Israel - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Israel cover image

Israel

May 20, 2026

Tel Aviv 6:06 am

20°C

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

RAMALLAH, -: Palestinian women hold up banners reading "No to killing, yes to life" as they demonstrate against the "crimes of honor" in some traditional and rural Palestinian communities in which female vitue and virginity still defines a family's reputation, 10 September 2005 in Ramallah. Honor killing in some Arab societies occurrs when women accused in sexual misconduct are murdered by close relatives who are encourged by their families to "cleanse" the honor of the family that has been "disgraced." AF

How activists are confronting contract killings of Israeli Arab women

Activists within the Israeli Arab sector warn of growing violence and the murder of women, with five Israeli Arab women killed so far in 2016.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) takes a seat next to Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (bottom) as Defence Minister Ehud Barak walks to deliver a statement in Jerusalem November 21, 2012. Netanyahu hinted on Wednesday that if an Egyptian-brokered truce with Islamist militants in Gaza did not work Israel would consider "more severe military action" against the Palestinian territory. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT) - RTR3APHV

Why criticism from former PM Barak rattles Netanyahu

A recent tweet by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak could portend the next big challenge to Benjamin Netanyahu's grip on power.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu departs after meeting with Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York, U.S. September 25, 2016. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSPE08

Likud cheers as Netanyahu returns, but polls tell another story

The Israeli prime minister's triumphant return from New York was topped off by the Likud's festive New Year celebration, leaving Benjamin Netanyahu feeling stronger than ever — at least within his own party.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers remarks at the Hudson Institute's Herman Kahn Award Ceremony at the Plaza Hotel in Manhattan, New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly - RTSP1VO

Why is Congress fighting Netanyahu’s battle?

US senators are pressuring the Obama administration to follow policies toward the Palestinians that match those favored by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTSOTEX

Obama and Israel: It ain’t over till it’s over

Those close to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu fear that if Donald Trump wins the elections, President Barack Obama will use the time left before the end of his term to launch a diplomatic initiative on the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.

Culture minister steals show by blasting Israeli Oscars

When Arab-Israeli actors read a poem and held hands in a show of unity at Israel’s Academy Awards, a protesting Culture Minister Miri Regev walked out and returned to criticize the film industry’s “elitism” and threaten to cut funding.

Israel's Culture Minister Miri Regev arrives to the weekly cabinet meeting in Jerusalem June 21, 2015. REUTERS/Dan Balilty/Pool - RTX1HFQD

Can Israel's culture minister provoke her way to the top?

Culture Minister Miri Regev has perfected a strategy of deliberately outraging Israeli audiences to boost her standing within her party.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S., September 22, 2016. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson - RTSOZTX

Abbas disappoints, again, with UN speech

President Mahmoud Abbas' speech to the UN General Assembly showed that he has no credible strategy for obtaining Palestinian statehood.

Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid (C) walks with supporters as he campaigns in the southern city of Ashdod March 15, 2015. The era of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is ending, with Israeli voters clearly more concerned about economic and social issues than about security or fears over Iran, Lapid said on Monday. Lapid, a telegenic former news anchor and TV host, leads the centrist, secular Yesh Atid party ("There's a Future"), which emerged out of the cost-of-living protests that swept Israel in 2011. Picture

Could a centrist politician be Israel's next PM?

Yesh Atid head Yair Lapid is working to attract the support of the Israeli political center, but it seems that he is not the only one aiming at this constituency.

Fuad Maadi (R), a 60-year-old Palestinian man, speaks with Gilad Grossman of Israeli rights group Yesh Din, on September 11, 2016, as he stands on a hill in the West Bank Christian village of Taybeh overlooking land he says his family owns and on which houses from the nearby wildcat Jewish settlement of Amona might be relocated.
An Israeli court has ruled that the wildcat Jewish settlement of Amona, where live around 40 families in mainly caravan homes, is on Palestinian property and must be evacuated by De

Palestinians fight to prove West Bank land ownership

Palestinians living in villages near the illegal outpost of Amona are fighting to prove their ownership of the land where a pro-settler campaign is planning to establish its new location.

A Palestinian woman hangs a torch inside her house during power cuts at Shatti (beach) refugee camp in Gaza City September 15, 2015. Power has been provided to different areas in the impoverished coastal territory in six-hour shifts as Gaza's lone power plant shut its generators on Saturday due to a fuel shortage, energy officials said. Electricity is also supplied to the Gaza grid through power lines from Israel and Egypt. Gaza's plant provides electricity to two-thirds of its population. REUTERS/Mohammed

Why some Palestinians don't trust new electricity deal with Israel

The Palestinian Authority and Israel signed an agreement to partially solve the electricity problem Palestinians have been suffering from for years.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi addresses the United Nations General Assembly in the Manhattan borough of New York, U.S. September 20, 2016. REUTERS/Eduardo Munoz - RTSOOE8

Will 1967 Palestinian refugees ever return?

The Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty may have been good for the two parties, but it has also been used to prevent Palestinians displaced in 1967 from returning to their homes.