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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 29, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:30 am

25°C

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar of withholding information in the hours before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, but the former security chief rejected the claim, saying he intends to file a defamation suit.

Israeli PM

On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

During his trip to Abu Dhabi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Mohamed bin Zayed to deny reports that he had been warned ahead of the Oct. 7 attack that Hamas was preparing a major assault.

A general view of the damaged building housing Tigray TV, the state broadcaster of the Tigray region, following a drone strike in Mekelle, Ethiopia, Sept. 27, 2026.

20 Israelis stranded in Ethiopia seek evacuation as fighting resumes: What to know

Twenty Israeli tourists are asking the Foreign Ministry to arrange their evacuation from the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia, where fighting resumed on Tuesday.

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

Latest News

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

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

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

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)

Analysis

Why Netanyahu is distancing himself from Trump ahead of Israeli election

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS / AFP via Getty Images

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

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

Gargash

United Arab Emirates

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

Israel 'will not blink' on Iranian missiles

The Israel Defense Forces set new red lines for Iran; Erdogan still waiting for Russian dividend on Kurds; Russia expands use of private military companies in Syria; the Islamic State and al-Qaeda at war in the Sinai Peninsula.

Culture Alert: Fashion, books and photography in December

The Middle Eastern cultural calendar for the end of the year includes a book fair in Beirut, a modest-dress fashion event in Dubai and a cartoon biennial in Tehran.

Is Trump's Mideast initiative one-sided?

Palestinians worry that US President Donald Trump is pressuring the pragmatic Sunni leadership to accept an American plan that would be closer to the Israeli position than to the Palestinian one.

Israel's 'new ultra-Orthodox'

Parallel to the increase in the number of ultra-Orthodox integrated in the labor market, ultra-Orthodox voters increasingly turn toward mainstream parties.

Israeli Bedouin policewoman blazing trail, making enemies

An Israeli Bedouin woman who joined the Israel Police to serve her community has become the target of Arabs who consider her a traitor.

An employee arranges an Israeli national flag next to a U.S. one at the residence of Israel's President Shimon Peres in Jerusalem, ahead of U.S. President Barack Obama's visit, March 18, 2013. Obama is due to make his first official visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories this week, looking to improve ties with both camps after a sometimes rocky first term in office. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - GM1E93I1IMJ01

US Jews losing faith in Israel

Many American Jews feel that the Netanyahu government favors Orthodox Jews over those belonging to progressive Judaism streams and, as a result, are questioning their ties to Israel.

Israeli soldiers sit on top of tanks as they take part in an exercise in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, near the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria, March 20, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RC16E85FD020

Will Israel launch pre-emptive strike against Assad?

Israeli experts claim that the Israel Defense Forces should have struck the Bashar al-Assad regime at the beginning of the war in Syria.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem November 19, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC1C07ECA100

For Netanyahu, all 'business as usual'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu defused this week two coalition crises, thus guaranteeing once again the stability of his government.

Are Israeli-Arab Knesset members neglecting political game?

Arab Knesset members didn't bother showing up to the recent vote over the Recommendations law, which would protect Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from police investigations.

Secret amendment of Israeli order could cost 300 Palestinians their homes

Two years ago, Israel quietly amended a 2003 directive banning the construction of unauthorized settler outposts to include Palestinian homes and is now working to enforce it.

Fashion legacy of Israeli icon on display in new exhibit

Israelis are remembering celebrated screen legend Ronit Elkabetz through an exhibit of her distinctive and daring couture.

Iranian wrestler’s deliberate loss stirs controversy

The story of an Iranian wrestler who was pressured to lose against a Russian opponent to avoid facing an Israeli wrestler has caused controversy in Iran.