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Israel

September 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:57 pm

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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.

Latest News

Culture

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

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)

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

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

Black kites sit on a tree with plastic bags clinged to it after a storm near the Dudaim dump in Israels Negev desert near the Bedouin city Rahat on January 20, 2019. - Israelis use approximately 2.7 billion plastic bags a year, which constitute 25 percent of the countrys trash volume. Since 2017 supermarkets charge a small price for the bags, following legislation aimed at diminishing their excessive use. (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA / AFP) (Photo credit should read MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli nature lovers clean beaches, rivers

Israeli activists are rolling up their sleeves to clean nature, launching initiatives at nature reserves, parks, beaches and rivers.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Health Minister Yaakov Litzman give a joint press conference regarding preparations and new regulations for the coronavirus, at the Health Ministry in Jerusalem on March 4, 2020. (Photo by GALI TIBBON / AFP) (Photo by GALI TIBBON/AFP via Getty Images)

Ultra-Orthodox-Netanyahu alliance threatened by COVID-19

The alliance of the ultra-Orthodox with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seems to turn against them, as the public at large blames them for spreading the coronavirus.

attends the 2018 Vanity Fair Oscar Party hosted by Radhika Jones at Wallis Annenberg Center for the Performing Arts on March 4, 2018 in Beverly Hills, California.

Moviegoers split as Gal Gadot to play Cleopatra

The news that Israeli "Wonder Woman" actress Gal Gadot will play Cleopatra in an upcoming film has the internet in a tangle of excitement and outrage.

President Donald Trump meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ahead of the Abraham Accords Signing Ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House, Tuesday, Sept. 15, 2020. (Photo by Doug Mills/The New York Times)

Coronavirus-stricken Israelis indifferent to Netanyahu’s diplomatic victories

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps registering diplomatic achievement with Gulf countries, but most Israelis are preoccupied only with coronavirus troubles.

Police carry away a protester during an anti-government demonstration in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem on August 29, 2020. - Protests demanding that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu resign over several corruption indictments and his handling of the coronavirus crisis have been mounting in recent weeks, and the premier has been scathing in his counter-attack. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s president warns of growing social schism, loss of moral compass

The fault line between the “only Netanyahu” tribe against the “anyone but Netanyahu tribe” appears unprecedented, and the social chasms seem unbridgeable.

US President Donald Trump (R) with UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan (L), Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani (2-L) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) pose for pictures in the colonnade at the White House before the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirat

Israel’s Cabinet ratifies Abraham Accords

Shortly before the Cabinet approved the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan spoke over the phone and agreed to meet "soon."

United Arab Emirates

Weary of Netanyahu, Benny Gantz delivers last ultimatum

Having lost all trust in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Defense Minister Benny Gantz has now delivered an ultimatum on the 2021 state budget.

Israel hopes aviation agreement warms up ties with Jordan

Israel and Jordan sign agreement to allow overflights flights through each other's airspace.

United Arab Emirates

Naftali Bennett, propelled by coronavirus crisis, challenges Netanyahu

By presenting a level-headed image of a politician with a real anti-coronavirus program, Yamina leader Naftali Bennett is gaining the support of many who are disappointed in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Israeli TV personalities Eliraz Sade (R) and Nathan Bashevkin (L) take part in the �Live billboard' event at the marina in Herzliya, north of Tel Aviv, on September 28, 2010. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli environmentalists, skippers battle over new marina plan

A controversial plan promoted by local municipalities in Israel foresees the construction of six new marinas and the expansion of existing ones.

RAMADI, IRAQ - SEPTEMBER 06: U.S. ambassador Ryan Crocker speaks to tribal leaders during a key development meeting between Iraqi and American government officials and Sunni sheikhs September 6, 2007 in Ramadi, Anbar Province, Iraq. Crocker speaks fluent Arabic. He and commanding General David Petraeus are due to give a report to Congress next week on the state of the war in Iraq. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The Takeaway: US should keep embassy open in Iraq despite risk, says Ryan Crocker

Former ambassador to Iraq says US needs ‘strategic patience’ in support of prime minister; Netanyahu under siege over COVID; Palestinians ready for international conference after US elections, even if Trump wins; Hamas counting on Iran and Sudan.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish youth walks past a barrier set up by Israeli police on the road in the religious Israeli city of Bnei Brak, near Tel Aviv, amid measures put in place by Israeli authorities in a bid to stop the spread of Covid-19, on September 8, 2020. - In March, Bnei Brak was an initial "rebel" against the government's coronavirus rules, compelling authorities to deploy soldiers to help police impose containment measures. But after infection rates peaked across the country, Israel on Monday impose

Israeli police, ultra-Orthodox clash over coronavirus restrictions

Clashes between the ultra-Orthodox and police have intensified over lockdown orders that, among other things, call for the avoidance of public prayers.