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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 13, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:56 pm

28°C

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

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.

Latest News

Analysis

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

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)

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

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.

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

Samih Qaadan, father of Palestinian prisoner Abdulrauf Qaadan, crosses out a day on a hand-made calendar created to countdown the number of days left to meet his son who has been held in an Israeli prison since 2004 for membership in Fatah movement's military wing, at his house in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on July 13, 2020. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Families get green light to visit Palestinian prisoners in Israel

Despite the increase in coronavirus cases, the Israel Prison Service has decided to allow visits by family members to Palestinian prisoners to resume under strict sanitary conditions.

TEL AVIV, ISRAEL - JULY 11: Israeli woman holds a sign with photos of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as she protests against the Government's economy response to the cororna virus crisis on July 11, 2020 in Tel Aviv, Israel. Following a rise in the cases of COVID-19, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has ordered many businesses to shut, causing people to protest about a perceived mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic and to call for the compensation promised by the government to be pai

Netanyahu's Bastille Night

The violent July 14 demonstration outside Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s official residence reflected the level of rage and frustration sensed by many Israelis.

Israel compiles list of officials who could be targeted by ICC

Israel has compiled a list of 200 to 300 names of officials who might be targeted in the future by the International Criminal Court in The Hague.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Alternate Prime Minister and Defence Minister Benny Gantz (L) attend a cabinet meeting of the new government at Chagall State Hall in the Knesset (Israeli parliament) in Jerusalem on May 24, 2020. (Photo by ABIR SULTAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ABIR SULTAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Coronavirus crisis escalates bickering between Netanyahu, Gantz

The coronavirus crisis and the dire economic straits only deepened the rift between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his coalition partner, Alternate Prime Minister and Defense Minister Benny Gantz.

Israelis take to streets, blame Netanyahu for economic crisis

Thousands of Israelis hit the streets over the the weekend in protest of the government’s failure to effectively and quickly address the economic crisis induced by the coronavirus.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - MAY 24: Israelis hold flags and signs as they protest against Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu on May 24, 2020 in Jerusalem, Israel. The prime minister, who strongly denies the charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust, was recently sworn in to office at the head of a national unity government formed with his opponent Benny Gantz. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Netanyahu's annexation plan turning into fiasco

With the Americans losing interest and on the backdrop of the coronavirus crisis, the West Bank annexation plan of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is likely to turn into his greatest diplomatic fiasco.

An Israeli woman uses her iPhone in front of the building housing the Israeli NSO group, on August 28, 2016, in Herzliya, near Tel Aviv.
Apple iPhone owners, earlier in the week, were urged to install a quickly released security update after a sophisticated attack on an Emirati dissident exposed vulnerabilities targeted by cyber arms dealers.
Lookout and Citizen Lab worked with Apple on an iOS patch to defend against what was called "Trident" because of its triad of attack methods, the researchers said in a

Amnesty loses battle against Israeli spy-technology company

The Tel Aviv court ruled that Amnesty International failed to present sufficient evidence in its claim against spy-technology company NSO.

Israeli protesters clash with police outside Netanyahu's residence

Protest organizers said six people were injured in the clashes Monday morning.

Israeli-Iranian couple welcomed nowhere, fights for their love

Israeli Lital and Iranian Vinas are in love, but no country will take in both of them.

US enthusiasm seems to be fading on Netanyahu’s annexation plan

According to a recent report, the Trump administration is now conditioning its support of the annexation plan on a broad agreement on the issue between Blue and White and Likud.

People gather near an island that was exposed due to low water level in the Sea of Galilee in northern Israel on August 30, 2018. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel creates plan to develop, protect Sea of Galilee

The Galilee Sea development plan aims to regulate the local tourism industry and protect the region’s sensitive ecosystems.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man, wearing a protective face mask, stands at a checkpoint erected to block entrance to the neighbourhoods of Romema and Kiryat Belz after authorities imposed a lockdown to combat the spread of the Coronavirus, in Jerusalem on July 12, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox threaten unity government over coronavirus measures

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset members are threatening to leave the Netanyahu government over anti-coronavirus measures they feel disproportionately target their sector.