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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 9, 2026

Tel Aviv 6:02 pm

32°C

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

Skeptical about the effectiveness of the American economic blockade on Tehran to weaken the regime, Israel is preparing for the possibility that Iran could decide to strike the Jewish state during the upcoming high holidays.

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

West Bank settlements

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

The decision comes against the backdrop of an escalation in settler violence and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank.

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

After a West Bank stabbing of an Israeli settler, Defense Minister Israel Katz warns the Palestinian Authority against launching an “Oct. 7-style” assault.

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

The escalation in southern Lebanon casts a shadow over upcoming Israel-Lebanon talks in Rome.

Latest News

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Jewish politician joining Arab party could reshape Israeli politics

Raam

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

Playing for time: Despite US pressure, Israel stalls Lebanon talks until after election

Ammar Ammar / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

As Israeli settler attacks mount, Trump avoids public pressure on Netanyahu

Israeli soldiers arrive in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has faced escalating Israeli settler violence over the past month, on Aug. 29, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Palestinians run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces at Jerusalem's Al-Aqsa mosque compound on May 10, 2021, ahead of a planned march to commemorate Israel's takeover of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War.

Temple Mount violence bares fragility of Turkey’s attempts to fix relations with Israel

Turkey's president and other officials have condemned Israel's crackdown on Palestinians in unrest at Al-Aqsa mosque, posing a serious threat to Ankara's efforts to mend ties with Israel.

Israeli security forces fire tear gas at Palestinian protesters along the Israel-Gaza border, east of Khan Yunis town in the southern Gaza Strip on May 8, 2021. Israel braced for more protests after clashes at Jerusalem's flashpoint Al-Aqsa Mosque compound wounded more than 200 people and as the international community urged calm after days of escalating violence. The clashes came as tensions have soared over Israeli restrictions on access to parts of the Old City during Ramadan and the threat of eviction h

Jerusalem hit by Hamas rockets

After demanding Israeli police withdraw from the Temple Mount compound, Hamas fired this evening several rockets at Jerusalem and at Israeli communities in the south.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

New loan fund could save small Arab-Israeli businesses

Already fragile small Arab-Israeli businesses were hit especially hard by the pandemic and the ensuing economic crisis.

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Israel closes Gaza Strip crossing over continuing rocket fire

The Israeli authorities have closed a border crossing with Gaza as rockets rain down and dozens of incendiary balloons float from the Strip toward Israel's southern communities.

Palestinians run for cover from tear gas fired by Israeli security forces in the Old City, ahead of a planned march to commemorate Israel's takeover of Jerusalem in the 1967 Six-Day War, Jerusalem, May 10, 2021.

After violent weekend in Jerusalem, clashes erupt on Temple Mount

Violent clashes between Israeli police and Palestinian protesters at Temple Mount, or Haram-esh-Sherif, as clashes spread.

Leader of the Israeli right-wing Yamina party Naftali Bennett addresses supporters at his party's campaign headquarters, after the end of voting in the fourth national election in two years, Tel Aviv, Israel, March 24, 2021.

Naftali Bennett could be Israel’s next prime minister

Pro-settler Yamina leader Naftali Bennett could soon become Israel’s first religious prime minister.

Sheikh Jarrah protest

Israeli court to reconvene next week on eviction of Palestinian families

The High Court decides to again discuss the petition by Palestinian residents of the Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood against eviction orders issued at the request of Jewish settlers.

Sheikh Jarrah

European countries urge Israel to halt planned settlement expansion

Five foreign ministries call on Israel to scuttle plans to build more West Bank settlements.

GIL COHEN-MAGEN/AFP via Getty Images

Wide coalition ramps up negotiations on Israel's next government

As Yair Lapid takes the wheel, the coalition negotiations to create a broad-based government have been underway for weeks.

A general view shows a power plant in Haifa, Israel, April 20, 2015.

Israel advances shutdown of polluting petrochemical plants

A paper published end of April by an interministerial committee recommends shutting down the petrochemical industries in Haifa Bay.

Senior adviser to Donald Trump Jared Kushner listens as national security adviser Robert O'Brien (not seen) speaks during a press briefing at the White House on August 13, 2020, in Washington, DC. Kushner appeared with Trump earlier today as Trump announced a new peace deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Jared Kushner founds organization to further Israeli normalization deals

The Abraham Accords Institute for Peace will focus on boosting ties between Israel and the Arab countries that signed the Abraham Accords.

This combination of pictures taken on May 5, 2021, shows (L to R) leader of Israel's Yesh Atid (There Is a Future) party Yair Lapid, and leader of the Yamina (Right) party Naftali Bennett, arriving at the Israeli president's residence in Jerusalem.

The Takeaway: Could a Bennett-Lapid coalition last in Israel?

Fractious politics makes for unstable governance; the scoop on Biden’s meeting with Israel’s Mossad chief; Gulf rethinks Chinese vaccine policies; more Egyptian mummies; Saudi Arabia; Turkey; and more!