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Israel

May 19, 2026

Tel Aviv 1:13 am

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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

Family picture during the Mideast peace conference in Paris on January 15, 2017. Foreign ministers and representatives from around 70 countries are seeking to revive the moribund Israeli-Palestinian peace process. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/POOL - RTSVMCD

What the world is telling Palestinians, Israelis and Trump

European diplomats believe the international attendance at the second Paris conference reflects broad support for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Palestinians walk on a road during a power cut in Beit Lahiya in the northern Gaza Strip January 11, 2017. Picture taken January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2YNDC

Will Gaza's electricity crisis escalate Hamas-Israel tension?

Gaza residents are furious at Hamas for pouring funds into the tunnel enterprise while they are left without electricity, and Israel is wary of attacks as distraction from their mass demonstrations.

Israeli Knesset member Basel Ghattas sits at the Magistrates Court as police suspect Ghattas of smuggling mobile telephones into an Israeli jail for Palestinian convicts imprisoned for security offences against the state, in Rishon Lezion, Israel December 23, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX2W8VS

Will Arab Knesset member be impeached?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to transform the issue of impeaching Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas into a question of patriotism, thus forcing opposition members to support such a move.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSVKVW

How Netanyahu eroded public trust in free press

Revelations of links between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and different media tycoons have eroded Israeli citizens’ trust in democracy and free press.

People dine at a coffee shop as an image of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump is displayed on a monitor in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSCC

For Israel, more unknowns than knowns with Trump

The Israeli right and defense establishment have found it hard to determine with any certainty what direction US President-elect Donald Trump will take on policy.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men pray in the Tomb of Joshua Ben Nun in the West Bank Arab village of Kifl Hares near the Jewish settlement of Ariel December 17, 2010. The Israeli army late on Thursday night allowed hundreds of ultra-Orthodox Jews to visit the Tombs of biblical figures, Joshua Ben Nun and Caleb Ben Yefuneh, on what is considered by many religious Jews as the biblical date of the anniversary of their death. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION) - RTXVTBD

Why Israeli ultra-Orthodox secretly visit West Bank tomb

More ultra-Orthodox Israelis are refusing to coordinate their visits to the Tomb of Joshua, in the West Bank Palestinian village of Kifl Hares, in what the Israel Defense Forces considers an onerous security risk.

Israeli Jewish Home party leader Naftali Bennett (L) greets former Israeli foreign minister and ultra-nationalist MP Avigdor Lieberman during a session of the Israeli parliament in which MPs are debating whether to approve Lieberman's appointment as defence minister, on May 30, 2016 in Jerusalem.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's cabinet voted to expand his coalition and appoint hardliner Avigdor Lieberman as defence minister, bringing weeks of political intrigue -- and outrage -- towards a close.

How Liberman is positioning himself to lead Israeli right

Avigdor Liberman's strategy to take leadership of the Israeli right wing was on display at a recent Yisrael Beitenu meeting.

How Palestinian left hopes to renew political system

In an interview, Jamil Mezher, a member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine's' political bureau, told Al-Monitor that the division between Fatah and Hamas is preventing the renewal of the political system in Palestine.

Israeli Arabs hold posters to protest against the demolishing of their houses by Israeli bulldozers in the northern Israeli city of Qalansuwa, January 11, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2YJ68

Arab mayors consider strike as Israel razes houses

Israel's demolition of 11 homes in an Arab village has prompted its mayor to resign in only the first wave of outraged responses from the Arab-Israeli leadership, which has scheduled an emergency rally and is debating a mass resignation.

Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stands next to him during a visit to an army base in the West Bank settlement of Beit El near Ramallah January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2YAG3

Why Israel will not halt security coordination with PA

Although Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government threatened to cut ties with the Palestinian Authority following the passing of UN Security Council Resolution 2334, the move seems unlikely as both parties benefit from security coordination.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres delivers remarks during the Security Council meeting at the United Nations in New York City, U.S. January 10, 2017. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith - RTX2YCKQ

How new UN secretary-general plans to advance two-state process

The new UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres greatly believes in collective diplomacy, and intends to imply this concept to advancing a two-state process.

Head of the Palestinian Football Association Jibril Rajoub (2nd R) walks with anti-apartheid activist Tokyo Sexwale (R) past Israel's controversial barrier as they arrive for a news conference in the West Bank town of Al-Ram, near Jerusalem, May 7, 2015. Rajoub reinforced his call for Israel to be suspended from FIFA on Thursday, saying the Israeli Football Association was part of an "apartheid, racist government" that was damaging Palestinian soccer. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX1BZBF

Why FIFA paid close attention to UN anti-settlement resolution

The dispute within FIFA over the status of the West Bank received a major breakthrough with UN Security Council Resolution 2334. But will Israel heed the decision?