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Israel

May 18, 2025

Tel Aviv 9:00 am

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Analysis

Netanyahu ghosted: Trump’s Gulf pivot sends shockwaves through Israel

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to have misplaced his hopes on President Donald Trump protecting his interests.

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

LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images

Syria-Israel talks reportedly intensify as Trump asks Sharaa to normalize: What to know

Following President Donald Trump’s call for Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa to join the Abraham Accords, multiple contacts have reportedly taken place between Israeli and Syrian officials.

US President Donald Trump gestures as he walks to board Air Force One at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland, May 12, 2025.

Analysis

Netanyahu scrambles as Trump skips Israel visit, gap widens on Gaza, Iran

Despite pleas on Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s part, President Donald Trump will not pass through Israel during his Gulf tour.

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

Latest News

Jordan, Turkey, Syria FMs slam 'Israeli expansionism' after Ankara meeting

Smoke billows near a military hospital in Harasta, northeast Damascus, following Israeli airstrikes across Syria overnight on May 3, 2025.

Analysis

How Trump's Gulf tour and release of Edan Alexander expose rift with Netanyahu

US President Donald Trump (L) bids farewell to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he leaves the White House after a meeting on April 7, 2025, in Washington.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Breaking

Last Updated: May 12, 2025, 12:56 pm

Edan Alexander, last American hostage, released from Gaza after Trump-Hamas deal

Edan Alexander

Trump-Hamas deal secures release of Edan Alexander: What to know

A sign showing the face of Israeli-US hostage Edan Alexander (C), who has been held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, is pictured among portraits of other Israelis held captive in Gaza at Hostages Square, Tel Aviv, May 12, 2025.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Francesco Schiavi

In Bologna, reporting on security, defense, economy, governance

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

Rina Bassist

Associate Editor (Israel)

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa upon arriving for a meeting at the Elysee presidential palace, Paris, May 7, 2025.

Exclusive

Skepticism shrouds Syria-Israel indirect talks with bets on Sharaa

Sources told Al-Monitor that shortly after Sharaa visited the UAE last month, an unofficial meeting between Syrian and Israeli delegations took place at an Abu Dhabi villa owned by an Emirati government official.

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

Palestine Vice President Hussein Sheikh meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Jeddah on May 8, 2025.

Saudi crown prince hosts Palestinian VP Sheikh days before Trump visit

The trip comes ahead of President Donald Trump's visit to the kingdom, as the Palestinian Authority eyes a role in postwar Gaza and Arab states push for a technocratic government in the enclave.

Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Iran denies role in alleged plot on Israel's UK embassy: What to know

The UK press reported that five Iranian men were arrested in the UK on Saturday on suspicion of planning a terrorist attack at the Israeli Embassy in Kensington, West London.

Martin Sylvest Andersen/Getty Images

Israel warns citizens traveling to Switzerland of Eurovision protests

With the Eurovision contest set for next week, Israelis have been warned to be discreet in the streets of Basel, Switzerland.

France s President Emmanuel Macron (R) welcomes Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa upon his arrival for their meeting at the Elysee presidential palace in Paris on May 7, 2025. Syrian interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrived in Paris on May 7, state media reported, on his first visit to Europe since overthrowing longtime ruler Bashar al-Assad in December. (Photo by Magali Cohen / Hans Lucas / Hans Lucas via AFP) (Photo by MAGALI COHEN/Hans Lucas/AFP via Getty Images)

Syria's Sharaa confirms indirect talks with Israel

Sharaa said that the negotiations are meant to "calm the situation and prevent it from spiraling out of control."

Israeli army tanks are deployed at a position near Israel's border with the Gaza Strip, on May 5, 2025. Israel was issuing orders to call up tens of thousands of reservists ahead of an expanded offensive in Gaza, Israeli media reported on May 3, as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attacked truce mediator Qatar. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As Trump heads to Gulf, Israeli security cabinet split over plan to 'conquer' Gaza

Some associates of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu campaign for a limited Gaza operation to increase military pressure on Hamas, while the extreme right ministers call for retaking the entire Strip.

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

Smoke billows on the horizon following an Israeli air strike on Yemen's Houthi-held capital Sanaa on May 6, 2025.

Israel pummels Sanaa airport in strikes on Houthis as US denies involvement

The new attack is the second in less than a day after the Houthi launched a missile at Israel's Ben Gurion airport over the weekend.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Israel pounds Yemen after Houthi missile strike near Tel Aviv airport: What to know

Foreign airlines are canceling flights to and from Israel after a missile launched from Yemen landed just outside the terminal at Ben Gurion Airport.

Syrian government forces as conflicts intensify between them and the Druze in Sahnaya, April 30, 2025.

Analysis

‘We can reach him’: Israel strikes Damascus in warning to Sharaa over Druze attacks

An Israeli airstrike near the presidential palace in Damascus was intended to send President Ahmed al-Sharaa a message after armed attacks against Syria's Druze community.

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

President Donald Trump shakes hands with Steve Witkoff, special envoy to the Middle East at the White House on Feb. 11, 2025.

Trump's Gaza diplomacy takes back seat to Iran, Ukraine in first 100 days

Gaza is on the back burner as nuclear negotiations with Iran and talks to end the Ukraine war command the attention of President Trump and his Middle East envoy.

Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) Hussein al-Sheikh attends a meeting with the US Secretary of State and other foreign ministers, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, in the Jordanian capital Amman on Nov. 4, 2023.

Analysis

For Israel, al-Sheikh appointment as Palestinian VP signals continuity, pragmatism

The appointment of Hussein al-Sheikh as vice president of the Palestinian Authority is unlikely to bring dramatic changes to its policies on Israel.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

ORI AVIRAM/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Jerusalem wildfires rage for second day as environmental groups blame Netanyahu

According to Israeli environmental groups, the government has repeatedly ignored calls to prepare for the threat of fires and to take more decisive action on climate change goals.