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May 18, 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

Former Palestinian prisoners work hard to conquer ghosts of their torture

Palestinian filmmaker Raed Andoni talks about his and other former political prisoners’ hunt for the ghosts that remind them of Israeli torture.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shakes hands with U.S. President Donald Trump (L) during a news conference at the White House in Washington, U.S., February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSYU8Q

What a Palestine-Jordan confederation might look like

US President Donald Trump’s inclination toward a regional peace process has driven the Palestinians to create a new formula for a confederation with Jordan.

REFILE - UPDATING SLUGArab Israelis clash with Israeli riot policemen in Umm Al-Hiran, a Bedouin village in Israel's southern Negev Desert January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTSW0X6

Israeli Bedouin stigmatized by terrorist narrative

Israeli Bedouin are concerned about being stereotyped as terrorists after Israeli officials made "irresponsible" statements following the death of a police officer.

President-elect Donald Trump, left, and President Barack Obama arrive for Trump's inauguration ceremony at the Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. January 20, 2017. REUTERS/J. Scott Applewhite/Pool - RTSWJEB

Was Obama lost opportunity for Iran-US relations?

Iran’s foreign minister believes that recent criticism by Iran’s neighbors stems from their regional failures.

Israeli soldier Elor Azaria is embraced by his mother at the start of is sentencing hearing at a military court in Tel Aviv, Israel February 21, 2017. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSZLCK

The Israeli right's judicial shakedown

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked has scored a victory in the ongoing campaign of the Israeli right to gain control over the Supreme Court.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and the head of the right-wing Jewish Home party, Naftali Bennett give a press conference at the Knesset in Jerusalem, on May 6, 2015, to announce the formation of a coalition government. Just ahead of the midnight deadline, Netanyahu managed to put together a narrow majority coalition, comprising his rightwing Likud party with centre-right Kulanu, far-right national-religious Jewish Home and two ultra-Orthodox parties, United Torah Judaism (UTJ) and Shas.

Will settlers bring down Netanyahu again?

Israel's right-wing activists have forgotten the trauma of bringing down the Netanyahu government in 1999 and are willing to threaten the prime minister with leaving the coalition if their demands are not fulfilled.

Freed Palestinian Hamas leader Yehia Sinwar (C) greets supporters following his release from an Israeli jail at a welcome tent near his home in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza Strip, on October 19, 2011. The Palestinian Hamas movement exchanged Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who spent more than five years of isolation in a Gaza hide-out, for hundreds of Palestinian militants being held in Israeli jails. AFP PHOTO/SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Food vs. guns: Will Hamas chose Egypt or Iran?

The military wing of Hamas in Gaza pressures the new boss Yahya Sinwar to mend ties with Iran, while the residents of the Gaza Strip need the assistance of Egypt against the misery of the long closure.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu chairs the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem February 12, 2017. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool - RTSY99U

The real story behind secret Aqaba summit on Mideast peace

According to reports, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participated a year ago in a secret meeting in Aqaba with US Secretary of State John Kerry, Jordanian King Abdullah II and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Isaac Herzog, co-leader of the Zionist Union party, are pictured together as campaign billboards rotate in Tel Aviv, March 9, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo - RTSEUAF

Why Israeli opposition head really wanted to join Bibi's government

News of the Aqaba summit and the political and diplomatic events surrounding it lead to the inevitable conclusion that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has no interest in the two-state vision and a regional peace initiative.

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman (C) walks with Malta's Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi (R) at the prime minister's office at Auberge de Castille in Valletta June 24, 2010.
REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi (MALTA - Tags: POLITICS) MALTA OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN MALTA - RTR2FNQR

Israel defense minister: We must coordinate moves with Trump

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman confirmed that he still supports a two-state solution, but one involving population as well as land swaps and as one part of a regional agreement.

Moshe Lifschitz of Shtreichman Shtreimelech, holds a shtreimel or traditional fur hat worn by ultra-Orthodox Jews on festive occasions and holy days, at a shop in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood April 28, 2010. Israel may be the first country in the world to pass a bill banning fur trade within its borders, but ultra-Orthodox parliamentarians who fear it will impinge on religious freedom, are attempting to block the bill. Picture taken April 28, 2010. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION POL

Why Israel's ultra-Orthodox are fighting fur ban

A move to ban the sale of fur in Israel is being blocked by ultra-Orthodox Jews, who are hanging on to the tradition of wearing expensive fur hats on the Sabbath and other holy days.

Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad attends an opening reception of Conference on Cooperation among East Asian Countries for Palestinian Delevopment (CEAPAD) in Tokyo February 13, 2013. Japan co-hosted the CEAPAD with Palestine in Tokyo on Wednesday as a part of efforts toward achieving the Middle East peace, according to the government statement. REUTERS/Issei Kato (JAPAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DQ69

Who are real losers of US veto at UN against former Palestine PM?

The United States' blocking of Salam Fayyad as an envoy to the UN secretary-general has reminded the world of the former Palestinian prime minister's applauded reputation.