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Israel

June 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 6:02 am

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Former Israeli Chief of Staff Gadi Eizenkot gives a press conference in Tel Aviv, on December 4, 2018.

Can political novice Eisenkot defeat Netanyahu in upcoming elections?

The former military chief of staff is emerging as the prime minister's strongest rival in upcoming elections, overtaking former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in recent polls.

US President Donald Trump holds a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Palm Beach, Florida, Dec. 29, 2025.

Analysis

How Netanyahu used Lebanon strikes to push back on Trump’s Iran deal

The latest ceasefire in Lebanon leaves Netanyahu squeezed between Washington and domestic pressure.

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

Latest News

'Let Syria take care of Hezbollah': Trump criticizes Israel, leans on Sharaa to help in Lebanon

EVIAN-LES-BAINS, FRANCE - JUNE 16: U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a bilateral meeting with the Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on the sidelines of the G7 summit, on June 16, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France. Leaders from the Group of 7 (G7) countries convened in Evian, France, near the Swiss border, for their annual summit to discuss challenges to peace and security for Ukraine and Europe, the situation in the Middle East, and other geopolitical issues. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Get

Explainer

Ben-Gvir's move to run separately in Israel elections revives debate over party alliances

Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir takes part in the Jerusalem Day celebrations on May 14, 2026, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Analysis

'He knew it was over': Inside Netanyahu’s response to Trump’s Iran deal as Israel recalibrates

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

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

Analysis

Erdogan-Netanyahu war of words signals deeper rivalry for regional influence

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan received Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Turkish House in New York on Sept. 19, 2023.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

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

AN ULTRA-ORTHODOX JEWISH MAN BURNS FOOD CONTAINING LEAVENING IN THE MEA
SHEARIM NEIGHBOURHOOD OF JERUSALEM.

An Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man burns food containing leavening in the Mea
Shearim neighbourhood of Jerusalem prior to the start of the Passover
holiday April 16, 2003. Passover which begins this Wednesday evening with
the 'seder' dinner, is a week long holiday celebrating the exodus of the
Jews from Egypt. It is a time when religious Jews throughly clean their
homes and refrain from eating any food con

More Israelis living in poverty on eve of Passover

A special report by the state comptroller published the week before Passover reveals growing poverty, attributed to the new government’s public welfare cutbacks.

Russian President Vladimir Putin (R) and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu take part in a joint news conference in Moscow's Kremlin November 20, 2013. Putin said after talks that both sides hoped a "mutually acceptable resolution" could soon be found over Iran's nuclear ambitions. REUTERS/Maxim Shemetov (RUSSIA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15M32

Israel-Russia ties strong despite Ukraine

Both Israel and Russia value their growing strategic relationship.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (2nd L), flanked by Tzipi Livni (L), Israel's chief negotiator with the Palestinians, National Security Adviser Yaakov Amidror (3rd L) and Military Secretary Eyal Zamir, speaks with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (not pictured) during a meeting in Jerusalem June 29, 2013. Kerry extended his Middle East peace mission on Saturday, shuttling between Jerusalem and Amman for more talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders on reviving their stalled negotiations. REUT

Livni manages political fallout of failed peace talks

After another apparent failure in negotiations, Israeli chief negotiator Tzipi Livni wriggles out of giving real explanations for the fact that she continues to remain in the right-wing government, thus betraying her center-left constituents.

Preserved human skulls are seen on display at the Kigali Genocide Memorial Centre, as the country prepares to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the 1994 genocide in the Rwandan capital Kigali April 5, 2014. An estimated 800,000 people were killed in 100 days during this genocide. REUTERS/Noor Khamis (RWANDA - Tags: ANNIVERSARY CIVIL UNREST POLITICS) - RTR3K1VK

Israel, Rwanda build ties on shared experiences of genocide

Twenty years after the Rwandan genocide, Israel and Rwanda's relations reflect the changes each nation has undergone, with Rwanda taking after Israel in dealing with a genocide and building a promising future.

Palestinians leave the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, after Friday prayers in Jerusalem's Old City April 4, 2014. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday Washington was evaluating whether to continue its role in Middle East peace talks, signalling his patience with the Israelis and Palestinians was running out. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR3JXYO

Kerry has no excuse for failure in peace talks

The US secretary of state should now offer an accelerated timetable for the acceptance of Palestine as a member of the United Nations.

U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Samantha Power speaks during a Security Council meeting on the crisis in Ukraine, at the U.N. headquarters in New York March 3, 2014.
REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3G02N

Palestinians are right to go UN route

US aid to the Palestinians represents an ongoing effort to deny them access to the United Nations and thus statehood.

American-Israeli Ilan Grapel (C) poses for a photograph with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (3rd R), Israeli negotiator Yitzhak Molcho (2nd R), U.S ambassador to Israel Daniel Shapiro (R), Israeli Knesset member Yisrael Hasson (3rd L), U.S. Congressman Gary Ackerman (L) and Grapel's mother (2nd L) in Jerusalem in this handout picture released October 27, 2011 by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). Egypt released the American-Israeli it held as an alleged spy and Israel freed 25 Egyptians

Knesset member warns of Arab Spring in West Bank

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Kadima Knesset member and former Shin Bet official Israel Hasson warns of Israel's humiliating approach to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and predicts that if negotiations blow up: "The Arab Spring will get to the West Bank.''

A Palestinian Hamas supporter celebrates after Erdogan declared victory in local polls during a rally organised by Hamas movement in the northern Gaza Strip March 31, 2014. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan declared victory in local polls that had become a referendum on his rule and said he would "enter the lair" of enemies who have accused him of corruption and leaked state secrets. The Arabic words read "Turkey Justice and development forward". REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNRES

Hamas celebrates AKP win in Turkish elections

Hamas considers Turkey a vital ally and held rallies in celebration of the ruling Justice and Development Party's election victory.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a room overlooking the snow covered city of Jerusalem, during a meeting December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16GGI

Kerry's artificial negotiations

Secretary of State John Kerry's frustrations on the Middle East should not come as a surprise.

Secretary-General of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) Jose Angel Gurria (R) speaks during a news conference with Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid in Tel Aviv December 8, 2013. Gurria was in Israel on Sunday to present the organisation's 2013 report on Israel's economy. The Bank of Israel should prepare for interest rate increases once the global economy returns to normal, the OECD said. REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX169RU

Lapid goes after nepotism in government companies

Seven years after a state comptroller's report on nepotism, Finance Minister Yair Lapid imposes new regulations designed to reduce corruption in Israel's major public companies.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) welcomes Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in the West Bank city of Ramallah early December 31, 2013. Israel set free 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday as part of U.S.-brokered peace efforts, after pledging to press ahead with plans to build more homes in Jewish settlements. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16XON

Abbas falls into prisoner release trap

The release of Palestinian prisoners has been diverted from a trust-building measure to a decisive issue for the negotiations' advancement and for the credibility of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vis-a-vis his people.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Finance Minister Yair Lapid (back to camera) congratulate Israeli far-right leader Avigdor Lieberman after he was sworn in as Israel's Foreign Minister at the parliament in Jerusalem November 11, 2013. Lieberman was sworn in as foreign minister on Monday after his acquittal on corruption charges, a development that could further complicate peace talks with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX159MP

Israeli politicians easy targets on April Fools' Day

Facebook has become the platform for April Fools' Day hoaxes in Israel, where politicians are mocked on the background of social and security tensions.