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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 18, 2026

Tel Aviv 2:30 am

27°C

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Serbia opens factory to assemble Israeli-made drones: What to know

Serbian President Vucic said the factory will put together “state-of-the-art” Israeli-designed drones and employ around 100 workers.

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

The move will mark the first time Morocco and Israel have exchanged ambassadors.

ISRAEL-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-MASS-MEDIA-D (L to R) Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-creators of the hit Israeli TV show "Fauda", attend a demonstration against the Israeli government's plans to shut-down public broadcaster KAN, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 25, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Israeli show ‘Fauda’ tops Netflix in Lebanon, hits top 10 across Arab states

The show was created by Israeli journalist Avi Issacharoff and actor Lior Raz, drawing on their experiences serving in the Israeli military’s elite Duvdevan unit.

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

Showing its support for Lebanon, Paris is backing Beirut’s request at the UN for a short-term extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, although French sources acknowledge that the chances of the request being approved are slim.

Latest News

Exclusive

Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Analysis

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

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

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

Erik Marmor

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

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

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.

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

Abbas seeks to free Palestinian economy from Israel

Palestinians are determined to revisit the Paris Protocol on Economic Relations, which they have said deepens their subordination to Israel.

Palestinian students stripped of US scholarships

Palestinian students studying abroad on US-sponsored scholarships have found themselves in limbo after the Palestinian Authority declined further US assistance following enactment of the US Anti-Terrorism Clarification Act.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli Interior Minister Aryeh Deri are seen at the end of a news conference at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem April 2, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC163EB70890

Israeli season of political mergers in full speed

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is pushing for mergers between small parties, including the ultra-Orthodox parties, to prevent a loss of votes for the right-wing bloc.

Israel’s slackening in Gaza will escalate marches of return

After Hamas rejected the transfer of a Qatari grant, protesters threatened to intensify the marches along the Gaza-Israel border to pressure Israel to abide by the truce agreement.

Israeli-Arab parties in trouble

The withdrawal of Knesset member Ahmad Tibi from the Arab Joint List is confronting the already complicated alliance of factions with great difficulties.

U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the sidelines of the 73rd session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, U.S., September 26, 2018. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RC1926A26F60

Trump: Israel’s friend in words, not in deeds

US President Donald Trump's isolationist policies in Syria and Afghanistan, coupled with placating gestures toward the government of Benjamin Netanyahu, rather than a push for peace with the Palestinians, are endangering Israel’s security.

The Gulf Cooperation Council's (GCC) Leaders are seen ahead of their Summit meeting in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia December 9, 2018. Bandar Algaloud/Courtesy of Saudi Royal Court/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY - RC1819A5F470

GCC states boxed in by US sanctions on Syria

The United States creates dilemmas for GCC in Syria; Qatar steps up with $500 million Lebanon investment; Netanyahu seeks Arab photo-op in Poland.

Israel kicks out international monitoring force in Hebron

Palestinians are asking the UN to intercede in Israel's decision to end the mandate of a peacekeeping force in Hebron, a decision they fear will lead to increased settlement activity in the West Bank city.

Gaza war takes center stage in Israel's election campaign

With former military chief of staff Benny Gantz soaring in pre-election polls, the conduct and results of Operation Protective Edge, the 2014 military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, is back on the public agenda.

House Foreign Relations Committee Democratic Ranking member Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY) speaks with reporters after a closed intelligence briefing with CIA Director Gina Haspel on the death of Saudi dissident Jamal Khashoggi on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., December 12, 2018. REUTERS/Yuri Gripas - RC1BF7613400

Intel: How the latest freshman-establishment spat is laying bare Democrats’ Palestinian problem

An escalating feud between freshman Palestinian-American Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Minn., and the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee is laying bare Democrats’ gaping divide over Israel.

Russian President Vladimir Putin shakes hands with Ali Akbar Velayati, a top advisor to Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during their meeting at the Novo-Ogaryovo state residence outside Moscow, Russia July 12, 2018. Sputnik/Alexei Druzhinin/Kremlin via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. - RC1122CD2770

Tehran, Moscow differ on Syria, but share interests elsewhere

Russia and Iran are cautious about labeling their relationship an alliance, but when they say it is a partnership, they mean it.

Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and head of Israel Resilience party, delivers his first political speech at the party campaign launch in Tel Aviv, Israel January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1E3A6329C0

Netanyahu’s top rival, neither right nor left

Flattering comments in Israel's liberal press do not mean that premiership candidate Benny Gantz espouses left-wing positions.