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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 1, 2026

Tel Aviv 10:36 pm

25°C

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Exclusive

Rights, faith groups urge Congress to block $2.8B bomb sale to Israel

If the Trump administration moves forward with the transfer, dozens of groups are urging lawmakers to seek a joint resolution of disapproval.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Erik Marmor/Getty Images

West Bank settlers attack Israeli activists as Netanyahu claims 'hoax'

On Wednesday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the attention surrounding settler violence was a “tremendous hoax.”

Jack GUEZ / AFP via Getty Images

Israel-UAE flights disrupted as airlines plan rescue flights: What to know

Israeli carriers are preparing repatriation flights from Dubai starting on Friday, subject to security approval.

United Arab Emirates

MOHAMMED ATTAR/AFP via Getty Images

Explainer

FlyDubai incident recalls decades of Middle East airline hijackings: What to know

In 1968, the PFLP hijacked an El Al flight from Rome to Tel Aviv, marking the first political hijacking of an aircraft tied to the Middle East.

United Arab Emirates

Latest News

Explainer

FlyDubai incident spotlights key global link for Israeli travelers

Israelis pick up their luggage upon arrival from Tel Aviv to the Dubai airport in the United Arab Emirates, on Nov. 26, 2020, on the first scheduled commercial flight operated by budget airline flydubai.

Live Updates

FlyDubai flight lands in Tel Aviv after distress alert, Saudi diversion

Flydubai

Exclusive

Inside Netanyahu’s relentless push for meeting with UAE’s MBZ

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after speaking during the 81st United Nations General Assembly at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, on Sept. 24, 2026.

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

Ex-Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar to sue Netanyahu over Oct. 7 accusations: What to know

Ronen Bar, former chief of Israel's domestic Shin Bet security agency

Samuel Wendel

Senior Analyst, Middle East Business & Tech

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

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.

The flag-draped coffin of former Israeli President Shimon Peres is carried by an honour guard at the start of his funeral ceremony at Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSQ60B

Is Peres’ peace legacy turning to ashes?

Akiva Eldar and Daoud Kuttab reflect on the legacy of former Israeli president Shimon Peres, who Eldar says offered a "bit of hope" for peace; Al-Monitor credited for breaking news on delisting of Iranian banks.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) sits alongside European Council President Donald Tusk (L) as they attend the funeral of Shimon Peres, 93, on Mount Herzl Cemetery in Jerusalem, September 30, 2016. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTSQ58E

How Abbas proved his courage to Israelis

Criticism at home did not deter Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas from participating at the funeral of President Shimon Peres and demonstrating his commitment to peace.

Israeli President Shimon Peres gives a speech during a ceremony for late Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin at the Mount Herzl cemetery in Jerusalem October 16, 2013, marking 18 years since Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally. Rabin was shot dead on November 4, 1995 just two years after the signing of the Oslo peace accords, for which he and Peres were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize along with veteran Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat. REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY HE

Peres’ secret Marshall Plan for the Middle East

Shimon Peres, who died last week, as president worked relentlessly to engage Israel, the Palestinians, the Arab world and global high-tech companies in his Middle East Marshall Plan for turning the region into a peaceful technological powerhouse.