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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 18, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:57 am

27°C

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Serbia opens factory to assemble Israeli-made drones: What to know

Serbian President Vucic said the factory will put together “state-of-the-art” Israeli-designed drones and employ around 100 workers.

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

The move will mark the first time Morocco and Israel have exchanged ambassadors.

ISRAEL-ENTERTAINMENT-TELEVISION-POLITICS-GOVERNMENT-MASS-MEDIA-D (L to R) Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, co-creators of the hit Israeli TV show "Fauda", attend a demonstration against the Israeli government's plans to shut-down public broadcaster KAN, in Israel's Mediterranean coastal city of Tel Aviv on January 25, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Culture

Israeli show ‘Fauda’ tops Netflix in Lebanon, hits top 10 across Arab states

The show was created by Israeli journalist Avi Issacharoff and actor Lior Raz, drawing on their experiences serving in the Israeli military’s elite Duvdevan unit.

UN peacekeepers stand next to an armored vehicle during a patrol in southern Lebanon, Feb. 22, 2026.

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

Showing its support for Lebanon, Paris is backing Beirut’s request at the UN for a short-term extension of UNIFIL’s mandate, although French sources acknowledge that the chances of the request being approved are slim.

Latest News

Exclusive

Lacking deterrence, Israel’s security establishment opposes attacks on Houthis

Fighters loyal to the Houthi authorities, brandish their weapons during a rally to recruit more fighters, in Sanaa on September 10, 2026. The country relapsed into war in July after years of calm, drawn into the regional conflict triggered by the US-Israeli offensive against Iran that began at the end of February. (Photo by Mohammed HUWAIS / AFP via Getty Images)

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

Analysis

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

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Analysis

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

Erik Marmor

Mazal Mualem

By Mazal Mualem

In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics

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

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.

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

Israelis demonstrate outside the court as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's corruption trial resumes in occupied East Jerusalem, Feb. 8, 2021.

Netanyahu clings to prime minister’s residence

The Netanyahu family is still living in the official residence on Jerusalem's Balfour Street even though Benjamin Netanyahu is no longer prime minister.

Erdogan and Netanyahu

Why Erdogan may miss Netanyahu

Benjamin Netanyahu’s departure as prime minister of Israel is a loss of sorts for Erdogan when it comes to both domestic and regional politics.

Foreign Minister and Alternate Prime Minister Yair Lapid and Prime Minister Naftali Bennett at their first working meeting since the establishment of the new government, Jerusalem; June 16, 2021.

After Netanyahu, Israel’s Bennett revives paralyzed security Cabinet

Contrary to former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu who sidelined and paralyzed the security Cabinet, Israel’s new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett turns it back into an essential link within the decision-making process.

A worker with the Israel Nature and Parks Authority extinguishes a fire in a field near Kibutz Alumim that was reportedly caused by an incendiary balloon launched from the Gaza Strip, Aug. 24, 2020.

For Israel’s new government, Egypt key to calm on border with Gaza

An Israeli delegation is expected to arrive in Cairo in the very near future, to continue discussing with the Egyptians a framework for an arrangement with Hamas.

US President Joe Biden (R) speaks with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to a plenary session of a NATO summit at the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) headquarters in Brussels, on June 14, 2021.

The Takeaway: Pragmatism is the new watchword in US-Turkey relations

Plus: A fresh start for Israel; Iran’s hard-line front-runner on the issues; Egypt’s faltering Palestinian mediation; Saudi-Syria talks; Golani’s makeover.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli women lead food tech revolution

Israeli women researchers are developing award-winning projects in the fields of food tech and smart agriculture.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli minister condemns hate slogans during nationalist march

After the controversial flag march in Jerusalem, new Foreign Minister Yair Lapid tweeted, "It is incomprehensible that people can hold the Israeli flag in one hand and shout 'Death to Arabs' at the same time."

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox jump in Netanyahu's lifeboat

After years of political partnership with former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, the ultra-Orthodox are sticking with him all the way to the opposition.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

First mission of Bennett-Lapid government to mobilize US support

One of the first tasks of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is to find a way to work with the administration of US President Joe Biden.

New Foreign Minister Yair Lapid greeted by outgoing Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi at the Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem, June 14 2021.

Israel’s Lapid enthusiastic to take on foreign affairs portfolio

Entering his new office, newly appointed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told Israeli diplomats that he is there by choice and not by default, and that he is eager to start working with them.

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid attend a traditional group photo with minsters of the new Israeli government on June 14, 2021 in Jerusalem.

Lapid vows to mend ties with Democrats, change 'reckless' Netanyahu policies

Israel’s Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has vowed to return to a bipartisan approach toward the United States.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli inauguration as stormy as forecast

The swearing-in featured Likud and Religious Zionism lawmakers cursing and insulting the new government in a taste of what the opposition has in store for new Prime Minister Naftali Bennett and his shaky coalition.