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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:40 pm

28°C

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

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

Latest News

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

West Bank settlements

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

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

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

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.

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

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

Israel receives advanced warship amid heightened tensions with Iran

The Saar 6 can fire missiles, launch helicopters and deploy Israel's Iron Dome technology. Its arrival comes following the killing of an Iranian nuclear scientist, allegedly by Israel.

Israel transfers over $1 billion in tax revenues to Palestinians

The Palestinian Authority suspended the transfers in May, worsening the cash-strapped government's financial woes.

Bahrain trade minister on three-day trip to Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi each met today with Bahrain Commerce and Tourism Minister Zayed bin Rashid Al Zayani, who arrived in Israel leading a delegation of 40 businesspeople.

A Palestinian girl walks towards an alley leading to the Qaqaa Bin Amr mosque, in the mostly Arab east Jerusalem neighbourhood of Silwan, on September 15, 2020. - Israeli authorities suspended a demolition order on the two-story building in the Silwan neighbourhood, and granted those in charge of it 21 days to challenge the demolition order. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Court throws out school discrimination suit as Israel tests nationality law

An Israeli court’s decision against Arab children demanding to be reimbursed for traveling to a distant Arabic-speaking school illustrates the dangerous implications of the 2018 nationality law.

Israel's Blue and White party plans vote to dissolve Knesset

Defense Minister Benny Gantz said there will be early elections unless the government passes a budget.

הדמיה הרכבל לכותל - קרדיט הרלי.jpg

Jerusalem cable car taken to Israel's highest court

Israel's High Court is set to rule on a controversial cable car project in Jerusalem that would alter the city's landscape.

Iran MPs vote for nuclear deal breaches after scientist’s assassination

Four days after a top Iranian nuclear scientist was assassinated, the country’s conservative parliament overwhelmingly adopted a draft bill calling for significant breaches of Tehran’s obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal.

Netanyahu, alone at the top, makes a friend on the beach

Having distanced aides and security chiefs he no longer trusts, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has become a very lonely leader.

Gaza blockade responsible for $16B in economic damage, UN agency says

UN trade and development agency says Gaza economy "near collapse."

A picture taken on October 12, 2020, shows maritime border markers near the Rosh Hanikra Crossing, also known as the Ras Al Naqoura Crossing, between Israel and Lebanon. - On October 1, Lebanon and Israel, which are still technically at war, said they had agreed to begin UN-brokered negotiations over the shared frontier, in what Washington hailed a "historic" agreement, with a tentative date set for the discussions for October 14, which would be confirmed, according to a US envoy. (Photo by JALAA MAREY / AF

Israel-Lebanon sea border talks postponed

Israel and Lebanon have paused direct discussions over their maritime dispute in a gas-rich part of the Mediterranean in October under US supervision.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, attends the opening ceremony for Sha'ar Hagay national site, near Jerusalem on November 29, 2020. (Photo by Alex KOLOMIENSKY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX KOLOMIENSKY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's Netanyahu plans official visit to Egypt

The reported visit follows a string of normalization deals with Arab countries.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, attends the opening ceremony for Sha'ar Hagay national site, near Jerusalem on November 29, 2020. (Photo by Alex KOLOMIENSKY / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEX KOLOMIENSKY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu prepares his Iran cards before Biden takes office

Israel did not take responsibility for the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientist Mohsen Fakharizadeh, yet Western sources estimate it was a Mossad operation.