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Israel

September 18, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:46 pm

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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

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.

Latest News

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

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

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

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

Israeli ministers fear attacking Netanyahu

Leaders of coalition parties are avoiding any anti-Netanyahu campaign, assuming that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will also be the one forming the next government.

A general view picture shows the Israeli barrier running between the East Jerusalem refugee camp of Shuafat (R) and Pisgat Zeev, both located in an area Israel annexed to Jerusalem after capturing it in the 1967 Middle East war February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC1A1A450A60

Jerusalem mayor challenges status of Palestinian refugees

Palestinians are questioning the motivation behind the Jerusalem mayor's recent comments that there are no refugees living in the city.

Palestinians attend a rally in support of Qatar, at the Qatari-funded housing project in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Yunis on June 9, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

How Gaza brings Israel, Qatar closer

Israel considers Qatari financial aid to Gaza a lifeline with the potential to prevent or at least postpone another war in the south.

Netanyahu generates Iran-phobia, to continue occupation

By focusing and promoting the Iran-phobia, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes to conceal from the world the status-quo policy he espouses against the Palestinians.

Gazans seem to consider Hamas lesser of two evils

Despite attempts by Israel to turn Gazans against Hamas, they appear unwilling to opt for another party or authority to control the Gaza Strip.

Israeli soldiers patrol near the scene where, according to Israeli media, a Palestinian shot and wounded three Israelis, at an industrial park adjacent to a Jewish settlement in the occupied West Bank October 7, 2018. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC156539A780

West Bank attack leaves Israeli security scrambling

The bewildering lone wolf attack at the West Bank Barkan Industrial Zone defied the pattern of terrorist behavior that Israel’s security forces have come to expect.

A general view picture shows the Bedouin city of Rahat, southern Israel July 17, 2017. Picture taken July 17, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC14F67CC470

Israel's largest Bedouin community fights to keep swimming pool segregated

The first and only swimming pool in the Bedouin town of Rahat is struggling to balance Israeli equality laws with the community's preference for gender-separated swimming.

Russian servicemen watch the launch of the S-300 air defence system missile during the International Army Games 2016 at the Ashuluk military polygon outside Astrakhan, Russia, August 7, 2016. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov - S1AETUBLCHAA

Is Russia’s S-300 delivery to Syria a game-changer?

Russia's deployment of S-300 missile defense systems to Syria has both political and military significance, but might not necessarily change the overall balance of forces with regard to Israel.

Outgoing U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley talks with U.S. President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House after the president accepted Haley's resignation in Washington, U.S., October 9, 2018. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC1DE84AD970

What Nikki Haley’s exit may mean for the Middle East

Whoever succeeds Nikki Haley as Donald Trump’s envoy to the UN is unlikely to have the long leash and big platform that she held, especially in the first year, before John Bolton and Mike Pompeo came in.

Will the PA be able to invest in Area C?

Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah demanded that the Palestinian Authority be allowed to invest in Area C, considering it a way to achieve development, create jobs and increase the Palestinians' GDP.

Shelly Yachimovich, head of the left-leaning Labour party, leaves after a news conference at her party's headquarters in Tel Aviv January 21, 2013. Israel holds a parliamentary election on Tuesday that opinion polls forecast will see Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu win a third term in office at the head of a rightist, national-religious coalition. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - GM1E91L1E7V01

Netanyahu’s government engaged in political tracking

The Netanyahu government is not only campaigning against left-wing politicians and activists, it is actively engaged in political tracking of the left by means of monitoring online activities and by refusing entry to the country.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaks during a joint statment with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the prime minister's office in Jerusalem, July 19, 2018. Debbie Hill/Pool via Reuters - RC13AF3278D0

Why Israel’s democracy is weakening

Israel gets to keep its rating in democracy indices only because countries like the United States, Hungary and Turkey are losing index points.