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Israel

June 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:44 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

People watch planes from the Israeli Air Force fly over Jerusalem during celebrations marking Israel's 63rd Independence Day in Jerusalem May 10, 2011. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: ANNIVERSARY MILITARY TRANSPORT) - RTR2M7SX

One Arab woman in Israel Independence Day event

Of 14 women, only one Arab will be among those participating in the traditional torch-lighting ceremony.

An Israeli Air Force F-15I jet is seen in the background as Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon (3rd R) speaks to reporters while standing next to Israel's armed forces chief Major-General Benny Gantz (R) and commander of Israel's Air Force Major-General Amir Eshel (4th R) during a presentation at Hatzerim air base in southern Israel April 30, 2013. Israel on Tuesday launched its first targeted attack on a militant in Gaza since a war in November, killing a Palestinian jihadist in an air strike that put f

Israel's defense minister speaks his mind about US

Defense Minister Moshe Ya'alon's urge to vent his frustration in public is harming US-Israel ties.

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov speaks during a joint news conference with Iraq's Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari in Baghdad February 20, 2014. REUTERS/Thaier al-Sudani (IRAQ - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX196LB

Look for more assertive Russia in Middle East

Unless there is a de-escalation of the crisis over Crimea, the Obama administration could expect to deal with a Russian president more willing to challenge US interests in the Middle East.

Palestinian Fatah supporters hold placards showing pictures of President Mahmoud Abbas (R) and late leader Yasser Arafat during a rally in support of Abbas in the West Bank village of Tubas near Jenin March 16, 2014. With pessimism growing over future of Middle East peace talks, U.S. President Barack Obama will meet Abbas in Washington on Monday to try to break stalemate. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HADW

Israeli deputy FM: Palestinians haven't budged 'a millimeter'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Deputy Foreign Minister Zeev Elkin claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is willing to pay a political price for advancing negotiations, unlike the Palestinian partners.

Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres welcomes US Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams prior to their meeting in Jerusalem. Israeli Vice Premier Shimon Peres (R) welcomes U.S. Deputy National Security Advisor Elliot Abrams (L) prior to their meeting in Jerusalem March 23, 2005. A parliamentary committee on Wednesday approved a bill for a referendum on Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from Gaza later this year, sending the legislation to parliament. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen - RTR5

Peace talks could benefit from implementing previous agreements

Advancing negotiations can be greatly assisted by trust-building measures, namely fulfilling older agreements signed between Israel and the Palestinians.

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Israeli Labor MP slams Lapid as 'crony capitalist'

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Labor Knesset member Merav Michaeli refreshes Israelis' minds about the Palestinian eagerness to reach an agreement and the European Union that offered Israel a relationship package which did not make it to the press, unlike the boycott talks.

An Israeli army officer speaks to a soldier who was wounded during an explosion as he is evacuated to hospital, in the northern city of Haifa March 18, 2014. A roadside bomb wounded four Israeli soldiers patrolling the occupied Golan Heights on Tuesday, and Israel retaliated with artillery fire on Syrian army positions, the army said. It was not clear who had planted the bomb in an area where the Syrian military, Lebanese Hezbollah guerrillas and Syrian rebels fighting President Bashar al-Assad all have a p

Israel sets new red lines with Syria

The Israeli government prefers that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces keep the Golan quiet, while making clear it will not tolerate any game-changing weapons transfers to Hezbollah.

Residents wait to receive food aid distributed by the U.N. Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) at the besieged al-Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus on January 31, 2014, in this handout picture made available to Reuters February 26, 2014. World powers have passed a landmark Security Council resolution demanding an end to restrictions on humanitarian operations in Syria, but aid workers doubt it has the punch to make Damascus grant access and let stuck convoys deliver vital supplies. The resolution called for the i

Israel's opportunity in Syria

Israel has an opportunity to pursue both humanitarian and strategic objectives in Syria, and to support the Arab Peace Initiative.

Israeli Housing Minister Uri Ariel speaks to reporters at a ceremony announcing the resumption of construction of an Israeli neighbourhood in East Jerusalem August 11, 2013. Israel moved forward on Sunday with plans to build nearly 1,200 new homes for Jewish settlers holding fast to a defiant settlement policy just days before its expected release of Palestinian prisoners. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX12HFR

Minister's Temple Mount visits provoke Palestinians

The provocations of Housing Minister Uri Ariel force his party chairman Naftali Bennett and other members of the coalition to veer to the right, dragging Prime Minister Netanyahu with them.

Tunnel workers sit outside a smuggling tunnel on the border between Egypt and the southern Gaza Strip February 17, 2014. Voices of construction workers and the noise from their tools used to ring out in Gaza's streets. Now hulks of unfinished buildings stand in eerie silence, and the idle builders are left to worry how to make ends meet. An Egyptian-Israeli blockade on Gaza, run by the Hamas Islamist movement, has left industry and construction gasping for resources, pushing unemployment to dizzying heights

Hamas budget shows another tough year ahead for Gaza

The Hamas government budget for 2014 is full of ambitious targets that most likely will not be met because of the current crisis and blockade.

Riot police stand guard during a demonstration near the Israeli embassy in Amman March 14, 2014. Jordanians demonstrated on Friday to urge the government to shut the Israeli embassy and scrap its unpopular peace treaty with the Jewish state after a Jordanian judge was shot dead by an Israeli soldier at a border crossing. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3H4D8

Anti-Israel anger rising in Jordan after judge's killing

Protests in Jordan against Israel’s killing of a Palestinian-Jordanian judge have reached unprecedented levels, giving Amman the chance to readdress discrepancies in its treaty with Israel.

A girl with a flag draped over her shoulders watches as people gather for a demonstration over the capture of senior al Qaeda figure Abu Anas al-Liby by U.S. authorities, in Benghazi October 11, 2013. Libyan citizen Al-Liby, whose real name is Nazih al-Ragye, is a suspect in the 1998 bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 civilians. Since his capture in Tripoli last week, he has been held aboard a Navy ship in the Mediterranean where an elite team of American interrogators is quest

Israel addresses terrorist threat from Africa

Israel cannot actively fight extreme Muslim terror groups in Africa, but it can join the global development policy designed to combat poverty and the spread of these groups in the long term.