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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 17, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:46 pm

33°C

US Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Wisconsin Air National Guard facility at Milwaukee Mitchell International Airport on July 8, 2026, in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Vance says Israeli intelligence had ties to Epstein: What to know

Vice President JD Vance has grown more critical of Israel, possibly in an effort to capitalize on changing views among voters with an eye on the 2028 presidential election.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cornerstone laying ceremony for the Atarot Heritage Center at an abandon airport in East Jerusalem near the separation wall with the Israeli occupied West Bank city of Ramallah on July 5, 2026.

Israeli PM Netanyahu 'will not travel' to US next week, his office says

On Wednesday, an Israeli official had told Al-Monitor that Netanyahu was planning to travel on Saturday and meet with President Donald Trump next week and attend the memorial service for Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.).

BEIRUT, LEBANON - OCTOBER 13: Lebanese people wave flags and hold portraits of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (not pictured) as he arrives in southern suberb of Beirut on October 13, 2010 in Lebanon. The controversial visit is seen as a boost for key ally Hezbollah. According to reports Mr Ahmadinejad may visit the border with Israel - the site of recent deadly clashes between Israeli and Lebanese forces. (Photo by Salah Malkawi/Getty Images)

Ahmadinejad denies alleged Mossad plot to install him as Iran leader: What to know

The former president, who was a virulent critic of Israel while in office, was reportedly part of a Mossad plan to replace the current Iranian leadership.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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

Explainer

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

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

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

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish women work on computers in the central city of Holon on April 17, 2016.

Record number of ultra-Orthodox women join Israeli workforce

More and more Israeli ultra-Orthodox women turn to computer programming, accounting, entrepreneurship and other jobs instead of traditional positions in the education system.

Leviathan gas field

Negotiations likely to start over in Israel-Cyprus gas field dispute

Israel’s Energy Minister Karine Elharar is reexamining the Israel-Cyprus dispute over the gas field on their maritime border.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Tensions escalate in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood

Clashes have broken out again between Palestinian residents, Jewish settlers and security forces in Sheikh Jarrah.

SERGEI SUPINSKY/AFP via Getty Images

Israel promises support for Ukrainian Jews

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has made it clear that if Jews in Ukraine find themselves in need of rescue, Israel will be there for them.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog speaks at al-Wasl Dome at Expo 2020 Dubai during Israel's expo National Day in the gulf emirate, Jan. 31, 2022.

Israel's Herzog leads rapprochement with Turkey

Jerusalem is well aware that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has a long list of own interests behind his rapprochement campaign.

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Israel freezes spyware exports

Israel's Defense Ministry has taken multiple steps to control the exportation of spyware, but the Pegasus affair continues to grow in Israel and abroad.

funeral of Omar Abdalmajeed Assad

Death of elderly Palestinian calls attention to notorious IDF unit

Israelis are shaken and embarrassed by an incident last month in which IDF soldiers arrested an almost 80-year-old man in the middle of the night and left him outside in the cold, where he died.

Israeli soldiers stand near a Merkava IV battle tank parked in a military post near the Syrian border in the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights, Jan. 24, 2022.

Israel fears fire exchange with Syria could indicate strategic shift

Israel strikes military targets in Damascus amid increased concerns over Syria-Russia ties.

An elderly man wearing a protective face mask, walks past the Turkish flag on May 10, 2020, at Besiktas in Istanbul.

Israel considers improved ties with Turkey, Central Asia

Taking relations with Ankara one step at a time, Jerusalem could opt for a soft-diplomatic multi-national alliance with Turkey, Azerbaijan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

Israel Pegasus

Netanyahu refers to Pegasus revelations as 'black day'

Allegations that the police used the Pegasus software to illegally spy on politicians, activists and journalists raise more concerns about privacy, civil liberties and democracy.

Israel technology

Israeli tech companies worry for their Ukrainian programmers

As tensions between Russia and Ukraine intensify, Israeli high-tech companies are worried over the safety of thousands of Ukrainian programmers.

A woman checks the website of Israel-made Pegasus spyware at an office in the Cypriot capital Nicosia, July 21, 2021.

Netanyahu exploits Pegasus affair in Israel

With the Pegasus affair growing in Israel, former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, on trial for breach of trust and bribery, says his opponents used the spyware against him.