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

Israel cover image

Israel

July 8, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:11 am

23°C

Froun

Explainer

Lebanon's latest damage estimate outlines reconstruction challenge

More than 1 million Lebanese residents fled their homes after Israeli attacks in southern Lebanon intensified in March, when Hezbollah entered the conflict.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) welcomes US President Donald Trump (R) upon his arrival on Air Force One at Etimesgut Air Base near Ankara, on July 7, 2026, before attending the 36th NATO Heads of State and Government Summit. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Trump's F-35 push for Turkey runs into CAATSA — and Israel

Israel fears that Washington may be shifting its strategic options toward Turkey as the two rivals push for regional hegemony.

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

ABIR SULTAN / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Greece conduct military drills ahead of NATO summit in Turkey

Photos published by the Greek military showed fighter jets from both countries flying side by side over the Aegean Sea.

Latest News

Interview

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

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

Ayman Odeh

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

Analysis

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

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

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

Russia's President Vladimir Putin oversees large-scale military exercises at the Raevsky training ground in Krasnodar Region March 29, 2013. Putin ordered large-scale military exercises in the Black Sea on Thursday, projecting Russian power towards Europe and the Middle East in a move that may vex neighbours. REUTERS/Mikhail Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Pool (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS

Russia focuses on eliminating Middle East terrorist threat

Increased terrorist activity in the Middle East has Russia rethink its foreign policy, and support the Arab League's intention of a "comprehensive treaty of collective security."

Syrians, who fled the fighting in their country, arrive with their belongings at night in the Shebaa region, southern Lebanon, November 11, 2013. Picture taken November 11, 2013. REUTERS/Karamallah Daher (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX15A7X

Could Arqoub be the next Arsal?

The large number of displaced Syrians in the Arqoub area has raised concerns about the potential for instability in southern Lebanon instigated by jihadists living among the refugees.

Passport pictures for Ethiopians, who are awaiting immigration to Israel, lie on a table in Gondar March 8, 2007. More than 5000 Ethiopians are waiting to migrate to Israel to reunite with their families, according to Israel's Jewish Agency. Photo taken March 8, 2007. REUTERS/Eliana Aponte (ETHIOPIA) - RTR1NHQJ

Israel's Ethiopian immigrants lose connection with folklore

Ethiopian Jews in Israel are losing part of their unique culture in favor of more mainstream practices.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) shakes hands with former Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, head of the centrist Hatenuah party, during their joint statement at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 19, 2013. Netanyahu took his first step in forming a new government on Tuesday saying he had signed a coalition deal with Livni, who will handle efforts to renew stalled Middle East diplomacy. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DZYL

Time for Livni to leave Netanyahu's government

Justice Minister Tzipi Livni has been calling from every imaginable forum for a reboot of the negotiations, but given the Netanyahu government’s diplomatic stalemate, it is time for her to resign.

Peshmerga fighters inspect the remains of a car, bearing an image of the trademark jihadist flag, which belonged to Islamic State (IS) militants after it was targeted by an American air strike in the village of Baqufa, north of Mosul, on August 18,2014. Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by federal forces and US warplanes pressed a counter-offensive Monday against jihadists after retaking Iraq's largest dam, as the United States and Britain stepped up their military involvement. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

Islamic State becoming ‘dominant voice’ among global jihadists

The United States intensifies military planning against the Islamic State; Syria’s new Cabinet; Israel faces "highly complex reality" in Syria; IS-linked group threatens more terror, beheadings in the Sinai Peninsula; what Egypt lost in the Al Jazeera trial.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and his foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki (R) arrive for an Arab League Foreign Ministers emergency meeting at the league's headquarters in Cairo September 7, 2014. Arab foreign ministers meeting in Cairo on Sunday are expected to issue a resolution backing Iraqi efforts to confront militants who have overrun large areas of Iraq and Syria and declared a cross-border Islamic caliphate, diplomats said. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR458TQ

Adopting Arab Peace Initiative will take time

Though a full implementation of the Arab Peace Initiative is currently unrealistic, gradual progress toward the initiative could help establish a Palestinian state.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks with Defence Minister Moshe Ya'alon after an air force pilots' graduation ceremony at Hatzerim air base in southern Israel June 26, 2014. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR3VXQB

Pushed aside by war, Israel's social justice agenda returns

Despite Operation Protective Edge, large swaths of Israeli society still consider their socioeconomic situation as priority No. 1 and the politicians are listening.

Goel Ratzon (R) sits in the dock at Tel Aviv's Magistrate's court during a hearing on extension of remand February 7, 2010. Israeli police detained last month the 60-year-old self-styled Jewish sage on suspicion of incest and abuse of women and children they allege he kept like slaves in various homes around Tel Aviv. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: CRIME LAW) - RTR29X9W

Cult or slavery? Israel watches the strange case of Goel Ratzon

A court is soon expected to deliver its verdict on Goel Ratzon, who is accused of holding dozens of women and children in slavery and committing sexual offenses against them.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as they sit down to meet in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington March 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3G01E

Ignoring the Arab Peace Initiative could cost Bibi

Unlike Ehud Olmert, Benjamin Netanyahu ignores the Arab League initiative, which will cost Israel its US backing at a crucial moment in the near future.

Peshmerga fighters inspect the remains of a car, bearing an image of the trademark jihadist flag, which belonged to Islamic State (IS) militants after it was targeted by an American air strike in the village of Baqufa, north of Mosul, on August 18,2014. Kurdish peshmerga fighters backed by federal forces and US warplanes pressed a counter-offensive Monday against jihadists after retaking Iraq's largest dam, as the United States and Britain stepped up their military involvement. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD AL-RUBAYE

Europe blind to Islamic State's true threat

With the Islamic State drawing recruits from across Europe, the continent must act against the movement in Syria and Iraq before it's too late.

A Palestinian man holding a Palestinian national flag argues with an Israeli policewoman, during a protest against the Israeli offensive in Gaza, in the West Bank city of Hebron August 22, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR43D91

Muslim anti-Israeli views are not European anti-Semitism

While the roots of anti-Semitism in Europe are deep, anti-Israel attitudes in the Muslim world can be changed with a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Syrian army soldiers fire during a battle in Syria with rebels near the border fence with the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights September 1, 2014. Heavy fighting between Syrian army forces and rebels erupted on the Golan Heights on Monday, a Reuters photographer said, but it was unclear if either of the two sides had gained an advantage to control a key frontier crossing. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (SYRIA - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR44GUY

Israeli Golan residents tell government to 'wake up'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Eli Malka, head of the Golan Regional Council, expressed concern that with violence in Syria spilling over into the Golan, inaction by the Israeli government might lead to residents there living under conditions similar to those of communities along the border with Gaza.