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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 26, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:06 am

23°C

ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Can Netanyahu turn Israel's UN isolation into strength at home?

The absence of a Trump meeting would have been awkward for Netanyahu, who has long portrayed himself to Israeli voters as uniquely close to the US president.

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

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

Latest News

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

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

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

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

A Palestinian sifts through garbage for salvageable items at a local dump site, in the east of Gaza City September 2, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY) - GM1E9921JCZ01

Can Gaza get a handle on its waste problem?

With Gaza's waste disposal crisis now affecting Israeli communities across the border, Israel has approved the construction of a UN-funded waste recycling plant in Gaza.

Why Abbas risks an economic collapse of the PA

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu promised to soon implement the law on deducting terrorists’ salaries, yet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas knows that on the day he stops payments, the Palestinians themselves will bring him down.

Revolution at 40: Have Iranian regional policies come full circle?

Forty years after the Islamic Revolution, the shah’s view of Iran and its role in the region is paradoxically echoed in the foreign policy debate by those with a more revolutionary perspective.

Why residents of Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah face eviction

Eleven families are about to be thrown out of their home in Jerusalem’s Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood to make room for settlers.

Children no longer need to leave Gaza for cancer treatment

Cancer patients welcome a new cancer ward in Gaza and hope it will ease the travel pains of hundreds of Palestinian child patients and their families.

Israeli left-wing parties to unite or to sink

By running on one ticket, the Labor and Meretz parties could guarantee their political survival and even constitute a significant political force.

Benny Gantz, a former Israeli armed forces chief and head of Israel Resilience party, delivers his first political speech at the party campaign launch in Tel Aviv, Israel January 29, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1F37BEDD60

Can a centrist party win Israel's elections?

Head of the newly founded Israel Resilience Benny Gantz claims that he is neither left nor right, but he'll have to divulge more of his diplomatic agenda to win the voters he needs.

Netanyahu’s new anti-indictment weapon: his own TV channel

Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit has apparently decided to convict Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in two cases and must now decide about a third — all while facing an orchestrated campaign by Netanyahu against him.

In Jerusalem, Israelis celebrate nostalgia for Egyptian film music

Israelis, who have remained enthralled with the outpouring of emotion in Egyptian films for decades, rediscover their passion through a series of concerts at Jerusalem’s Museum for Islamic Art.

President Vladimir Putin of Russia, Hassan Rouhani of Iran and Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey attend a news conference following their meeting in Tehran, Iran September 7, 2018. Kirill Kudryavtsev/Pool via REUTERS - RC14766DD6C0

Israel factor complicates but won’t break Iran-Russia partnership in Syria

There is speculation in the Persian-language media that Russia and Israel are collaborating against Iran and that Tehran is reconsidering its partnership with Moscow in Syria.

A Palestinian government employee receives a portion her his overdue salary at a post office in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on December 8, 2018, after the Hamas-run finance ministry had announced that the money would be distributed over the two days, with employees receiving 50 percent of their salaries. - Employees of the Hamas administration in the Gaza Strip began collecting their salaries for a second month on December 7, after Qatar pumped more money into the territory with Israel's blessings. The

As PA tightens financial noose on Hamas, citizens will suffer

Upcoming sanctions on money transfer firms in the Gaza Strip — designed by the Palestinian Authority to weaken Hamas — will ultimately harm cash-strapped families and individuals.

Netanyahu whitewashing far-right activists

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, all means to guarantee his electoral victory are legitimate, including embracing radical right-wing activists.