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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 28, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:25 am

24°C

Members of the Jerusalem Armenian community hold placards as they march during commemorations for the 94th anniversary of mass killings of their kin under the Ottoman Empire, Jerusalem's Old City, April 24, 2009.

Explainer

Israel's Armenian genocide recognition marks new front against Turkey

Analysts say the expected vote for recognition is not morally motivated, but intended to spite the Turkish leader.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (C, back) looks on as (L/R, front row) Israeli Ambassador to the US Yechiel Leiter, State Department Chief of Staff Daniel Holler, and Lebanese Ambassador to the US Nada Hamadeh sign a framework agreement at the US Department of State in Washington, DC, on June 26, 2026. Lebanon, Israel and the United States on Friday signed a trilateral framework agreement aimed at paving the way for a peace deal between the two long-time Middle East adversaries. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP

US brokers deal for limited Israeli withdrawal in south Lebanon

The deal establishes a US-facilitated military coordination group to oversee the creation of two initial pilot zones in southern Lebanon.

Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images

Iran vows to respond to Israeli military using neighboring airspace: What to know

Iran’s military headquarters said it “considers responding to these dangerous actions as its right” after alleging that Israeli jets have been operating in the airspace of neighboring countries near Iran.

Vance

Analysis

Vance turning us into 'punching bag': Israel fumes over alleged IRGC-CENTCOM channel in Doha

The US-Iran decision to launch direct talks between the IRGC and CENTCOM in Qatar deepens the rift between President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, while heightening Israeli fears that Washington is shifting toward Doha and Tehran.

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

Latest News

Israel, Turkey, Iran offer aid as Venezuela’s 2 quakes kill at least 188

Responders arrive to a demolished building at San Bernardino after a magnitude 7.2 earthquake struck Venezuela and other regions in the Caribbean on June 24, 2026 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Explainer

Pro-Palestine Democrats win in NYC elections: What it means

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

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

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

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to impose tighter vetting of travelers entering the United States, at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. The executive order signed by Trump imposes a four-month travel ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries. Picture taken January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSXWM6

Trump’s Middle East fans get caught up in global blowback

Political leaders from Israel to Saudi Arabia are quickly finding out that siding with Trump comes at a price.

Palestinian Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh waves to his supporters during an anti-Israeli rally in Gaza city April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem - RTX2C2YQ

Can Hamas' Haniyeh accept Egyptian demands?

During their trip to Cairo, Hamas officials heard a long list of Egyptian security demands in exchange for mending ties, and now incoming leader Ismail Haniyeh must sell the deal or be left to rule the Gaza Strip without Egypt's help.

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un looks at a rocket warhead tip after a simulated test of atmospheric re-entry of a ballistic missile, at an unidentified location in this undated photo released by North Korea's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) in Pyongyang on March 15, 2016. REUTERS/KCNA ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. REUTERS IS UNABLE TO INDEPENDENTLY VERIFY THE AUTHENTICITY, CONTENT, LOCATION OR DATE OF THIS IMAGE. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR A

Netanyahu's road to Iran runs through North Korea

Israel fears that if North Korea continues to develop its nuclear arsenal, Iran will no longer agree to restraints on its nuclear program.

Israeli girls play near a sign at Mount Bental, an observation post in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights that overlooks the Syrian side of the Qunietra crossing August 21, 2015. Israel said it killed four Palestinian militants in an air strike on the Syrian Golan Heights on Friday, after cross-border rocket fire from Syria prompted the heaviest Israeli bombardment since the start of Syria's four-year-old civil war. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX1P1OA

What's behind Israel's decision to welcome Syrian orphans?

Right-wing nongovernmental organizations in Israel have launched campaigns in favor of Syrian refugees, calling upon the government to show that Israelis care about their neighbors being massacred daily.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaks with European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini as they take part with other foreign ministers and representatives in a family picture during the Mideast peace conference in Paris, France, January 15, 2017. REUTER/Bertrand Guay/POOL - RTSVM99

Palestinians need own strategy to end occupation

The disappointing Paris peace conference should convince Palestinians of the need to develop a strategy of their own and not to rely on the international community to end the Israeli occupation.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - FEBRUARY 27: (ISRAEL OUT) Israelis enjoy at Shuka bar in Mahane Yehuda open market on February 27, 2014 in Jerusalem, Israel. The Mahane Yehuda Market is over 100 years old. Often reffered to as "The Shuk", the market in the heart of Jerusalem is a popular attraction with both locals and international tourists alike. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images)

The secret nightlife of Jerusalem’s old market

Ultra-Orthodox leaders are fighting to keep the old Jerusalem market of Mahane Yehuda from slipping further into a hot nightspot.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016. Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2SIOS

Who will have upper hand in Trump’s Mideast policy?

Palestinians are enlisting the European Union, Egypt and Russia to counterbalance pro-Israeli positions that prevail within President Donald Trump’s entourage.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man stands in front of the U.S Embassy in Tel Aviv, Israel January 24, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSX3UD

Have the Palestinians blocked US Embassy move to Jerusalem?

Senior Palestinian officials believe that their restrained diplomatic approach through Jordanian and Egyptian channels helped suspend the relocation of the US Embassy to Jerusalem.

People walk past signs bearing the name of U.S. President-elect Republican Donald Trump in Tel Aviv, Israel November 14, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2TLRV

Does Trump's 'America First' approach bode ill for Israel?

It is unclear whether US President Donald Trump will see in his new isolationist strategy an interest for the United States to mediate between Israel and its neighbors.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) arrives at a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSW82I

Will Netanyahu's allies abandon him?

For now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confident that Likud members and voters support him despite the police investigations, but some are very troubled by the allegations against him.

Smoke rises following what witnesses said were Israeli air strikes in Gaza August 23, 2014. Israeli aircraft bombed the Gaza Strip on Saturday and Palestinian militants fired rockets at the Jewish state, the military said, with no end in sight to the deadliest violence between the sides in years. REUTERS/Ahmed Zakot (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR43GTS

Israel’s Gaza war and ‘post-truth’ politics

On the eve of the release of the report on the failures of the political leadership during Operation Protective Edge, the country’s leaders have launched a war of versions in order to derive political benefit.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem January 8, 2017. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX2XXSV

Netanyahu’s coalition rivals prepare for battle

Political figures on the right are jockeying for position to lead Israel's right wing in anticipation of a police investigation and other issues forcing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to step down.