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Israel

June 23, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:22 pm

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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

Men wearing shirts with the Star of David march during a parade of
international Christian Zionist groups in the city centre of Jerusalem
on September 24, 2002. The Israeli army killed nine Palestinians
Tuesday in one of its biggest raids in the Gaza Strip and faced
international isolation over its siege of Yasser Arafat's base after
the U.N. Security Council said it must stop. REUTERS/Reinhard Krause

RKR/AH - RTRB0IQ

Christian Zionism criticized at evangelical conference

Leading evangelical theologians scrutinized the biblical arguments Christian Zionists use to justify their unwavering support for Israel.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (R) and Secretary-General of Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) Dmitry Mezentsev show signed documents granting Turkey a partner status in SCO, in Almaty April 26, 2013. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXZ0S8

Erdogan turns East

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has tired of joining Europe, and aspires to "Putinize" Turkey not only by veering toward Muslim Asia but also by joining the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

An Islamic Jihad militant stands guard near a military base that was targeted in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 13, 2014. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israeli cities on Thursday in the second day of a cross-border flare-up that has drawn Israeli warnings of a tough military response. The Israeli military carried out 29 air strikes and fired tank shells at militant targets in the Gaza Strip on Wednesday after the Islamic Jihad group launched

Hamas a spectator in latest Gaza-Israel clash

Hamas allowed Islamic Jihad to fire rockets at Israel in the vain hope Egypt would communicate directly with Gaza's rulers to restore the cease-fire.

Israeli onlookers survey the damage caused by a rocket which was fired from the Gaza Strip and landed in the southern Israeli town of Sderot March 12, 2014. Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip fired at least 20 rockets into Israel on Wednesday, the Israeli military said, in the heaviest such barrage in two years. REUTERS/Ilan Assayag (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) ISRAEL OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN ISRAEL - RTR3GSN7

PIJ rockets remind Israelis of failure of Gaza withdrawal

Though Israel possesses the best military means in the region, when attacked by rockets, its hands are tied, unable to retaliate forcefully, and the Israeli population is growing more and more skeptical about the worth of an agreement.

British Prime Minister David Cameron (C) shakes hands with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as Knesset Speaker Yuli Edelstein (R) looks on, at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, in Jerusalem March 12, 2014. Cameron denounced Iran's government as a "despotic regime" in a speech to Israel's parliament on Wednesday and accused Tehran of making "despicable" efforts to arm Palestinian militants. REUTERS/Jim Hollander/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3GSKY

UK prime minister stands before broken Knesset

David Cameron's speech in the Knesset was lost within the battle at the plenum for three major bills, with the opposition boycotting the hastened debates and the public not understanding the significant issues at play.

A Palestinian man gestures as he inspects the scene of an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern of Gaza Strip March 14, 2014. A small armed faction in the Gaza Strip fired rockets at Israel on Thursday, drawing retaliatory air strikes and pushing cross-border violence into a third day despite a truce called by the more powerful Palestinian group Islamic Jihad. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3H1MY

Gaza residents fear new war

Civilians queue at bakeries and stock up on food in fear of a new war with Israel.

A Palestinian girl walks past a monument of a homemade M75 rocket in the middle of a square in Gaza City March 10, 2014. Hamas fired M75 rockets at Tel Aviv and Jerusalem in the 2012 eight-day fighting with Israel. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GEHZ

Hamas trapped between Israel, Islamic Jihad

While committed to keeping a quiet border with Israel, Hamas leaders fear the alliance between Iran and Islamic Jihad, and prefer Israel’s wrath to Iran’s anger.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish boy looks down from a balcony at a mass prayer in Jerusalem March 2, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews held a mass prayer in Jerusalem on Sunday in protest against a bill meant to slash military exemptions granted to seminary students, a tradition held since the founding of Israel. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION MILITARY) - RTR3FWP4

Israeli opposition fails to oppose controversial bills

The opposition parties' boycotting Knesset debates this week on three controversial bills is a failure for Israel's democratic process.

Students and visitors of the Bialik Rogozin school dress up as they take part in celebrations ahead of the Jewish holiday of Purim in south Tel Aviv March 18, 2011. The school, where children of migrant workers and refugees from 48 states learn alongside native Israelis, was recently featured in a short documentary which won an Oscar. Purim is a celebration of the Jews' salvation from genocide in ancient Persia, as recounted in the Book of Esther. REUTERS/Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR2K1

Israeli parents protest sexy Purim costumes for kids

Israeli parents' complaints against the growing phenomenon of sexy Purim carnival costumes for children have driven manufacturers to change the language of their newspaper ads.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men stand around a car during a mass prayer in Jerusalem March 2, 2014. Hundreds of thousands of ultra-Orthodox Jews held a mass prayer in Jerusalem on Sunday in protest at a bill that would cut their community's military exemptions and end a tradition upheld since Israel's foundation. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3FWQW

What lies behind ultra-Orthodox embrace of Labor leader?

Shas Party Chairman Aryeh Deri’s announcement of support for Isaac Herzog in his run for prime minister may be just spin, but it does reflect the deep political shifts underway among the ultra-Orthodox.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks to the media in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGS8

Netanyahu gets bounce from Iranian arms shipment

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's media campaign over the capture of the weapons shipment passed unnoticed by the foreign press, but reinforced his status in Israeli public opinion as "Mr. Security."

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) and Defense Minister Moshe Yaalon sit in front of a display of M302 rockets, found aboard the Klos C ship, at a navy base in the Red Sea resort city of Eilat March 10, 2014. Netanyahu, displaying on Monday what Israel said were seized Iranian-supplied missiles bound for militants in Gaza, called on the West not to be fooled by Tehran's diplomatic outreach over its nuclear programme. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3GGUG

Israel fears it has lost world attention on Iran

Israeli defense officials estimate that Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps are behind the weapons vessel captured last week.