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Israel

September 22, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:36 pm

27°C

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

No meeting has been announced between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York.

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

Gargash

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

Latest News

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Culture

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

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)

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.

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

People release pigeons during an event to show support for a unity deal between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah, in Gaza City, October 13, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RC13CF7EA9F0

Hamas serious about Palestinian reconciliation deal

The tough economic sanctions carried out by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas against Hamas may have been the final straw to convince Hamas to finally see out a reconciliation agreement.

Netanyahu celebrates Balfour Declaration, yet ignores its legacy

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu went to London for the centennial ceremony of the Balfour Declaration, sidelining the essence of the declaration and its vision of peace with the Palestinians.

A Palestinian militant of the National Resistance brigades, the armed wing of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine (DFLP), gets out of a tunnel during a graduation ceremony in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip, on November 4, 2016. / AFP / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel and Gaza's underground battle

Besides constructing an underground wall obstacle to thwart the building of attack tunnels, Israel is also developing technologies to identify tunnel digging from above ground.

Netanyahu's half-truth

The speech delivered by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the opening of the Knesset’s winter session indicates that being at the top for too long has impeded his ability to look down.

Moshe Kahlon, Israel's new Finance Minister, attends a meeting at the Finance Ministry in Jerusalem May 18, 2015. Boosting competition in Israel's banking system and the economy as a whole as well as bringing down property prices will be priorities for the country's new finance minister, he said on Monday. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - GF10000099277

Is Israel really implementing economic aid to Palestinians?

Palestinians argue that Israel has not implemented the economic aid measures it has promised, apart from finalizing the already authorized Hebron industrial park.

US project aims to improve water access for Palestinian farmers

The US consulate in Jerusalem launched a $10 million water project to increase Palestinian farmers' access to treated irrigation water.

Is Netanyahu plotting early elections?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confident that if he announces early elections, he would win another mandate.

Road signs are seen in front of the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem January 17, 2017. Picture taken January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC1AE87475A0

Netanyahu designing new Jerusalem borders

The Greater Jerusalem bill and the Jerusalem proposal by Minister Zeev Elkin risk angering the Trump administration while laboring on its peace initiative.

Old City is seen during sunset in Jerusalem, October 30, 2017.REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC172B48C7D0

US pressure kills 'Greater Jerusalem bill'

Pressure by the Trump administration caused Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to suspend his Greater Jerusalem bill.

BDS guidelines ensnare award-winning Palestinian actor

A screening of the film “The Insult,” for which a Palestinian won a coveted acting award, was canceled in Ramallah because the film's director had worked in Israel on his previous movie.

How Netanyahu's plan to lower electoral threshold could backfire

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promoting lowering the Knesset electoral threshold to prevent wasted votes on the Israeli right, but not everybody on the right is on board with the plan.

Hamas' futile pursuit of a middle ground

Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh called Jordanian King Abdullah II to try to engage him in efforts to achieve Palestinian unity while his deputy appears to have secured the support of Iran for the movement.