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

Israel cover image

Israel

September 29, 2026

Tel Aviv 7:37 am

24°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

A holy shrine of the Baha'i faith is seen in the northern Israeli city of Haifa in this November 16, 2006 picture. Founded in the 19th century by a Persian nobleman, Baha'i is considered by some scholars to be an offshoot of Islam. The faith sees itself as an independent religion and its 5 million followers are spread across more than 190 countries. Picture taken November 16, 2006. To match feature ISRAEL BAHAI/ REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL) - GM1DUAMZIIAB

Israel’s first international film festival hits 33

The Haifa Film Festival, known for its fine selection of documentaries, launched new categories this year, such as foodie and environmental cinema.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem October 1, 2017. REUTERS/Sebastian Scheiner/Pool - RC1D7A832710

Netanyahu’s engineered image

For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, his family history and memories are turned into tools to promote his image in Israel and around the world.

Israeli tech companies start contracting in Gaza

Israeli IT companies have started contracting Gazan engineers to work on projects in a move that will not please Hamas but could improve Gaza's economy.

Trump’s policies radicalize Israeli, Palestinian stances

President Donald Trump’s shift toward more radical policy positions on the Middle East is generating a radicalization in the tactical positions of both Israelis and Palestinians.

Exploiting Palestinian workers is not ‘economic peace’

Palestinians increasingly depend on Israel’s goodwill to open its gates for poor West Bank workers.

Israel, Hezbollah exchange threats of imminent war

As Lebanon’s Hezbollah and the Israeli government continue to warn each other of a coming cataclysm, both sides predict it would take place in Syria as well as Lebanon this time.

Greek Orthodox Patriarch of Jerusalem Metropolitan Theophilos (2nd R) takes part in the Easter Sunday mass procession inside the Church of the Holy Sepulchre in Jerusalem's Old City, May 1, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - S1BETBNQAEAA

Are days numbered for Jerusalem's Greek Orthodox patriarch?

The Greek Orthodox community in Palestine and Jordan is in open revolt against Patriarch Theophilos III over the sale of church lands to Israel and Israelis.

FILE PHOTO 1OCT49 - Jewish immigrants from Yemen in a tent encampment in 1949 as they are visited by Israeli nurses. Many Jewish immigrants of Sephardic origin from North Africa and the Middle East were shipped to Israeli development town when they arrived, while many of the European, or Ashkenazi, immigrants were able to start their new lives in Israel's cities with promising jobs. Most of the Yemenites arrived in Israel during "Operation Magic Carpet" in the late 1940's. In the 1950's and 60's some 300,00

Will Israel finally take responsibility for kidnapped Yemeni babies?

Over the last year, the long-running affair of Israeli-Yemenite babies kidnapped and put up for adoption has risen on the public and political agendas.

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 17: Founder and Chairman JVP Erel Margalit speaks on stage at the JVP (Jerusalem Venture Partners) 2012 networking cocktail party at the Gramercy Park Hotel on April 17, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Neilson Barnard/Getty Images for JVP)

Israel’s Labor Party loses Knesset stars

With Labor’s new chair Avi Gabbay controlling the party institutions, Knesset members Manuel Trajtenberg and Erel Margalit have decided to resign from their posts.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a cornerstone-laying ceremony for the Miriam and Sheldon Adelson Health and Medical Sciences School building, at Ariel University, in the Israeli settlement of Ariel in the occupied West Bank June 28, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC13C8037510

Netanyahu's fuzzy math on settlement construction

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is in a tough spot trying to please his right-wing electoral base with more settlement construction without upsetting President Donald Trump with too much construction.

With appointment of new deputy chief, Hamas leadership more militant than ever

The appointment of Saleh al-Arouri as Hamas’ No. 2 reflects the movement's desire to preserve ties with Iran, Hezbollah and Syria, and could mean trouble for political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh.

Why Hamas should thank Netanyahu

The Netanyahu government has done its fair share to strengthen Hamas as part of its efforts to weaken Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and distance the possibility of peacefully resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.