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May 17, 2026

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Lebanon-Israel ceasefire extended 45 days as US opens security talks

The Pentagon will host Israeli and Lebanese military delegations for a round of separate security talks later this month.

US President Donald Trump talks to UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as he departs the Al Bateen Executive Airport on May 15, 2025, in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Analysis

‘A reckless act’: Netanyahu sparks UAE fury by claiming secret visit

Just as UAE-Israeli relations were deepening through cooperation against Iran, the Israeli prime minister publicly embarrassed Abu Dhabi by revealing his March visit.

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

Israel's Netanyahu suing New York Times over column on Palestinian rape

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Foreign Minister Gideon Saar rejected New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof's accusations of systematic sexual abuse and rape of Palestinian prisoners, calling the claims a "blood libel."

Latest News

Analysis

Israel’s drone dilemma: Hezbollah’s low-cost threat reshapes Lebanon front

Artillery units are positioned near the Lebanese border in northern Israel, May 4, 2026.

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

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

Netanyahu fears being left out as Trump pursues Iran diplomacy

Ronen Zvulun / AFP via Getty Images

Samuel Wendel

Senior Market Research Analyst

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Oded Balilty/Pool - RTS15HS9

Netanyahu’s vision of one-state-one-people solution

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promoting neither the two-state solution nor one state for the two people, but one state on Israeli and West Bank territories, only for the Jews.

General Joseph Dunford (L), the Chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, walks next to Israel's Chief of Staff Lieutenant-General Gadi Eizenkot, as they review an honour guard in Tel Aviv, Israel May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Nir Elias - RTS15RRC

Jordan high on agenda for top US military adviser's Israel visit

Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Joseph Dunford visited Israel and met with his counterparts there to discuss the Islamic State and the effects of the Syrian war on Jordan.

A man plays the role of a prisoner during a protest in support of Palestinian prisoners on hunger strike in Israeli jails, in Gaza City May 9, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTS15TFT

Israeli doctors reject force-feeding prisoners on hunger strike

With Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike for the fourth week now, it is highly likely that some prisoners will suffer permanent health damage and possible death.

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (R) and Hamas Gaza Chief Yehya Al-Sinwar attend a ceremony announcing a new policy document, in Gaza City May 1, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTS14OXC

Will Hamas’ new policy document allow it to enter international scene?

Hamas hopes to revive old alliances and fix relations with regional and international actors with its new more pragmatic policy document.

Israel's new Defence Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, head of far-right Yisrael Beitenu party, reviews an honour guard during a welcoming ceremony at the Defence Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel May 31, 2016. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTX2EXRI

Knesset reels after defense minister compares Arab members to Nazis

Israel's Joint List will convene this week to decide whether to lodge a police complaint against Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman for comparing Arab lawmakers to Nazis.

ANKARA, TURKEY - APRIL 17: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan gives a referendum victory speech to his supporters at the Presidential Palace on April 17, 2017 in Ankara Turkey. Erdogan declared victory in Sunday's historic referendum that will grant sweeping powers to the presidency, hailing the result as a "historic decision. 51.4 per cent per cent of voters had sided with the "Yes" campaign, ushering in the most radical change to the country's political system in modern times.Turkey's main opposition calls

Turkey, Israel in verbal spat over Jerusalem

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s comments on Jerusalem and the Israel-Palestine conflict have cast dark clouds over Turkish-Israeli relations.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs a weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem May 7, 2017. REUTERS/Oded Balilty/Pool - RTS15HQX

Does Israel really need the Nationality Law?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advances the discriminating Nationality Law in order to garner wide political support.

A general view shows workers from the Israeli Antiquity Authorities digging on November 3, 2015 at the excavation site near the City of David adjacent to Jerusalem's Old City walls, where researchers believe to have found the remains of the stronghold the Acra, from which the Greek King Antiochus IV was able to control Jerusalem and monitor activity at the holy site known to Jews as the Temple Mount. Israel's antiquities body claimed to have solved "one of Jerusalem's greatest archeological mysteries" by un

Why UNESCO's 'Jerusalem resolution' is a win for Netanyahu

The May 2 resolution by UNESCO’s executive committee criticizing archaeological digging in east Jerusalem plays into the hands of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who portrays UNESCO and the international community as enemies of the Israelis.

Naftali Bennett, leader of far-right Jewish Home party, attends a party meeting at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 16, 2017. Picture taken January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSW9LJ

Bennett: We must tell Trump the 'truth' about peace process

In an interview with Al-Monitor, HaBayit HaYehudi leader Naftali Bennett says that "the age of maneuvering is over" as the Israeli government must be honest with US President Donald Trump about the reality of creating a Palestinian state.

Could Hamas' pragmatic new leader finally reconcile with Fatah?

Contrary to former Hamas political chief Khaled Meshaal, newly elected Ismail Haniyeh is perceived as more intimately connected to the Gaza Strip and its suffering and may stand a better chance of unifying Palestinians.

A Palestinian vendor uses battery-powered lights as he sells cigarettes during power cut at Shati refugee camp in Gaza City April 25, 2017. Picture taken April 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS14598

Why Abbas asked Israel to cut power to Gaza

The Palestinian Authority has asked Israel to stop providing funding for Gaza's electricity as part of President Mahmoud Abbas’ efforts to pressure Hamas into ceding power.

An ultra-Orthodox Jew takes part in a protest against the opening of a road on the Sabbath, near a religious neighbourhood in Jerusalem June 23, 2012. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3427P

Ultra-Orthodox threaten Netanyahu’s coalition over Sabbath crisis

Contrary to past Sabbath crises, this time Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is refusing to cede to ultra-Orthodox demands.