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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 7, 2026

Tel Aviv 8:46 am

28°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

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki (C) leaves the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague August 5, 2014. Al-Malki said on Tuesday after meeting prosecutors at the International Criminal Court that there was "clear evidence" that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. The visit took place shortly after Israeli and the Islamist Hamas movement entered a 72-hour truce mediated by Egypt in an effort to pave the way for an extended ceasefire. Israel and the Palestinians have traded allegations of w

Palestinians join ICC, but will they file complaints?

While joining the International Criminal Court is indeed a diplomatic achievement for the Palestinians, filing complaints against Israel could bring them countercomplaints and other punitive measures.

Palestinian protesters run from tear gas canisters launched by Israeli troops during clashes following a protest marking the Land Day, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah March 28, 2015. Palestinians marks Land Day on March 30, the annual commemoration of protests in 1976 against Israel's appropriation of Arab-owned land in the Galilee. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTR4V9NG

PA official: Problem isn't Netanyahu, it's Israel

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral win, the Palestinians fear that they have no option left but a nonviolent intifada under the theme of liberating East Jerusalem.

Dr.neguise.jpg

New Ethiopian Knesset member prioritizes immigrant community

Likud's Avraham Negusie, newly sworn in to the Knesset, promises in an interview with Al-Monitor to fight for Jews from Ethiopia, saying, “There shouldn’t be economic considerations of who is more expensive than the other. That’s not the Zionist ideal.”

Palestinian workers clear the rubble of a school that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City December 3, 2014. According to housing minister Mufeed al-Hasayna, Gaza needs 8,000 tonnes of cement a day to meet demand. A new system set up with the United Nations to comply with Israeli requirements lets through at most 2,000, he said. At that rate, reconstruction would take more than 30 years, said Hasayna, one of four

Will Qatar-Israel relations threaten PA’s relevance in Gaza?

Qatar’s engagement with Hamas and Israeli officials on Gaza reconstruction projects has provoked fears in the Palestinian Authority of a usurpation of its power.

An Israeli border policeman removes a Palestinian flag and a Fatah flag during a protest against what Palestinians say is land confiscations by Israel for Jewish settlements, near the West Bank town of Abu Dis near Jerusalem March 6, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4SCB7

Will PA focus on settlements at ICC?

Now that the Palestinian Authority is an official member of the International Criminal Court, the safer course for the Palestinian leadership will be to pursue Israel's settlements and not its transgressions in Gaza.

A general view shows the plenum during the swearing-in ceremony of the 20th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem March 31, 2015. REUTERS/Heidi Levine/Pool - RTR4VMHC

Israelis expect little of next Knesset

The 20th Knesset opened with a gloomy atmosphere and little hope for change, but low expectations combined with a broad-based right-wing future government could yield some surprises.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and President Reuven Rivlin converse during an event following the swearing-in ceremony of the 20th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem March 31, 2015. Netanyahu said on Tuesday the framework Iranian nuclear agreement being sought by international negotiators will leave Iran with the capability to develop a nuclear weapon in under a year. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool - RTR4VMZC

Netanyahu's coalition choices

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wants to choose the option that allows him to extend his term as long as possible, but has no idea which potential coalition — a rightist one or a partnership with the Zionist Camp — can do that.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem March 29, 2015. Netanyahu condemned on Sunday the framework Iranian nuclear agreement being sought by international negotiators, saying it was even worse than his country had feared. REUTERS/Dan Balilty/Pool
- RTR4VCEV

Mistrust blinds Netanyahu to regional openings

The dangers Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu perceives in the region obstruct his ability to see opportunities favorable to Israel.

A Palestinian policeman gestures as Hamas-hired civil servants wait to receive a payment in Gaza City October 29, 2014. Some 24,000 civil servants hired by the Islamist group Hamas, many of whom have not received a full salary in almost a year, finally got some pay on Wednesday from the new Palestinian unity government based in the West Bank. The funds were supplied by the gas-rich kingdom of Qatar, which is an ally of Hamas. But the fact the cash was delivered by the West Bank administration gave a boost t

Why freezing Palestinian taxes won't help Israel

Israel's freezing of Palestinian tax revenues is contributing to the dire economic situation in the West Bank and could accelerate the beginning of another cycle of violence.

Saudi King Salman attends the opening meeting of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 28, 2015. Arab League heads of state are holding a two-day summit to discuss a range of conflicts in the region, including Yemen and Libya, as well as the threat posed by Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Stringer - RTR4V96H

Why did Israel side with Saudi Arabia on Yemen?

Rather than celebrating Saudi Arabia’s attack on Yemen, Israel should feel aversion toward it, since the destabilization of any Arab state can only lead to more and more terrorism and ultimately impacts Israel.

Israeli soldiers stand atop tanks near the border with Lebanon January 20, 2015. An Iranian general killed in an Israeli air strike in Syria was not its intended target and Israel believed it was attacking only low-ranking guerrillas, a senior security source said on Tuesday. Troops and civilians in northern Israel are on heightened alert and Israel has deployed an Iron Dome rocket interceptor unit near the Syrian border. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR4M69S

Israelis trust Netanyahu on security, not the economy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory proved that the security issue is crucial for the Israelis, but when assembling a coalition Netanyahu must remember that the dire economic situation is still of great concern.

Palestinian Hamas-hired civil servants wait to receive payment at a post office in Gaza City October 29, 2014. Some 24,000 civil servants hired by the Islamist group Hamas, many of whom have not received a full salary in almost a year, finally got some pay on Wednesday from the new Palestinian unity government based in the West Bank. The funds were supplied by the gas-rich kingdom of Qatar, which is an ally of Hamas. But the fact the cash was delivered by the West Bank administration gave a boost to hopes t

Will Swiss employment plan help rehabilitate Gaza?

UN Middle East envoy Robert Serry is promoting a trilateral three-to-five-year cease-fire among Israel, Hamas and Fatah, which will provide Israel with security and enable the continued reconstruction of the Gaza Strip.