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September 25, 2026

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Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu waves to delegates leaving before his UN speech

Delegates walk out as Netanyahu touts Iran war, slams Qatar and Turkey at UN

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu dismissed Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa's statement that the Golan Heights will “remain Syrian territory," while praising US President Donald Trump, whom he did not meet on the trip.

Leader of the Arab Israeli party Ra'am (United Arab List) Mansour Abbas (R) and Israeli politician Yoav Segalovitz (L) attend a news conference in Nazareth on August 31, 2026. Abbas announced that Segalovitz, an Israeli Jew, will join his party for the upcoming Israeli elections. (Photo by Jalaa MAREY / AFP via Getty Images)

Israel election committee bars two Arab lists from upcoming vote: What to know

Israel's Central Elections Committee barred the Arab-majority Raam party, the Arab joint list party and two Arab politicians from participating in the Oct. 27 elections.

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

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Analysis

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

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

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How Netanyahu is leveraging Houthi threat in secret Saudi normalization push

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)

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

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

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

Benny Gantz, head of Blue and White party, prepares to huddle with his party candidates Yair Lapid, Moshe Yaalon and Gaby Ashkenazi, following the announcement of exit polls in Israel's parliamentary election at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel April 10, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1129C2DDD0

Does Israel’s Blue and White party need to change leaders?

Ahead of the new Sept. 17 elections, the Blue and White party must decide which leadership configuration is most likely to bring victory.

Second grade school children practise their Arabic at the Hand in Hand Arab Jewish bilingual school in Jerusalem December 3, 2014. The Hand in Hand school in Jerusalem presents an almost too-perfect scene in a tense and divided city, where Jews and Arabs do daily business but rarely befriend one other. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST EDUCATION) - GM1EAC31TX701

What Israel would look like if more students learned Arabic

Israel is situated in the heart of the Arab world, yet it fails to encourage the study of Arabic, except in a military context.

Interview

Sen. Van Hollen challenges Trump's bypass of Congress on Saudi Arabia, Iran

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Maryland Democratic Sen. Chris Van Hollen describes efforts to curtail the Trump administration’s Gulf policies.

Chris Van Hollen

Chris Van Hollen

US Senator from Maryland

An Israeli man walks past an electoral billboard bearing portraits of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu flanked by extreme right politicians Itamar Ben Gvir, Bezalel Smotrich and Michael Ben Ari, with a caption in Hebrew reading "Kahana Lives" in a reference to a banned ultranationalist party in the 1994, in Jerusalem, on March 29, 2019. - Israeli general elections will be held on April 9, 2019. (Photo by THOMAS COEX / AFP) (Photo credit should read THOMAS COEX/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel's religious right thrives on political unrest

Knesset member Betzalel Smotrich of the United Right party is campaigning for Israel to be run according to religious law, and there are no guarantees he won’t make it happen.

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in the funeral of their comrade Mahmoud Al-Nabaheen in the central Gaza Strip January 23, 2019. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1E6E9AAB00

Iran seems to have never stopped funding Hamas families

Iran has reportedly resumed its funding to the Palestinian Hamas movement through funds to families of Palestinians killed in resistance activities in the Gaza Strip.

Will Israel enforce the truce agreements prior to election?

The fact that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu failed to form a government and awaits the new election’s outcome has raised questions on whether he will implement the truce understandings with the Palestinian factions.

An Israeli-Arab woman walks out from behind a voting booth as Israelis vote in a parliamentary election, at a polling station in Umm al-Fahm, Israel April 9, 2019. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC1F60560A00

Will Israeli Arabs come out to vote in September?

The numbers make clear that a change of regime and victory for the Blue and White in September elections can only be achieved by boosting voter turnout among Arabs, who represent double the vote potential than the ultra-Orthodox parties, which garnered 16 Knesset seats in the April vote.

Palestinian self-made weaponry on the rise

Despite Israel's siege on the Gaza Strip, the armed wings of the Palestinian factions have managed to expand their military capabilities.

Blue and White gets rare second chance in politics

New elections present a credible opportunity for the Blue and White to form the next government if it changes its attitude toward working with Israel's Arab minority.

Israel's Knesset in limbo

The decision to hold new elections in September has thrown the Israeli parliament and government into political limbo.

West Bank security arrests alleged IS recruit targeting Israel

Palestinian Authority security services tell Israeli media they arrested a Palestinian woman they believe was going to blow herself up in Israel for the Islamic State.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem May 30, 2019. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC12202A0700

Netanyahu needs a miracle

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is confronted with an almost impossible mission: winning the new elections with at least 40 Knesset seats, composing a majority without Avigdor Liberman and convincing coalition partners to legislate quickly the immunity law.