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

Israel cover image

Israel

June 25, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:59 am

22°C

Congressional candidate Claire Valdez, Congressional candidate Brad Lander, Mayor Zohran Mamdani, and Congressional candidate Darializa Avila Chevalier raise their hands during a Get Out the Vote (GOTV) rally at King's Theater on June 18, 2026 in New York City.

Explainer

Pro-Palestine Democrats win in NYC elections: What it means

According to a recent survey, 80% of Democrats expressed an unfavorable view of Israel, yet party leadership in the House and Senate has remained largely aligned with longstanding US support for Israel.

Lebanese army forces deploy in the village of Bir al-Salasel in southern Lebanon on June 15, 2026. Iran's foreign ministry on June 15 said the US must ensure that Israel commits to stopping the war in Lebanon under a deal agreed upon with the US to end the Middle East war. Lebanon was pulled into the conflict in early March when Iran-backed militant group Hezbollah launched rocket attacks on Israel in retaliation for the killing of Iran's supreme leader, prompting Israeli strikes and a ground invasion. (Pho

Analysis

Pilot zones at center of Israel-Lebanon talks as Trump pressures Netanyahu

With the fifth round of talks set to begin Tuesday, Israel is prepared to withdraw from at least one “pilot zone,” allowing the Lebanese army to take control of the area.

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

Smoke rises following an Israeli airstrike in Tyre, Lebanon, on June 9, 2026.

Analysis

As US reshapes Lebanon strategy, Israel finds itself sidelined

The deal advanced between Washington and Tehran sees a linkage between the Iranian and Lebanese theaters and creates a deconfliction mechanism — without consulting Israel beforehand.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Latest News

Can political novice Eisenkot defeat Netanyahu in upcoming elections?

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

Analysis

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

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

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

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

Israeli border police run in front of Dome of the Rock during a protest after Friday prayers at a compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City February 22, 2013. Palestinian protesters have said they fear for the life of Samer al-Issawi, who has been on intermittent hunger strike for over 200 days, and three other hunger strikers jailed by Israel. Their cases have been at the centre of intensified clashes with Israeli soldiers throughout the Israeli-oc

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef 'Was Willing To Give Back the Temple Mount'

David Glass, Shas Party legal adviser, reveals in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor that Rabbi Ovadia Yosef preferred peace to land in dealing with the Palestinians.

DAVOS, Switzerland: Tel Aviv University President Itamar Rabinovich speaks at the "Breaking the Vicious Circle of the Arab-Israeli Conflict" conference, 25 January 2004 at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos. AFP PHOTO Eric FEFERBERG (Photo credit should read ERIC FEFERBERG/AFP/Getty Images)

Rabinovitch Says Israel Benefits From US-Russia Deal on Syria

Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, says Israel benefited from the chemical weapons agreement with Syria, but warns of a weakening US position relative to Russia in the region.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men mourn during the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, the spiritual leader of the ultra-religious Shas political party, in Jerusalem October 7, 2013. More than half a million mourners turned out on Monday for the funeral of Yosef, an Iraqi-born sage who transformed an Israeli underclass of Sephardic Jews of Middle East heritage into a powerful political force. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION OBITUARY) - RTX1431P

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef's Funeral And the Secular Media

The massive attendance at the funeral of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef reflects the changes he brought upon Israeli society by building up the political power of Israeli Sephardi Jews.

A student studying in Syria carries his luggage as he crosses through the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, as seen from the Israeli side of the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights July 11, 2013. A spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross said 23 students, mostly from the Druze community, crossed into the Golan Heights from Syria at Quneitra on Thursday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTX11JTW

Golan Heights Students Return To Syria Despite War

Despite the war in Syria, some students from the Golan Heights are still crossing back into Syria to continue their university studies.

Iranian women, wearing jeans, shop in Tehran on October 7, 2013. A campaign launched by young Iranians on internet networking sites Facebook and Twitter were mocking Israeli President Benjamin Netayahu following his comments during an interview diffused on October 5, in which he implied there is a supposed ban on wearing jeans and listening to Western music in the Islamic Republic. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Iranians React With Anger To Netanyahu Comments

While many Western-oriented Iranians mocked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's comments about Iranians not having access to blue jeans, others seemed most angered by his threats to bomb Iran and push for more sanctions.

A YOUNG SUPPORTER OF SHAS PARTY SMILES BEHIND POSTERS OF RABBI JOSEF
OVADIA DURING ELECTIONS RALLY IN ASHDOD. - RTRGS9Y

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef: An Israeli Revolutionary

Rabbi Ovadia Yosef, who died on Oct. 7, led a social revolution for equality and integration that is yet to achieve its goals.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal looks at his watch before his interview with Reuters in Doha November 29, 2012. Meshaal said the de facto recognition of a sovereign Palestinian state won by his rival Mahmoud Abbas should be seen alongside Gaza's latest conflict with Israel as a single, bold strategy that could empower all Palestinians. Meshaal said the short war which claimed 162 Palestinian lives and five Israelis was concluded on terms set by the Palestinian Islamist movement and ended its isolation, creating

Hamas Activists Accuse Meshaal Of Preferring Life in Exile

Rumors about Hamas Chief of Political Bureau Khaled Meshaal leaving Qatar for Beirut have sparked criticism within the movement toward those exiled leaders who refuse to return to Gaza.

Israeli Society Corrupted by Occupation

Daniel Bar-Tal and Izhak Schnell have assembled articles by more than 20 Israeli researchers who describe the negative effects of the occupation and their impact on Israeli society.

Surrogate mothers (L-R) Daksha, 37, Renuka, 23, and Rajia, 39, pose for a photograph inside a temporary home for surrogates provided by Akanksha IVF centre in Anand town, about 70 km (44 miles) south of the western Indian city of Ahmedabad August 27, 2013. India is a leading centre for surrogate motherhood, partly due to Hinduism's acceptance of the concept. The world's second test tube baby was born in Kolkata only two months after Louise Brown in 1978. Rising demand from abroad for Indian surrogate mother

Israel, 'Reproductive Superpower'

While Israel is considered a “reproductive superpower,” Germany is facing a declining birthrate, where women willingly choose career over motherhood.

Jordanian Band's Israel-Palestine Tour Causes Uproar

A tour that will take the Jordanian band Autostrad to Israel, as well as the occupied territories, has reignited a sensitive debate on Arab visits to Israel.

Hugi pic.jpg

Israel Remembers Vows of Soldier For Comrades in Golan

Vows by Dan Almagor during the Tel Saki battle were transformed 40 years later into a memorial site for the Israeli soldiers who died there.

A view shows damaged buildings in Aleppo's Karm al-Jabal district October 6, 2013. REUTERS/Nour Kelze (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3FNSO

Syrian Islamist Forces Gain in Aleppo

Divisions among Syrian opposition groups may be hindering Geneva II.