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Israel

September 18, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:46 pm

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Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman looks on as he attends a trade agreement signature ceremony at the Elysee Palace in Paris on August 24, 2026. (Photo by LOU BENOIST / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to capitalize on Riyadh's need for intelligence assistance to make normalization headway ahead of the October elections.

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

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.

Latest News

Explainer

Why France is pushing to keep UNIFIL in Lebanon beyond 2026

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

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

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

Palestinian health workers unload the first arriving shipment of doses of Russia's Sputnik V vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus disease, on the Palestinian side of the Kerem Shalom border crossing south of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on February 17, 2021. - An initial batch of coronavirus vaccines, enough to fully innoculate 1,000 people, arrived in Gaza after Israel had blocked the shipment earlier in the week. The Israeli military department responsible for civilian affairs in the occupied Palestinian

Gaza receives first batch of vaccines

Israel approved the shipment after reportedly considering tying the delivery to the release of Israeli captives in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory.

Confident Netanyahu makes jokes in rare TV interview

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a rare and surprising interview to Israel’s Channel 12, making jokes and smiling throughout and throwing off the news anchor.

Israeli mayor leads Haifa's charge against climate change

Haifa Mayor Einat Kalisch-Rotem has put the challenges of climate change and sustainable development at the forefront of her agenda.

Israel's Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan is seen as he receives Italy's interior minister at a hotel in Jerusalem on December 11, 2018. (Photo by Ahmad GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's ambassador says not interested in working with US on return to Iran deal

The Biden administration has pledged to consult with Israel and other allies before making any moves to join the landmark nuclear deal.

Israeli mayors offer gifts, incentives for people to get vaccinated

Some Israeli mayors offer gifts and benefits for residents getting vaccinated; others sanction those who refuse.

Head of Israel's National Security Council Meir Ben-Shabbat delivers a statement upon his arrival at the Bahraini International Airport on October 18, 2020. - Israel and Bahrain will officially establish diplomatic relations at a ceremony in Manama, an Israeli official said, after the two states reached a US-brokered normalisation deal last month. (Photo by RONEN ZVULUN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by RONEN ZVULUN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Netanyahu’s pick of Iran file envoy signals confrontation with US

Picking national security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat over real Iran experts such as Mossad Chief Yossi Cohen or retired Gen. Amos Yadlin means that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not believe dialoguing with the Biden administration on Iran will do any good.

Hadi, the father of Mohammad one of the four victims of the extended Bakr family gather at their house in al-Shati refugee camp in Gaza City on February 7, 2021, surrounded by posters in memory of four children who were killed while playing on the beach during the 2014 Israeli-Palestinian conflict in Gaza. - The International Criminal Court's ruling that it has jurisdiction over the situation in the Palestinian territories opens the way to it investigating alleged war crimes committed in the 2014 Israeli-Pa

ICC ruling means war crimes investigations go both ways

The International Criminal Court’s ruling that it has jurisdiction over the Palestinian territories has pleased many residents but alarmed others that Palestinian leaders could face investigations they fear will be political.

This picture taken from the Israeli side of the Mitar checkpoint on September 17, 2020 shows Palestinian workers crossing out of Israel a day ahead of Rosh-Hashana (the Jewish New Year) and of a nationwide lockdown aimed at curbing a spike of coronavirus cases. - Israel has the world's second-highest virus infection rate after Bahrain, according to an AFP tally over the past fortnight, and on September 18 it is set to be the first country to impose a second lockdown. (Photo by HAZEM BADER / AFP) (Photo by H

Conflicting messages leave Palestinian workers outside Israel jobless

Conflicting messages from Israeli authorities cause tens of thousands of Palestinian laborers to be stuck in the West Bank, unable to reenter Israel for work.

New Israeli Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi attends a ceremony at the Western Wall, the holiest place where Jews can pray, on January 15, 2019, in the Old City of Jerusalem. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Rivalry heats up between IDF, Mossad chiefs

Statements on Iran in recent weeks have laid bare an intensifying rivalry between IDF Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi and Mossad chief Yossi Cohen.

Newly confirmed US Secretary of State Antony Blinken removes his face mask to speak during a welcome ceremony at the State Department in Washington,DC on January 27, 2021. - (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by CARLOS BARRIA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel campaigns against the US rushing to negotiate with Iran

A report issued by the Israel Defense Forces about Iran two years away from a nuclear bomb was designed first and foremost to calm the American sense of urgency over negotiating with Tehran.

Israel's Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi speaks during a news conference with his UAE Foreign Minister counterpart and German Foreign Minister following their historic meeting at Villa Borsig in Berlin, on October 6, 2020. (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE / POOL / AFP) (Photo by HANNIBAL HANSCHKE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s Ashkenazi on diplomatic blitz against ICC ruling

Israeli Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi is busy calling counterparts worldwide, to convince them to object the ICC ruling on judging Israel for alleged war crimes.

(L to R) Members of the Joint List Osama Saadi, Ayman Odeh, Ahmad Tibi and Mansour Abbas arrive for a consulting meeting with the Israeli President, to decide who to task with trying to form a new government, in Jerusalem on September 22, 2019. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Joint List splits as elections near

Ra'am has left the Joint List, saying it can't do the work needed to effect decision-making in Israel while tied to lawmakers who refuse to engage in the political process.