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May 20, 2026

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NICOSIA, CYPRUS - APRIL 24: Syrian President Ahmed al-Sharaa arrives for an informal meeting of European Union leaders on April 24, 2026 in Nicosia, Cyprus. The EU heads of state and government are meeting over two days to discuss the conflict in Iran and the Middle East, including freedom of navigation in the Strait of Hormuz, the effects of high fuel prices, and how Europe may contribute to de-escalation and a peace agreement. (Photo by Byron Smith/Getty Images)

Syria's Sharaa renews ban on Israeli imports in customs law: What to know

The renewal comes even as Damascus pursues US-backed security talks with Israel aimed at reducing tensions along the border.

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.

Somaliland's first ambassador to Israel announces embassy in Jerusalem: What to know

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

A bride and group couple rides in a military jeep arriving for a public mass wedding ceremony at Imam Hossein Square in Tehran on May 18, 2026. Iran said on May 18 that it had responded to a new US proposal aimed at ending the war, adding that diplomatic exchanges continue despite Iranian media reports describing Washington's demands as excessive. Washington and Tehran have been swapping proposals in an effort to end the conflict which the US and Israel launched on February 28, but they have held only a sin

Analysis

Israel pushes for full Iran blockade as it awaits Trump's next move

Israel’s preferred strategy, sources told Al-Monitor, calls for a comprehensive naval, economic, land and air blockade of Iran, alongside tighter sanctions and covert activity aimed at destabilizing the regime.

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

Men gather around the husk of a destroyed pickup truck that was driven by a local shepherd who was reportedly struck by Israeli forces and buried by locals at a grave nearby, in the Najaf desert in southwestern Iraq, on May 12, 2026.

What we know about secret Israeli bases in Iraq

Iraqi authorities have said there are no longer any hostile forces operating in its territory.

Latest News

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

talks

Analysis

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

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.

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

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

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

Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip hours after a rocket launched from the Palestinian enclave hit the Israeli border town of Sderot, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTSQVVB

Will Salafi groups trigger Israel-Hamas clash?

Salafi groups have adopted the tactic of firing rockets at Israel in an attempt to weaken Hamas by pushing it into a military confrontation with Israel.

Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip hours after a rocket launched from the Palestinian enclave hit the Israeli border town of Sderot, as seen from the Israeli side of the border with Gaza October 5, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTSQVVG

Has Israel’s defense minister given up on toppling Hamas?

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman seems to have realized that attacking Hamas targets in retaliation for rocket fire from rogue groups could damage the organization’s efforts to contain those elements.

Israel's President Shimon Peres attends a session at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos in this January 28, 2010 file photo. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/Files - RTSPRKZ

How Peres' funeral highlighted rift among Israeli Arabs

Despite a boycott of late President Shimon Peres' funeral by Arab Knesset members, several Arab-Israeli regional council heads and mayors paid a condolence visit to his family, to wide public approval.

Ayelet Shaked, Israel's new Justice Minister of the far-right Jewish Home party, speaks during a ceremony at the Justice Ministry in Jerusalem May 17, 2015. Shaked said on Sunday she would seek a new balance that would rein in the powers of the Supreme Court over parliament and the government, a policy critics fear would restrict judicial oversight. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool - RTX1DBE4

Can Israel's becoming more Jewish make it more democratic?

Justice Minister Ayelet Shaked's claim that the more Jewish Israel becomes, the more democratic it will be, actually challenges the Zionist idea of Israel as a Jewish and democratic state.

A general view shows houses in Shvut Rachel, a West Bank Jewish settlement located close to the Jewish settlement of Shilo, near Ramallah October 6, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSR12I

Will PA wait for US elections to submit new UN resolution?

Palestinians are not convinced by the Palestinian Authority's justifications for delaying a UN Security Council resolution condemning Israeli settlement activity.

Israeli Health Minister Yaakov Litzman speaks during a briefing to members of the media on the medical condition of former Israeli President Shimon Peres a day after he suffered a stroke, at a hospital near Tel Aviv, Israel September 14, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSNPU9

Why secular Israelis love an ultra-Orthodox minister

Ultra-Orthodox Health Minister Yaakov Litzman might not have Facebook or Twitter accounts, but through a series of nonpartisan reforms in the health system, he has managed to capture the hearts of both religious and secular Israelis.

U.S President Barack Obama eulogises former Israeli President Shimon Peres as his flag-draped coffin is seen nearby, during his funeral ceremony at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTSQ5HB

Speeches and eulogies won’t advance Israeli-Palestinian peace

American presidents have made historic speeches about the Middle East, and have delivered inspiring eulogies at the funerals of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and President Shimon Peres — but all that has not brought peace any closer.

Chemi Peres (C), son of former Israeli President Shimon Peres delivers the announcment of his father's death in a hospital in Ramat Gan, Israel September 28, 2016. REUTERS/ Baz Ratner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSPRZ2

Who could replace Peres?

The late President Shimon Peres is irreplaceable, but one of three people — his son Chemi Peres, former Chief of Staff Gabi Ashkenazi or former Chief of Staff Benny Gantz — could go on from where Peres left off.

Iran emerges as a top issue in tight congressional races

The pro-Iran deal J Street is spending $500,000 to unseat nuclear deal opponents.

Isaac Herzog (C), co-leader of the Zionist Union party, walks past a Likud party campaign poster, that depicts Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, as he arrives to address college students in Jerusalem March 10, 2015. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun/File Photo - RTSEUAJ

Is Israel's Labor Party dead?

Zionist Camp leader Isaac Herzog keeps denying reports by which he is negotiating with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the possibility of joining the government.

Jordanian protesters carry the Jordanian national flag, and chant slogans during a protest against a government agreement to import natural gas from Israel, in Amman, Jordan, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed - RTSQ7CS

Jordanians fuming over gas deal with Israel

Jordanians have taken to the streets in opposition to a deal quietly reached between Jordan and Israel to supply the kingdom with energy, with critics saying the agreement will validate and increase reliance on Israel.

A Palestinian policeman stands guard as a truck loaded with fruits and vegetables waits to cross into the Israeli side of the Kerem Shalom crossing in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip March 12, 2015. Israel imported its first fruit and vegetables from the Gaza Strip in almost eight years on Thursday, in a partial easing of an economic blockade maintained since the Islamist group Hamas seized control of the Palestinian territory. Twenty-seven tonnes of tomatoes and five tonnes of eggplants were trucked acro

Israel's 'death sentence' for Gaza's economy

Israel has been revoking the travel and import permits of Gaza merchants and importers, threatening the collapse of Gaza's economy.