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

Israel cover image

Israel

May 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:12 am

19°C

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was not surprised by President Donald Trump’s suspension of Project Freedom and move toward talks with Iran, but analysts say Washington may not be fully weighing Israel's concerns in negotiations with Tehran.

Traffic passes a billboard depicting Iranian ballistic missiles in service, with text in Arabic reading "the honest [person's] promise" and in Persian "Israel is weaker than a spider's web," Valiasr Square, Tehran, April 15, 2024. ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images.

Analysis

CIA report on Iran missiles undercuts Netanyahu as war euphoria dissipates

The findings cast doubt on Israel’s wartime gains and put pressure on Netanyahu’s campaign strategy ahead of elections.

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

Latest News

Israel strikes Beirut in breach of Lebanon ceasefire

People gather at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted Beirut's southern suburbs neighborhood of Haret Hreik on May 6, 2026.

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Culture

Lebanon's churches, mosques and archaeological sites damaged in Israeli strikes

A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains among the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026.

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

limpet mine us navy.png

Israeli-owned cargo ship rocked by explosion in Gulf of Oman

The blast came just hours after US airstrikes hit an Iran-linked militia in Syria

Israeli Defence Minister Benny Gantz, the leader of the Blue and White (Kahol Lavan) party, speaks during a visit to the Druze village of Julis in northern Israel, on February 23, 2021. - Israel will hold its fourth general election in less than two years, on March 23. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

Benny Gantz fighting for his political life

Although officers who served with Benny Gantz — currently Israel's defense minister — when he was the Israel Defense Forces chief of staff are urging him to drop out of the upcoming March elections, the head of the Blue and White party is not about to surrender.

Benny Gantz (C), A former IDF Chief and the head of Israeli Resilience party speaks to supporters during an election campaign event in Tel Aviv. Israelis will vote in a parliamentary election on April 9, choosing among party lists of candidates to serve in the 121-seat Knesset

Massive oil spill blackens Israeli coast

Though a gag order has been relaxed, little is known about the extent of the damage caused by a major oil spill to Israel's marine ecosystems and beaches.

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu attends a ceremony marking the 4,000,000th person to be vaccinated at Leumit Health Care Services vaccination facility in Jerusalem on February 16, 2021. - Israel's largest healthcare provider said a study of more than half a million fully vaccinated Israelis indicated the Pfizer/BioNTech jab gave 94 percent protection against Covid-19. (Photo by Alex KOLOMIENSKY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX KOLOMIENSKY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Bahraini crown prince, Israel’s Netanyahu discuss Iran nuclear deal

The call between the Israeli and Bahraini leaders came as the Biden administration seeks to re-enter the Iranian nuclear agreement.

Bernie Sanders criticizes Israel over vaccine situation in Palestinian territories

The Israeli prime minister's son responded to Sanders on Twitter, saying Israel is not responsible for vaccinating Palestinians. The spat followed reports Israel is giving surplus vaccines to allies abroad.

(FILES) A picture dated on September 8, 2002 shows a partial view of the Dimona nuclear power plant in the southern Israeli Negev desert. The plant was built with help from the French in the 1950's, when Paris was the main arms supplier to the Jewish state. The complex was described by Israel as various types of non-nuclear facilities until then Prime Minister David Ben Gurion said in December 1960 that it was a nuclear research center built for "peacful purposes." Israel is reconsidering its plans of nucle

Israel expanding decades-old secret nuclear site in Negev Desert: report

The Dimona facility appears to be undergoing its largest construction in decades, but it's not clear why.

This picture taken from the Israeli-annexed Golan Heights on February 4, 2021, shows the border fence with the Syrian governorate of Quneitra. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AFP) (Photo by JALAA MAREY/AFP via Getty Images)

The Israel-Russia-Syria deal: Cost, beneficiaries and future deals

As Israel and Syria conclude a deal on the return of an Israeli woman from Syria, questions arise regarding the cost and what the future of such transactions with Russian mediation should be.

Palestinians to lose only airport in Jerusalem to Israeli settlements

Israel advances its measures to annex Jerusalem by implementing several settlement projects, including one on the site of Palestine’s old airport.

A member of the Honduran Army observes as health workers begin the vaccination against COVID-19 with the Moderna vaccines in Tegucigalpa, on February 25, 2021. (Photo by Orlando SIERRA / AFP) (Photo by ORLANDO SIERRA/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu's plan to donate vaccines to other countries suspended, awaits legal opinion

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had said this week that as a gesture of goodwill, Israel would donate vaccine doses to the Palestinian Authority and a number of other countries.

Vaccine pass required to attend Israeli concert

The Israeli government has launched a "Green Pass" program that allows vaccinated individuals to go to concerts, the gym, hotels and more.

Op_Magic_Carpet_(Yemenites).jpg

Israeli government to compensate families of missing Yemenite children

Seventy years after, the Israeli government expresses regret over the disappeared Yemenite children and is offering the families reparations.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken speaks to staff at the US State Department during the first visit of US President Joe Biden(L) in Washington, DC, February 4, 2021. - US Secretary of State Antony Blinken voiced concern over jailed opposition figure Alexei Navalny and imprisoned Americans in a telephone call Thursday with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Blinken calls on UN Human Rights Council to end 'unacceptable bias against Israel'

Secretary of State Antony Blinken announced the Biden administration would seek full membership on the Geneva-based council.