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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 6, 2026

Tel Aviv 3:32 pm

33°C

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

In an interview with Al-Monitor, head of the Arab-Israeli Hadash-Ta'al Knesset faction, Ayman Odeh, said his party is prepared to make difficult decisions to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Motorists drive past a billboard bearing a picture of Iran's slain supreme leader Ali Khamenei, ahead of his funeral in Tehran on July 3, 2026. Iranian leaders began paying their respects on July 3 before the coffin of the country's late supreme leader Ali Khamenei, killed in the US-Israeli strikes that triggered the Middle East war, as Tehran prepared for a vast funeral. Khamenei's body arrived at Tehran's Grand Mosalla on July 3 ahead of ceremonies which are expected to draw millions. (Photo by AFP via Ge

Analysis

As US-Iran talks falter, Israel views war outcome as 'total strategic failure’

Israeli officials believe the US failure to attain the kind of agreement with Iran that it originally sought stems from the strategic mistakes made during and after the recent war.

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

Latest News

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Analysis

For Israel, Lebanon deal 'historic' despite fears Hezbollah will rebuild

Shia Muslim devotees gather for a mourning ritual near the shrine of Hassan Nasrallah, the slain leader of the Lebanese Shia movement Hezbollah who was killed in a 2024 Israeli-airstrike, in Beirut's southern suburbs on June 26, 2026 at the peak of Ashura, a 10-day period commemorating the seventh century killing of Prophet Mohammed's grandson Imam Hussein. (Photo by JOSEPH EID / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Turkey, Azerbaijan slam Israel’s Armenian genocide recognition as Yerevan mum

KAREN MINASYAN / AFP via Getty Images

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 Barack Obama speaks about Iran during his meeting with Secretary of Defense Ash Carter in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington March 3, 2015.
Obama on Tuesday told reporters "as far as I can tell, there was nothing new" in Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's address to Congress panning U.S.-led nuclear talks with Iran. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4RXEB

What won't change in Netanyahu’s 'changing reality'?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s explanation for his zigzag on the issue of a Palestinian state is that “reality has changed,” but this excuse cannot justify withdrawing from the only possible solution: an agreement based on the 1967 lines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech to supporters at party headquarters in Tel Aviv March 18, 2015. Netanyahu claimed victory in Israel's election on Tuesday after exit polls showed he had erased his center-left rivals' lead with a hard rightward shift that saw him disavow a commitment to negotiate a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR4TROG

Netanyahu’s charm offensive

Palestinians need to be united and move forward with their decisions to join the ICC and suspend the security coordination with Israel, as Benjamin Netantyahu will try, following his victory in the elections, to show political moderation.

Turkey's President Tayyip Erdogan takes part in a welcoming ceremony in Kiev March 20, 2015. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich - RTR4U5UG

Turkey sidelines itself in US-led coalition against IS

Turkey prefers to be a "reluctant subcontractor" rather than active participant in the international coalition against the Islamic State; US envoy seems to contradict Kerry on Syria diplomacy; Israel faces possible "diplomatic siege" after election; majority of Americans back US negotiations with Iran; Al-Monitor endorses new global standards to protect freelance journalists.

A Likud party supporter hangs a campaign poster depicting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem March 17, 2015. Millions of Israelis voted on Tuesday in a tightly fought election, with Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the centre-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TP77

Netanyahu comes back stronger than ever

The next Netanyahu government is expected to be a nationalist, right-wing one by definition, with no forces challenging the prime minister to reopen negotiations with the Palestinians.

Moshe Kahlon, Israel's Communications and Social Welfare Minister (L) speaks with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a Likud party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem October 15, 2012. Netanyahu's Likud party suffered a setback to its popularity on Monday following the announcement by Kahlon, one of the party's best appreciated ministers, that he would step down after an upcoming general election. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3966V

Netanyahu has no diplomatic fig leaf

The setup of the new coalition now being negotiated offers no opening for a renewed diplomatic process, leading Israel into international isolation in a matter of a year.

An ultra-Orthodox woman works at Matrix Global, a hi-tech company, in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit April 3, 2011. Ultra-Orthodox or "Haredi" women are exempt from the demands of religious studies imposed on men and the Bank of Israel says the past decade has seen "a significant increase" in ultra-Orthodox women's employment rate, now almost at 60 percent. To match Feature ISRAEL-ULTRAORTHODOX/ECONOMY Picture taken April 3, 2011 REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION BUSINE

Number of working Orthodox women on the rise

Over the past few years more and more ultra-Orthodox women are seeking work in the secular Israeli labor market, though not everyone in ultra-Orthodox society accepts this.

Isaac Herzog (L) and Tzipi Livni, co-leaders of Zionist Union, deliver a statement at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv March 18, 2015. Israeli Prime Minster Benjamin Netanyahu pledged on Wednesday to form a new governing coalition quickly after an upset election victory that was built on a shift to the right and is likely to worsen a troubled relationship with the White House. With nearly all votes counted on Wednesday, Netanyahu's Likud had won 30 seats in the 120-member Knesset, comfortably defeating th

Time for Israeli left to reassess after election failure

The Israeli left blames periphery voters for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's victory, instead of admitting that it was the Zionist Camp leadership that failed to attract public support.

A woman walks past a branch of Israel's biggest mobile phone operator Cellcom in Tel Aviv January 28, 2014. Israeli conglomerates, including IDB Holding, will offload billions of dollars worth of assets over the next few years to comply with a new law designed to promote competition and dilute the power of big business in a country where a few tycoons control much of the economy. IDB Holding owns IDB Development, which in turn owns 74 percent of holding company Discount Investment Corp. Discount Investment

Israel's cellphone addiction

Studies indicate that Israelis are adepts of cellphones and the WhatsApp application, which enable them to receive constant updates on the security situation and reconnect with family members at any given moment.

An Israeli Arab stands behind a voting booth before casting her ballot at a polling station in the northern town of Umm el-Fahm March 17, 2015. Millions of Israelis turned out to vote on Tuesday in a tightly-fought election, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the centre-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office. In a possible sign of edginess, Netanyahu took to Facebook to denounce what he said was an effort by left-wing non-profit groups

Israeli Arabs disappointed by election results

Despite the electoral achievement of the Joint List becoming the Knesset's third-largest party, its supporters felt defeated as the the Israeli majority voted for the right.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) prays at the start of a meeting for the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, March 4, 2015. Palestinian leaders began a two-day meeting on Wednesday at which they could decide to suspend security coordination with Israel, a move that would have a profound impact on stability in the occupied West Bank. Relations between the two sides have grown dangerously brittle since the collapse of U.S.-brokered peace talks

Palestinian focus on isolating Israel, continuing ICC efforts

With Palestine joining the International Criminal Court and suspending the security cooperation with Israel, Palestinians hope to isolate the Israeli state internationally and make it pay for its occupation and war crimes.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a statement in Jerusalem March 17, 2015. Millions of Israelis voted on Tuesday in a tightly fought election, with Netanyahu facing an uphill battle to defeat a strong campaign by the centre-left opposition to deny him a fourth term in office. REUTERS/Uri Lenz (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR4TQC3

Bibi's 'Mr. Security' strategy helps secure win

Israeli media, the Israeli left and also President Barack Obama must draw conclusions from the last-minute victory of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY JEAN-LUC RENAUDIE - Men read Israeli newspapers, paying daily Yedioth Aharonot (L) and free daily Israel HaYom (R) in Jerusalem, on February 25, 2015. As politicians intensify their campaigning for Israeli snap elections, an equally ferocious battle is playing out between two media tycoons -- a friend and a foe of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. AFP PHOTO / THOMAS COEX (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu's victory is the Israeli media's failure

The Israeli media chose to ignore political realities and to build up the image of Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog instead of taking Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's campaign seriously.