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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:59 pm

31°C

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

President Donald Trump insisted he has a great relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu but criticized the scale of Israel’s strikes in Lebanon.

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir takes part in the Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 14, 2026, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Explainer

Ben-Gvir's move to run separately in Israel elections revives debate over party alliances

National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir, head of the far-right Jewish Power party, has refused to merge with the far-right Religious Zionism party ahead of the elections.

Latest News

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Analysis

Squeezed by Trump and Iran war, how vulnerable is Netanyahu in polls?

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hosted by President Donald Trump at the White House, Washington, DC, July 7, 2025.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

'Pilot zones' offer litmus test for Lebanon to clear Israel border of Hezbollah

Smoke rises following Israeli bombardment in southern Lebanon close to the Beaufort Castle as seen from a position across the border in the Upper Galilee, in northern Israel on June 4, 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

Will Neolithic West Bank mask spark modern-day culture war?

A Neolithic mask found in the Judean Desert is a relic from a bygone spiritual belief system prevalent in the region around 9,000 years ago.

Lebanon's Hezbollah supporters chant slogans during last day of Ashura, in Beirut, Lebanon September 20, 2018. REUTERS/Aziz Taher - RC1B0033DBD0

Iran’s shift of tactics endangers Israel

Israel Defense Forces are confronted with a new reality in which Hezbollah receives weapons from Iran by air cargo landing in Beirut and not by truck convoys from Syria.

Legal discrimination in Israel spreads to utilities, local governance

The Israel Electric Corporation's announcement that it will refrain from cutting off power for delinquent Jewish customers during the Jewish holidays marks another insidious ripple effect of the discriminatory nationality law.

Omar Shakir, Israel and Palestine Director at Human Rights Watch, shows a map during an interview on home-renting company Airbnb's decision to remove listings in Israeli settlements, in Ramallah, in the occupied West Bank, November 20, 2018. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC17C73791A0

Intel: Why Israel is turning to US states to fight Airbnb’s West Bank boycott

Egypt proves itself a reliable mediator to Palestinians

Maj. Gen. Ahmed Abdel Khalek, the Egyptian intelligence officer in charge of Cairo's Palestinian portfolio, made an unprecedented appearance to pay respects to the families of Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigade fighters killed in clashes with Israel.

Netanyahu plays high-stakes game with defense portfolio

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu enjoys his role of defense minister, though he must worry that if any security crisis emerges, he will be perceived as solely responsible.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Czech President Milos Zeman attend the inauguration of the "Czech House" in Jerusalem November 27, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC12B86811C0

Netanyahu’s diplomacy: buying friends by selling weapons

Rather than basing its global standing on the principles of equality and justice, Israel exports cyber weaponry to tyrannical, racist rulers.

Why Iran is also a strategic asset for Israel

A significant number of Arab and Muslim leaders in the Middle East and the world fear Iran. For them, Israel is the only real answer to the Iranian threat and the only country able to confront it.

El Al caves to ultra-Orthodox threats, retracts blame for flight fiasco

Following an outrageous incident in which a flight was forced to land in Greece to avoid the Sabbath, Israel's national carrier El Al has backed down from identifying ultra-Orthodox passengers as the cause of the commotion for fear of a boycott.

What’s behind the Chadian president's visit to Israel?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office announced he will soon fly to Chad to re-establish diplomatic ties, but, before doing that, Netanyahu must consider which image of Israel he wants to advance in Africa.

Cease-fire agreement sends tremors through Israeli Knesset

While Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s cease-fire agreement with Gaza led Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman to submit his resignation, it also led the opposition to call for early elections.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a session of the plenum of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, in Jerusalem, March 12, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1C0029F120

Will Netanyahu’s coalition collapse?

Facing the danger of a negative vote, the narrow coalition of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was forced to withdraw two bills that were set to be approved this week.