem Day march

Despite objections, the Israeli High Court has authorized right-wing activists to hold the annual Jerusalem Day Flag Parade.

$Israeli Prime Minister and leader of the ruling rightwing Likud party, Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and party's members gather on stage during a campaign meeting ahead of the early elections for the 20th Knesset on January 5, 2014 in the coastal Israeli city of Tel Aviv. The general elections, to be held on March 17, 2015 had been due in late 2017, but Netanyahu brought the polls forward after the collapse of his fractious coalition in early December. Primary elections of Likud party took place on December 31 ahe$

Netanyahu has self to blame for 'extortion' in Israeli politics

Having formed a coalition government with only one seat to spare, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will have to devote much of his time to keeping his government intact.

U.S. President Barack Obama hugs Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at Ben Gurion International Airport Airport in Tel Aviv March 20, 2013. Obama said at the start of his first official visit to Israel on Wednesday that the U.S. commitment to the security of the Jewish state was rock solid and that peace must come to the Holy Land. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F8UU

US willing to 'compensate' Israel on Iran deal

The United States doesn’t understand why Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to focus on battling the Iranian deal and rejects two large and strategic “special interest deals” with the US administration.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men study at Jerusalem's Mir Yeshiva, the largest Jewish seminary in Israel July 4, 2012. The ultra-Orthodox Jews have gone from being a tiny minority in Israel's mostly secular society to its fastest-growing sector, now about 10 percent of the 7.8 million population. They are exempt from military duty in Israel but draft deferments and state subsidies for the ultra-Orthodox have become a divisive political issue in Israel, where the government must decide a new law by August to ensure

Ultra-Orthodox returning to higher education

Over the past few years, young ultra-Orthodox Jews have been entering academia in large numbers, a phenomenon that is transforming the ultra-Orthodox community and its relations with Israeli society at large.

MK Shmuli: Herzog must lead Zionist Camp in opposition

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Zionist Camp Knesset member Itzik Shmuli expresses his regret for the party's failure to reconnect with the periphery.

Palestinian members of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in a military parade marking the 27th anniversary of Hamas' founding, in Gaza City December 14, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY ANNIVERSARY) - RTR4HY1G

Hamas military wing dictates movement's policies

Inside Hamas, the military branch is gradually taking even stronger control of the movement's institutions and blocking attempts to reach a long-term cease-fire with Israel.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) and Jerusalem's mayor Nir Barkat (L) talk to journalists during a joint press conference on February 23, 2015 in Jerusalem, a day after Barkat and his bodyguard apprehended a young Palestinian who stabbed an ultra-Orthodox Jew in Jerusalem. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu, Herzog battle over Israeli press

Netanyahu's schedule, as well as newly revealed sections of the coalition agreements, attest to the fact that the prime minister attributes paramount importance to his control of the media.

Palestinian Senior Hamas legislator Mohammed Totah (L) and former Palestinian minister for Jerusalem affairs Khaled Abu Arafeh (C), are seen at the Magistrate's Court for their hearing in Jerusalem on January 24, 2012. The men were arrested the day before from the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in east Jerusalem where they were taking refuge to avoid deportation from Jerusalem to the West Bank. Over 20 of Hamas's 74 MPs in the 132-member PLC are currently being held by Israel, with

Israeli court to rule on minister's deportation case

After nine years, the Israeli Supreme Court is expected to decide whether the Israeli minister of interior has the right to deport a bona fide permanent resident of the city of Jerusalem.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addresses the plenum at Israel's parliament in Jerusalem May 4, 2015. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday he would not join the new coalition government being formed by Netanyahu, citing disputes over legislation. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX1BHTM

New Israeli government makes no pretense of peace

For the first time in 20 years, an Israeli government will be sworn in without a mention or plan of resolving the Palestinian conflict.

Jordan's King Abdullah (R) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Royal Palace in Amman November 12, 2014. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS ROYALS) - RTR4DV07

Could Jordan-Palestine confederation be in the cards?

Palestinian and Jordanian officials are contemplating the idea of a Jordan-Palestine confederation, to be created after the establishment of a Palestinian state and with Israeli involvement.

Netanyahu bitter over justice minister appointee

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s shrinking coalition forces him to appoint his old nemesis, Knesset member Ayelet Shaked, to the post of justice minister.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C), Defence Minister Moshe Yaalon (L), and Energy and Water Minister Silvan Shalom attend a session of parliament in Jerusalem May 4, 2015. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman said on Monday he would not join the new coalition government being formed by Netanyahu, citing disputes over legislation. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX1BHVV

Netanyahu snatches defeat from jaws of victory

Instead of composing a large and stable coalition, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds himself with only 61 coalition members and must try to persuade the Zionist Camp to join his government.