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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 12, 2026

Tel Aviv 11:06 am

28°C

The British Consulate General in east Jerusalem represents the British government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza during a protest against the recently announced British sanctions, aimed at economic activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, on Sept. 14, 2026, in Jerusalem.

Explainer

Israel-UK relations hit new low over settlements, Gaza: What to know

Despite Britain’s ban on goods from Israeli settlements and Israel’s closure of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, both countries are seeking to keep communication channels open.

GRAND ISLAND, NEBRASKA - OCTOBER 05: U.S. President Donald Trump wraps up an appearance at a campaign rally at Pinnacle Bank Expo Center on the Nebraska State Fairgrounds on October 05, 2026 in Grand Island, Nebraska. Trump is campaigning for incumbent U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts (R-NE) and Gov. Jim Pillen ahead of the November midterm elections. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Analysis

Deal or war? Israel fears fallout from Trump’s next move on Iran

Israel is struggling to decipher the White House’s intentions toward Iran, given Washington's contradictions around launching a fresh military campaign.

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

Passengers board a flydubai flight, bound for Dubai, before taking off from Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on Sept. 30, 2026.

Mossad, Shin Bet in UAE: What we know about Israel’s FlyDubai probe

The National Security Council is probing foreign carrier security protocols, while police investigate two senior Transportation Ministry officials suspected of providing private services for aviation companies.

Latest News

Why Netanyahu still resists an independent probe 3 years after Oct. 7

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu lays a wreath during the state memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of the Oct. 7 attack, at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, Oct. 5, 2026.

West Bank olive harvest begins amid settler attacks on Palestinians, groves

Palestinian men sitting in and by a tractor look on after another man was injured by gunfire whilst being chased away by Israeli forces, in Aqraba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct. 6, 2026.

Analysis

Three years after Oct. 7, Hamas’ grip on Gaza tests Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the state memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of Oct. 7 attack, at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, Oct. 5, 2026.

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

Israel bars UK Greens leader over Zionism-racism resolution: What to know

Green Party leader Zack Polanski delivers his speech during day one of the Green Party annual conference at Brighton Centre on Oct. 2, 2026, in Brighton, England.

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

AppleMark

US Rep. Keith Ellison Calls For Obama-Rouhani Summit

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Ellison says, “If the United States had direct negotiations with Iran, the first item should be stopping the bloodshed in Syria.”

Gila Molcho, sister of Ian Feinberg, who was killed in 1993 by Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, speaks on the phone while holding a framed portrait of Feinberg, during a protest against the government's plan to free Palestinian prisoners, in Tel Aviv August 12, 2013. Israel on Monday named 26 Palestinian prisoners, one of them convicted of killing Feinberg, to be freed this week under a deal enabling U.S.-backed peace talks to resume, although Palestinians said these had been undermined by newly announced pl

Will Release of Palestinians Who Killed Israelis Bring Peace?

How can the release of the Palestinian prisoners who murdered Israeli peace activist Ian Feinberg promote peace negotiations between the two sides?

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

New Housing Units No Obstacle To Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations

The new tenders for construction in the settlements were intended to provide the Israeli right with an imaginary achievement, allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue negotiations.

Israeli parliament employees set up a Palestinian flag (L) next to an Israeli one as they prepare ahead of a meeting between Israeli parliament members and a delegation of Palestinian politicians and businessmen, aimed at encouraging Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem July 31, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian negotiators on Tuesday gave themselves about nine months to try reach an agreement on ending their conflict of more than six decades in U.S.-brokered pe

Israeli-Palestinian Peace Process Faces Enormous Challenges

As long as the US is not playing a forceful role, there will be numerous difficulties that could prevent the Palestinian-Israeli negotiation process from successfully moving forward.

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

Israel's Settlement Plan Threatens Talks Before They Begin

Israel's decision to approve more settlements only adds to the widely held view that it is not interested in peace with the Palestinians.

A man hangs pictures of (from R to L) Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, founder of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and Lebanon's Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, near
the site of an explosion in Beirut's southern suburbs, July 9, 2013. A car bomb exploded on Tuesday in a Beirut stronghold district of the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group that has been fighting in Syria's civil war, wounding at least 38 people, a hospital official told Reuters. REUTERS/Khalil Hassan (L

Iran's Ties to Hezbollah Unchanged

Although there are expectations of a more moderate approach to foreign affairs under Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, Iran's relations with Hezbollah will remain the same.

An Israeli soldier cleans the barrel of a tank near the border with Syria in the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights July 17, 2013. Syria's civil war has brought an end to decades of calm on the Golan Heights, a strip of land which Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war. Battles between rebels fighting against President Bashar al-Assad's forces in Syrian villages nearby are being watched intensely by Israel's military. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS MILITARY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX11P94

Israel Prepares for Next War With Hezbollah

The Israel Defense Forces is watching with concern as Hezbollah improves its military capabilities in Syria.

Eitan Cabel, an Israeli minister without portfolio and member of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's cabinet, holds a news conference in Tel Aviv May 1, 2007. Cabel announced he was stepping down on Tuesday, opening the first crack in Israel's government after the prime minister vowed to ride out a scathing reprimand by an inquiry into last year's costly Lebanon war. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL) - RTR1P7RE

Israel’s Labor Party Splits Again

Knesset member Eitan Cabel says Labor Party leader Shelly Yachimovich must go.

A Jewish ultranationalist shouts slogans in front of Israeli police during a rally in Nazareth, Israel's largest Arab town, calling to draft Israeli Arabs July 15, 2012. Military service is a rite of passage for most Israelis, who view the army as a core element of national identity. That is where the problem starts for many Arabs, who associate more closely with the Palestinians and feel alienated in a country created in 1948 that defines itself as a Jewish state. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITIC

Mayor of Upper Nazareth on Mission To Rid City of Arabs

Embattled Upper Nazareth Mayor Shimon Gapso is running his campaign for reelection on expelling the city's Arab residents.

A section of the controversial Israeli barrier snakes around Shuafat refugee camp (R) in the West Bank near Jerusalem July 27, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials put forward clashing formats for peace talks due to resume in Washington on Monday for the first time in nearly three years after intense U.S. mediation. It is unclear how the United States hopes to bridge the core issues in the dispute, including borders, the future of Jewish settlements on the West Bank, the fate of Palestinian refugees and

Is Normalization Possible Before Israel Ends the Occupation?

The resumption of peace talks has again raised the question of whether a people-to-people track should be pursued to boost the chances of peace.

Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman (C), Lebanon's Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, Prime Minister-designate Tammam Salam (L) and Lebanon's caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati (R) attend a graduation parade for Lebanese officer cadets at a military academy in Fayadyeh, near Beirut, marking the 68th Army Day, August 1, 2013. REUTERS/Sharif Karim (LEBANON - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY MILITARY) - RTX126UK

Lebanon-Israel Border Incident Tests UNIFIL-Hezbollah Ties

Following the Israeli military’s violation of the UN Blue Line this week, the reactions of both UNIFIL and Hezbollah may provide a litmus test for their relationship.

An African migrant sleeps in a playground at Levinsky park in South Tel Aviv June 12, 2012. About 60,000 Africans have crossed into Israel across its porous border with Egypt in recent years. Israel says the vast majority are job seekers, disputing arguments by humanitarian agencies that they should be considered for asylum. Picture taken June 12, 2012. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTR33VHH

Israelis Divided on African Immigrants

The African immigrant community sparks bitter disputes within Israeli society between those who sympathize with their hardships and those who advocate their deportation.