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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 29, 2026

Tel Aviv 4:11 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

Why Israelis support Netanyahu despite scandals

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still polling well despite the increasing entanglement of himself and his close associates in potentially criminal scandals.

Syria conflict takes its toll on Golan Druze

While the Syrian war has taken quite a toll on Syrian Druze in the occupied Golan Heights, some of the Druze fear Israel could use them as a pretext for expanding cross-border military moves.

How Israel's ultra-Orthodox Shas Party lost its way

The Shas Party that was once a social and political home for Mizrahi voters is now a sad copy of the Ashkenazi ultra-Orthodox parties.

Hamas rejects return to Israeli involvement in border crossings

Hamas strongly opposes the Palestinian Authority's insistence on bringing back the 2005 Agreement on Movement and Access at the Rafah crossing, seeing it as tantamount to imposing Israeli and European guardianship on their crossings again.

Israel chooses sides in Syria

Israel warned that it would not tolerate attacks on the Syrian Druze town of Hader in the Golan Heights.

Settler delusions of security

Israeli settlers are pressuring the government for more investment in security, but no matter how generous the ultimate outlay, it will not prevent the next wave of casualties from terrorism as long as the occupation status quo persists.

Netanyahu unfaithful to Zionism vision

By turning its back on Israeli Arabs and distancing Reform and Conservative Jewish communities, the Netanyahu government denies the fundamentals of Zionism.

Israel holding Gaza militants' bodies as bargaining chips

Israel decided not to return the bodies of Palestinian Islamic Jihad and Hamas members until some progress is made on returning the Israeli civilians and the bodies of IDF soldiers held by Hamas.

Photography, opera come together in Tel Aviv

A new exhibition invites seven leading Israeli photographers to interpret the Israeli Opera 2017-2018 season through their own perspectives.

Israeli police turn up heat on Netanyahu

The detention of Yitzhak Molcho, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal envoy and closest associate, sends shock waves through Israel’s security and political arenas.

Israeli media play game of polls

Despite flattering polls for Labor Party Chair Avi Gabbay, it is too early to say that there has been a change in the breakdown of the rival blocs.

Culture Alert: November the month for contemporary art, photography

Several major art events are entering their final weeks and months in the region.