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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 15, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:42 am

24°C

Analysis

As Trump prioritizes Hormuz, Israel fears Iran rebuilding nuclear program while preserving ballistic missile threat

Israel is worried that the United States is centering the Strait of Hormuz, deprioritizing the threat of a nuclear Iran.

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

Israelis turn out to cast their ballots on election day for the 20th Knesset on March 17, 2015 in Tel Aviv, Israel.

Explainer

Israel's next election: Who's leading in polls and what's at stake?

After months of negotiations and speculations, the coalition announced that general elections will take place on Oct. 27.

Latest News

Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Jim WATSON / AFP via Getty Images

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

New Israeli election poll puts Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu: What to know

Former Israeli army chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot speaks during the launch of the Yashar party's election campaign in Hod Aharon, in central Israel, on June 30, 2026.

Trump declares MoU with Iran 'over' as Hegseth cancels trip to Israel

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not shown) for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 08, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

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

A general view of the UNESCO headquarters before a ceremony for the "UNESCO-Equatorial Guinea International Prize for Research in the Life Sciences" in Paris July 17, 2012. Rights groups said on Monday UNESCO's decision to award a science prize sponsored by the president of Equatorial Guinea was "shameful and utterly irresponsible". Despite calls to abandon it, the governing council of Paris-based UNESCO voted by 33 to 18 with six abstentions to approve awarding what was originally called the "UNESCO-Obiang

The US-UNESCO tragedy

Is the US role in UNESCO a casualty of Palestine's membership?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he delivers a statement to the media after meeting U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv November 8, 2013. Israel rejected out of hand on Friday a mooted deal between world powers and Iran, just as Kerry prepared to join nuclear talks that aim to nail down an interim agreement on the decade-old standoff. REUTERS/Debbie Hill/Pool (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1555A

Netanyahu rejects 'deal of the century for Iran'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State John Kerry reportedly clash before Kerry headed to Geneva for the Iran talks.

A Palestinian student walks past a mural depicting late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat in Gaza City November 7, 2013. Swiss scientists who conducted tests on the remains of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, whose widow Suha says he was poisoned by radioactive polonium, will give a news conference on Thursday on their findings. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW SOCIETY) - RTX153OJ

Despite Swiss report, controversy over Arafat's death continues

The publication of the Swiss inquiry into the death of Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat does not offer an end to the debate over whether he was poisoned.

Confetti drops as Labour party leader Shelly Yachimovich stands on stage during an event to mark the end of the party campaign in Tel Aviv January 17, 2013. Opinion polls have shown Labour, which ruled Israel for decades but now holds only eight seats in parliament, bouncing back to second place behind Likud under new leader Yachimovich. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3CKNE

Israeli Labor Party MK argues Yachimovich is no team player

Labor Party MK Erel Margalit opposes Chair Shelly Yachimovich's leadership, arguing that she has failed to garner the support of the industrial sector and lead a strong opposition socioeconomic agenda.

Palestinians stand on a stage with a poster depicting late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat during a rally marking the 48th anniversary of the founding of the Fatah movement, in Gaza City January 4, 2013. Hundreds of thousands of Palestinians joined a rare rally staged by President Mahmoud Abbas's Fatah group in Gaza on Friday, as tensions ease with rival Hamas Islamists ruling the enclave since 2007. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3C3I8

Palestinians want to know who killed Arafat

Palestinians are not surprised by the findings of the Swiss forensic report that the late PLO leader Yasser Arafat's body contained high levels of polonium.

A police officer watches Israeli protesters take part in a rally against the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails outside Ofer prison near the West Bank city of Ramallah, October 29, 2013. Israel is to release 26 Palestinian prisoners in a second stage of a deal brokered by the United States in July that brought a resumption of peace talks. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS RELIGION) - RTX14SWY

Israeli police warn of rise in organized crime

Israeli criminal organizations are stepping up their ruthlessness, adapting their operational methods to the modern era and penetrating government circles.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during the United Nations General Assembly in New York September 24, 2013.

REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX13Y4X

Obama goes big in the Middle East

The US-Russia agreement on Syria’s chemical weapons, a possible nuclear deal with Iran, and Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are all signs that the Obama administration may be charting a new course in the region.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry walks with Israel's President Shimon Peres (L) in Jerusalem, November 6, 2013. Kerry urged Israel on Wednesday to limit settlement building in occupied territories to help push peace talks with the Palestinians back on track. REUTERS/Jason Reed (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX152FC

Palestine-Israel talks are a road without a map

A freeze on settlements and recognition that the West Bank is occupied territory is necessary to turn the talks into true negotiations.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (2nd L) waits to hear the verdict in the corruption charges against him at the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem November 6, 2013. Lieberman will return to the cabinet after his acquittal in a corruption trial on Wednesday, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said. REUTERS/Emil Salman/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW) - RTX15212

Liberman slams South Africa as 'anti-Israel'

The harsh remarks emanating from Turkey and South Africa indicate that it's OK to criticize Israel while strengthening ties with Iran.

A wounded Syrian girl sits on a hospital bed at Ziv Medical Center in the northern Israeli town of Safed September 9, 2013. What started this year as a trickle is now a steady flow of Syrians, scores of civilians and fighters wounded in the civil war and being discreetly brought across the Golan frontline into Israel - a country with which Syria is formally still at war. Picture taken September 9, 2013. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS HEALTH) - RTX13JW4

Wounded Syrians treated in Israel

Safed's Ziv hospital welcomes Syrians wounded in the war.

Naftali Bennett, head of the far-right Bayit Yehudi party, is silhouetted as he talks to students at a pre-army training course as he campaigns in the Shapira Center near the southern city of Ashkelon January 20, 2013. Israel will hold a parliamentary election on January 22. Bennett has emerged as the surprise success story of the country's election campaign, with polls predicting his party will win some 13 seats, and that a cabinet post for Bennett is likely. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELE

Prominent Likud member warns of massive layoffs

The chairman of the Knesset's Labor, Welfare and Health Committee, Haim Katz, warns of a massive layoff wave in the Israeli job market, accusing Economy and Trade Minister Naftali Bennet for not fighting it.

Former Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (3rd R) is surrounded by members of the media as he leaves the Magistrate Court in Jerusalem, after he was acquitted in a corruption trial November 6, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu welcomed Lieberman back to government on Wednesday after the ultra-nationalist politician was acquitted of corruption charges. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CRIME LAW TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX1523M

Liberman’s acquittal shakes Israeli politics

Having been acquitted, Foreign Minister-to-be Avigdor Liberman can go to work without a legal cloud over his head, turning him into the key player in Netanyahu's coalition.