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Israel

May 18, 2026

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Somaliland’s first ambassador to a foreign country formally, Mohamed Hagi, presented his diplomatic credentials in Jerusalem to Israeli President Isaac Herzog, on May 18, 2026.

Israel accredits Somaliland's first ambassador: What to know

Israel was the first country to recognize the breakaway region on the Horn of Africa last year.

talks

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.

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

Women take part in a rally, the closing event of the March of Hope, a 2-week-long event organised by Women Wage Peace, a non-political movement calling for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and women's participation in such a solution, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem October 19, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2PJSP

Israeli-Palestinian solidarity overcomes politics

Despite voices on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict drumming up animosity toward the other side, there are many examples of people from both sides who see the other as human beings.

A man cycles past images of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump which are displayed on monitors in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSC2

What will Trump era mean for Gaza?

The Palestinians paid close attention to the inauguration speech of US President Donald Trump, who promised to eliminate radical Islam — something Hamas took personally.

Attorney David Friedman (R) walks with U.S. businessman Robert Wood "Woody" Johnson as they arrive at a private fundraiser for then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in the Manhattan borough of New York City, June 21, 2016. Friedman is U.S. President-elect Donald Trump's designated Ambassador to Israel. Picture taken June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTX2XAMV

Trump's pick for Israel envoy to undergo unprecedented Senate grilling

Senate Democrats vow tough hearing on David Friedman as advocates of a two-state solution ramp up their lobbying.

Isaac Herzog leader of Zionist Union delivers a statement at the party headquarters in Tel Aviv, Israel, May 18, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSEWFL

Is Israeli opposition harming High Court's status?

A court petition submitted by Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holding the Communications Ministry reflects the opposition's weakness and damages the court.

A truck loaded with goods enters Rafah town through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on April 27, 2014 as the crossing reopened after the Jewish Passover holidays. The coastal strip, whose air and sea lanes are blocked by Israel, has three land crossings; Erez and Kerem Shalom with Israel and Rafah with Egypt. AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Smuggling activities more than double at Israel-Gaza borders

Israel has announced an unprecedented rise of goods smuggling through its border into the besieged Gaza Strip, despite the Israeli security measures at the crossings.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu climbs out after a visit inside the Rahav, the fifth submarine in the fleet, after it arrived in Haifa port January 12, 2016. The Dolphin-class submarines, widely believed to be capable of firing nuclear missiles, were manufactured in Germany and sold to Israel at deep discounts as part of Berlin's commitment to shoring up the security of the country set in part as a haven for Jews who survived the Holocaust.REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX221FU

Could submarine scandal blow up in Netanyahu’s face?

A private report by Zionist Camp Knesset member Erel Margalit claims that the submarine purchase affair and the possible involvement of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu run much deeper than preliminary revelations in the press.

FILE PHOTO: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016. Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS/File Photo ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2YZB7

Former US envoy: Syria may be central to Trump-Netanyahu meeting

US President Donald Trump has hinted at creating safe zones in Syria in a draft executive order and in conversations with the Saudi king, while the former US ambassador to Israel says Syria will likely be a "central topic" in Trump’s upcoming meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) welcomes representatives of Palestinian political parties and movements and other officials during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSVQQG

Moscow offers stage for Palestinian talks

All parties involved in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks must put long-term achievements ahead of immediate gains if the problems are ever to be solved — starting with reconciliation among Palestinian factions.

Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak (R) sits near Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he delivers a statement to the media in Tel Aviv November 14, 2012. Israel launched a major offensive against Palestinian militants in Gaza on Wednesday, killing the military commander of Hamas in an air strike and threatening an invasion of the enclave that the Islamist group vowed would "open the gates of hell". REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3AEJV

Could former PM's tweets bring down Netanyahu?

Former Prime Minister Ehud Barak doesn’t understand that Israeli politics have changed in the years he was gone, and that no one in the Labor Party will welcome him with open arms after he abandoned them.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech at a Cyber security conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 31, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2YZB8

Netanyahu, master of 'alternative facts'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has long made use of "alternative facts" when dealing with settlement construction and building by Israeli Arabs and Palestinians.

U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to impose tighter vetting of travelers entering the United States, at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S., January 27, 2017. The executive order signed by Trump imposes a four-month travel ban on refugees entering the United States and a 90-day hold on travelers from Syria, Iran and five other Muslim-majority countries. Picture taken January 27, 2017. REUTERS/Carlos Barria - RTSXWM6

Trump’s Middle East fans get caught up in global blowback

Political leaders from Israel to Saudi Arabia are quickly finding out that siding with Trump comes at a price.

Palestinian Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh waves to his supporters during an anti-Israeli rally in Gaza city April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem - RTX2C2YQ

Can Hamas' Haniyeh accept Egyptian demands?

During their trip to Cairo, Hamas officials heard a long list of Egyptian security demands in exchange for mending ties, and now incoming leader Ismail Haniyeh must sell the deal or be left to rule the Gaza Strip without Egypt's help.