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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:25 am

25°C

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

No meeting has been announced between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Donald Trump on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit in New York.

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

Gargash

UAE's Gargash expects 'prolonged' war, calls for Iran-Gulf security talks

"We need a new mindset that these sort of discussions ... can happen at an Iranian-American level, it should also take place at an Iranian-Arab level," Gargash told Al-Monitor.

United Arab Emirates

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

Latest News

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

OLIVER BUNIC/AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Morocco agree to exchange ambassadors, open embassies

Royal Air Maroc Boeing 787-9 'Dreamliner' aircraft

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.

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

Hebrew University offers credits to volunteers in right-wing lobbying group

Lecturers have a hard time understanding the decision by Hebrew University to offer credit points for students volunteering in the right-wing lobbying group Im Tirtzu.

Israeli oposition parties' supporters chant slogans and hold flags as they attend a rally against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on May 25, 2019 in the coastal city of Tel Aviv. - Israel's attorney general on May 22 extended until October the deadline for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's pre-trial hearing on corruption allegations, but rejected a request for a 12-month delay. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Facing trial, Netanyahu left with three options

Now that his trial date is set for March 17, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu needs to win the elections and enact a new law that would postpone the trial until the moment he is no longer prime minister.

Palestinian territories stable after Trump plan, but for how long?

Palestinians of the West Bank and Gaza remain united in their rejection of President Donald Trump's mideast plan but it is unclear in what way they will ultimately express it.

Israeli Arabs take part in a protest against the U.S. President Donald Trump's Middle East peace plan in the town of Baqa Al-Gharbiyye, northern Israel February 1, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2PRE9SJ8D4

Despite divisions in wake of Trump’s plan, Israelis & Palestinians labor for peace

Israeli and Palestinian peace activists are worried over increased anti-normalization sentiments across the Palestinian Authority.

Europe uses Israeli elections as excuse for inaction

Instead of standing clearly by the Palestinians, demanding the implementation of international law in the West Bank and recognizing the 1967 borders, Europe stands on the sidelines.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 16, 2020. Gali Tibbon/Pool via REUTERS - RC2N1F9UJ40D

Netanyahu fighting over every single vote

The announcement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about appointing former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat as finance minister in a future government was part of his relentless efforts to conquer each and every vote ahead of the March 2 elections.

Moroccans wave the Palestinian flag during a demonstration against the US Middle East peace plan in the capital Rabat on February 9, 2020. - Morocco has warming but quiet relations with Israel, although they do not enjoy formal diplomatic ties. Israel and Morocco opened "liaison" offices in each other's countries in the mid-1990s but Rabat closed them after an escalation of Palestinian-Israeli violence in 2000. (Photo by FADEL SENNA / AFP) (Photo by FADEL SENNA/AFP via Getty Images)

Morocco’s balancing act on Israel and Palestine

Moroccans protest against the "deal of the century" and want the government, which recently took possession of Israeli spy drones, to do more to aid the Palestinian cause.

A song of praise: Netanyahu’s court journalists

Over the years, and especially since the 2015 election, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has been striving to set up a more submissive, sycophantic Israeli press that praises everything he does.

A member of Palestinian security forces, loyal to Hamas, stands guard at the border area with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip, June 23, 2019. Picture taken June 23, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1FA4398160

Has Egypt succeeded in calming situation on Gaza border?

An Egyptian intelligence delegation visited the Gaza Strip for the first time in months in a bid to restore calm between Hamas and Israel amid renewed escalation ahead of the Israeli elections.

A Palestinian demonstrator uses a sling during an anti-Israel protest at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip December 6, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC2PPD972T6H

Egypt shows diplomatic finesse forging Gaza cease-fire

Hamas' agreement to refrain from attacks, for now, puts Gaza on the back burner for Israeli elections.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York, U.S., February 11, 2020. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton - RC2FYE9VEIT0

Is Abbas the key to Israeli annexation of West Bank lands?

For Israel, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas remaining in power could ease its annexation of West Bank territories.

12 years later, Olmert plan discussions could resume

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in New York to discuss reviving the Olmert plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.