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Israel

May 6, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:10 pm

20°C

Amirhossein KHORGOOEI / ISNA / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Israel fears Trump seeking Hormuz win while sidestepping Iran nuclear issue

While President Donald Trump keeps pressuring Iran on reopening the Strait of Hormuz, Israel fears the American leader will decide to cut his losses and sideline the nuclear threat.

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

A man sits watching as Lebanese first responders search for human remains among the rubble the day after a house was targeted in an Israeli airstrike in the southern Lebanese city of Nabatieh, on May 1, 2026.

Culture

Lebanon's churches, mosques and archaeological sites damaged in Israeli strikes

Israeli strikes in Lebanon have damaged a growing number of cultural and religious sites, as sites in Israel have also sustained damage from Hezbollah and Iranian attacks.

Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Yair Lapid (L) speaks to outgoing Prime Minister Naftali Bennett, during a meeting at the Knesset (parliament), in Jerusalem on June 30, 2022. - Final approval of the parliament dissolution bill was initially expected by midnight but was postponed to June 30 as coalition and opposition lawmakers sparred over last-minute legislative details, several sources familiar with the parliamentary said. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Bennett, Lapid unite Israel’s opposition to unseat Netanyahu?

Six months before Israel's next elections, opposition leaders Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid have decided to run on one anti-Netanyahu ticket.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Latest News

Analysis

Iron Dome in Gulf: How Iran war turned UAE-Israel defense ties operational

AFP via Getty Images

Francesco Schiavi

By Francesco Schiavi

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

Analysis

Without exit strategy, Israel faces emboldened Hezbollah, limited options on Iran

Ibrahim AMRO / AFP via Getty Images

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

Turkey warns France over Cyprus troop deployment: What to know

Members of the UN Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), from the British Army's 1st Battalion Coldstream Guards, No. 2 Company, patrol along the buffer zone separating the internationally recognized Republic of Cyprus and the breakaway Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus in the divided capital Nicosia on Feb. 17, 2026.

Trump speaks with Netanyahu, Putin as Iran pressure campaign escalates

President Donald Trump gives a speech during the State Arrival Ceremony on the South Lawn on April 28, 2026, in Washington.

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

When will Israeli politicians stop hiding behind masks?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is fully aware of the diplomatic and security dangers involved in annexing the Jordan Valley, but these do not deter him from making plenty of empty promises to his voters.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to supporters at a Likud party rally as he campaigns ahead of the upcoming elections, in Rishon Lezion near Tel Aviv, Israel February 18, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC273F9ZZ5BG

Netanyahu racing to victory?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s "disaster" campaign was a big failure in the last two elections, so he decided to take a different approach and relay to voters and supporters that victory is within reach.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks to the U.S. Ambassador David Friedman during his visit to Ariel settlement in the West Bank, February 24, 2020. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS - RC287F98LHX4

How Netanyahu is burying the two-state solution

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ever had the common sense to leave room for a future agreement with the Palestinians, he buried it recently with his decision to build new housing units in Jewish east and south Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Why Hamas opted out of Israel-Gaza escalation — again

Hamas stayed out of the recent confrontation between Israel and the Islamic Jihad in Gaza, raising many questions.

PA plans to bypass Israel by issuing construction permits, rebuilding demolished homes

Palestinian Minister of Local Government Majdi al-Saleh has recently announced he will be issuing permits that allow Palestinians to build houses in Area C of the West Bank, ignoring the need for Israeli approvals.

Another push to make Qalandia Airport a Jewish settlement

The Netanyahu caretaker government has announced its intentions to build 11,000 housing units at the site of the former Qalandia Airport in East Jerusalem.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walks past a Likud election campaign poster depicting Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem February 25, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2V7F9VCDA1

And if Netanyahu scores a landslide victory?

According to his rivals, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a plan in the case that he wins the elections: He will empty the law enforcement system of all its powers.

Israeli youth demonstrate as they call on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to declare sovereignty over Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank, in Jerusalem February 13, 2020. The Hebrew writing reading, "Sovereignty Now". Picture taken February 13, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2R7F9731YP

Young Israeli voters hypnotized by Netanyahu’s narrative

From an early age in school, future Israeli voters are inculcated with the narrative pushed by Benjamin Netanyahu, resulting in a conservative young generation with intolerant tendencies.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to a tent during his visit to the Chaim Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer in Ramat Gan, Israel, for discussion on the coronavirus, February 19, 2020. Heidi Levine/Poolvia REUTERS - RC2N3F92AZM9

Intel: Coronavirus fears soar in Israel a week ahead of elections

Exactly one week before upcoming legislative elections set for March 2, there are fears in Israel that the coronavirus scare could disrupt voting.

(Left to Right) Israeli minister of Education Naftali Bennett and Rabbi Yisrael Meir Lau, the Chief Rabbi of Tel Aviv and Chairman of Yad Vashem, participating in the March of the Living.
On Monday, April 24, 2017, in Oswiecim, Poland. (Photo by Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Netanyahu’s defense minister gets him into trouble

Another haphazard decision by Defense Minister Naftali Bennett reshuffled the deck for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and led to an escalation of tensions in the south.

Ultra-Orthodox shifting stance on children learning math, English

Ultra-Orthodox Knesset member Moshe Gafni surprised everyone recently by announcing that ultra-Orthodox schools will be established where mathematics and English will be taught.

Benny Gantz, leader of Blue and White take part in a party rally, as he campaigns ahead of the upcoming elections, in Tel Aviv February 17, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC2M2F9S6RY5

Blue and White stumbles as Israeli race nears finish

In an interview with Al-Monitor a week before the election, Blue and White Chairman Benny Gantz admits he is disturbed by shifting trends in the polls and rejects any chance of partnering with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.