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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 16, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:48 am

24°C

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Erik Marmor

Analysis

Once Netanyahu’s top challenger, Bennett loses ground to Eisenkot: What to know

Facing the popular Gadi Eisenkot, the Together party of former premiers Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid is sinking in Israeli opinion polls.

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

A photograph taken from the southern Lebanese area of Nabatieh shows smoke as it rises from the site of Israeli strikes that targeted the hilltops of the mountainous area of the strategic Ali al-Taher Ridge on Aug. 14, 2026.

Israel says it destroyed Hezbollah tunnels in Ali al-Taher ridge: What to know

The ridge has become a flashpoint in the Israel-Hezbollah conflict in Lebanon due to its extensive tunnel network Israel says is utilized by the Iran-backed group.

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Latest News

Analysis

Israel braces for Iran attack as Trump’s economic squeeze on Tehran intensifies

TOPSHOT - Explosions from projectile interceptions by Israel's Iron Dome missile defence system are pictured over Tel Aviv on February 28, 2026. The United States and Israel launched strikes against Iran on February 28, with Israel's public broadcaster reporting that the Iranian supreme leader had been targeted, as the Islamic republic retaliated with barrages of missiles at Gulf states and Israel. (Photo by Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images)

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

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Lebanon says at least 12 killed in Israeli strikes as tensions rise in south

An excavator digs as rescuers search for survivors amid the rubble following an overnight Israeli airstrike on the village of Kfar Roummane, southern Lebanon, Sept. 7, 2026.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

Right-wing Israeli supporters hold signs and flags as they protest against the Israeli government on April 6, 2022, in Jerusalem.

Israeli coalition’s left, right wrangle after terror attacks

Faced with a terror wave, the Israeli government, composed of right, center and left, finds its harder and harder to operate in unison.

Arab Joint List leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting with President Reuven Rivlin at the president's residence, Jerusalem, April 5, 2021.

Arab Israeli politicians consider joining efforts to topple current government

Some of the Arab-Israeli politicians who are in the opposition might opt against serving as a political security net for the very destabilized government of Naftali Bennett.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (L) welcomes the United Arab Emirates' Foreign Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan upon his arrival for the Negev summit, at Sde Boker in the southern Negev desert, Israel, March 27, 2022.

Free trade agreement opens new horizons for Israel, UAE

The economy and trade ministers of Israel and the United Arab Emirates concluded last week negotiations on a ground-breaking agreement for a free trade zone, the first of its kind Israel has ever reached with an Arab country.

A member of an Israeli tech delegation uses his phone in a video call during an evening meeting with Emirati counterparts at a hotel in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Oct. 25, 2020.

Israel's tech future lies with Arab entrepreneurs

An increasing number of Israeli Arabs are taking the bold step of launching their own startup companies.

Israelis light candles at the site of a shooting attack the previous night at Dizengoff Street in the center of Tel Aviv, Israel, April 8, 2022.

Israel on maximum security alert after Tel Aviv attack

Israeli security forces are on high alert following the deadly Tel Aviv attack last night, the fourth in just three weeks.

Israeli security forces patrol Jerusalem's Mahane Yehuda market, a day after a Palestinian gunman killed two Israeli men and wounded several others in Tel Aviv, April 8, 2022.

Israel’s Bennett challenged over attack in Tel Aviv, continuing terror wave

With a fourth deadly attack in less than three weeks, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett has much more to cope with than just the current coalition crisis.

Israel's centrist former television anchor Yair Lapid, the prime minister's main challenger, votes at a polling station, in the fourth national election in two years, Tel Aviv, Israel, March 23, 2021.

Israel’s Yair Lapid battered by security, coalition crises

Instead of basking in the success of the regional Negev summit, Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid must face security challenges and severe coalition crisis.

West Bank fence

Terror attacks bring work on separation fence back to Israeli agenda

With so few Palestinians offered working permits in Israel, the government prefers looking the other way on those who slip through the separation fence and enter clandestinely into the country.

Lapid Gantz

Israel’s Gantz eases restrictions for Palestinians during Ramadan

Defense Minister Benny Gantz spoke yesterday on the phone with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, and described the easing of restrictions that Israel has decided on for the Ramadan holiday.

Israel cannabis

Cannabis sales grow in Israel

The Lod-based company Panaxia reported increased revenues from the Israeli market for its sales of medical cannabis in 2021.

Idit Silman

Disaster for Israeli coalition as legislator walks out

Idit Silman has joined the opposition, ending the government's narrow majority in the Knesset.

Anastasia Vlasova/Getty Images

Most of Israel's top leadership condemns war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine

Israel’s foreign minister, defense minister and health minister have all condemned what they named war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine, but the prime minister is still treading lightly.