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Israel

July 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:43 pm

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Analysis

As US-Iran fighting resumes, Israel weighs 3 options with restraint winning, for now

Despite Israel's military readiness to resume strikes on Iran, officials say looming elections make Netanyahu more likely to stay out unless Tehran forces his hand.

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

Former Israeli army chief of staff Gadi Eizenkot speaks during the launch of the Yashar party's election campaign in Hod Aharon, in central Israel, on June 30, 2026.

New Israeli election poll puts Eisenkot ahead of Netanyahu: What to know

Gadi Eisenkot’s Yashar party has now bypassed Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Likud in the polls, cementing his status as Netanyahu’s main opponent.

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte (not shown) for bilateral talks at Beştepe Presidential Compound during the NATO Summit on July 08, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Leaders from NATO's 32 countries, plus NATO allies like Ukraine, gathered in the Turkish capital to discuss a range of issues involving spending targets, defense industrial production, and support for Ukraine, among other topics. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Trump declares MoU with Iran 'over' as Hegseth cancels trip to Israel

Trump said diplomacy with Tehran was “a waste of time” after renewed attacks around Hormuz, as US defense chief reportedly cancels Israel visit.

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Explainer

Lebanon's latest damage estimate outlines reconstruction challenge

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Analysis

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

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)

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

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

ABIR SULTAN / 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

Lebanon's Hezbollah members and relatives carry the coffin of commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley December 4, 2013. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in an attack which the militant Shi'ite group blamed on Israel. Israel denied any role in the killing of Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath dist

Laqis assassination reveals crack in Hezbollah’s ‘security fortress’

The Dec. 4 assassination of a leading Hezbollah figure in Beirut occurred when the organization was in a state of heightened vigilance.

Foreign and Palestinian activists hold Palestinian flags as they march through a supermarket in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit October 24, 2012. Some 50 activists marched through the supermarket and tried to block a road in the settlement on Wednesday during a protest against Jewish settlements and in a call to boycott settlement products. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST FOOD TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR39IM8

Israeli leaders oblivious to Europe's message on boycott

The Israeli leadership risks boycotts beyond West Bank products with its failure to fully appreciate the extent to which the EU distrusts Israel's stated desire for a peace settlement.

Members of the Bedouin community gesture during a protest outside a court in the southern city of Beersheba, calling to release people who were arrested last Saturday in protests against a government plan to force 40,000 Bedouins living in the southern Negev region to leave their villages, December 5, 2013. Hundreds of Bedouin Arabs and their supporters clashed with Israeli forces on Saturday in the protests, in which, according to an Israeli police spokesman, at least 28 people had been arrested. REUTERS/A

Palestinian activism evolves in Prawer protests

Nonpartisan Palestinian youths have taken the lead in nationwide protests against Israel's Prawer Plan, breaking away from traditional Palestinian political forces.

Lebanon's Hezbollah boy scouts carry a picture of Hezbollah commander Hassan al-Laqqis during his funeral in Baalbeck, in Lebanon's Bekaa valley December 4, 2013. Al-Laqqis, a Hezbollah commander who fought in Syria's civil war was shot dead outside his home in Lebanon on Wednesday in an attack which the militant Shi'ite group blamed on Israel. Israel denied any role in the killing of Hassan al-Laqqis, who was shot from close range by a silenced gun as he arrived home at around midnight in the Hadath distri

Assassinated Hezbollah leader key to technology, drone operations

A source said Hassan al-Laqis was one of Imad Mughniyeh’s “smart students.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a flower on the coffin of legendary Israeli singer Arik Einstein during his memorial service in the Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv, on November 27, 2013. Einstein, 74, died at Ichilov hospital after being taken there earlier in the week due to heart complications, the director of the Tel Aviv medical centre said. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty Images)

Netanyahu slammed for exploiting late singer to defend lifestyle

It was a mistake for the prime minister's advisers to invoke late Israeli singer Arik Einstein's modesty in trying to defend Netanyahu's extravagant expenditures.

The shadows of ultra-Orthodox Jewish men are cast on the ground as they arrive to Samuel's Tomb on the outskirts of Jerusalem on May 12, 2010. Thousands of Jews marked the anniversary of biblical prophet Samuel's death. AFP PHOTO/MENAHEM KAHANA (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel exploits nature, archaeology for settlement expansion

Israeli authorities are exploiting archeological sites and nature reserves to expand Jewish settlements in the West Bank.

Sign posts are seen in front of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem November 13, 2013. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday his peace negotiators had resigned over the lack of progress in U.S.-brokered statehood talks clouded by Israeli settlement building. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15BNL

Kerry will find pessimism in Palestine

On an upcoming visit to the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry will find that the Palestinians have little faith in the ongoing peace talks

The sandals of a Palestinian bedouin lie in a tent south of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Mishor Adumim in the Judean Desert August 19, 2009. Many bedouins living in Israel and the occupied West Bank retain a traditional and nomadic way of life, raising livestock and farming arid land. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR26VZK

Israeli Bedouin and the limits of tolerating intolerance

The debate over relocating Bedouin settlements in Israel raises the issue of how far a liberal, multicultural society should go in tolerating the values of different communities when those values are destructive to the communities.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif (2nd R) arrives for talks over Iran's nuclear programme in Geneva November 22, 2013. REUTERS/Fabrice Coffrini/Pool (SWITZERLAND - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTX15OC8

The other Iranian breakthrough

The rhetoric from Iran about Israel is still unacceptable, but the nuclear deal, while not perfect, offers Israel a chance for a diminished Iranian threat.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (2nd L) listens to Russia's President Vladimir Putin (3rd L) as Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (L) and Israel's President Shimon Peres (R) sit beside them during an unveiling ceremony for a monument commemorating the victory of the Soviet Red Army in World War Two in the coastal city of Netanya, north of Tel Aviv June 25, 2012. Peres on Monday urged visiting Putin to take steps to avert the threat of a nuclear-armed Iran and to stop the bloodshed in Syria

Israel’s foreign minister: 'We welcomed the agreement with Syria'

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman discusses US-Russian cooperation in the Middle East, Iran and Syria, and US-Israeli ties.

A masked Palestinian protester throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli security officers following the funerals of three Palestinians, in West Bank city of Hebron November 27, 2013. Israeli security officials said their forces killed three Palestinian militants on Tuesday who were part of an al Qaeda-linked network in the West Bank. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX15V3A

Armed Salafist movement emerges in West Bank

Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are all concerned about the changes underway in the West Bank's Salafist movement, which is transforming itself from a welfare organization into an armed terrorist organization.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu listens to a question during a joint news conference with his Italian counterpart Enrico Letta at the end of a bilateral meeting at Villa Madama in Rome December 2, 2013. REUTERS/Alessandro Bianchi (ITALY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX1616K

Israel's right of self-defense should not include attacking Iran

An Israeli attack on Iran could not be legally justified as self-defense, considering that Iran so far has not breached the NPT, to which Israel is not a signatory.