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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 13, 2026

Tel Aviv 9:36 pm

25°C

A giant electoral poster for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party with the slogan "no surrender" is displayed on the facade of a building in Tel Aviv on Sept. 29, 2026

Exclusive

In bid to win over Saudi Arabia, Netanyahu may strike Yemen before elections

Attacks on Iran or its Yemeni proxy before the elections cannot be ruled out, but the Israeli prime minister appears more inclined to support Saudi Arabia against the Houthis in Yemen.

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

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

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

Israeli soldiers hold flags before placing them on the graves of fallen soldiers during a ceremony at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem, ahead of Memorial Day, April 10, 2013. Israel commemorates its fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, which begins Sunday night. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY CONFLICT) - RTXYGCO

Israeli Defense Budget Under Attack

Israeli ministers Yair Lapid and Naftali Bennett, champions of the social justice movement, face a challenge responding to the defense establishment campaign against budget cutbacks, writes Mazal Mualem.

A Palestinian stands on a section of the Pilgrimage Route, the path which tradition says Joseph and Mary took into the West Bank city of Bethlehem in their trek from Nazareth some 2,000 years ago, June 28, 2012. Palestinians hope to persuade UNESCO this weekend to declare parts of Bethlehem, including the Pilgrimage Route, and its Church of the Nativity endangered World Heritage sites in order to expedite funding for repairs. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR34AO6

Mayor Plans to Limit Arab Growth in Nazareth

Mayor Shimon Gapso tells Daniel Ben Simon he intends to limit the proportion of Arab residents in Upper Nazareth.

A view shows the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem in this picture taken December 4, 2012. Israel risks sleep walking into a crisis with its allies over relentless settlement-building in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem unless it realises that the international anger is genuine and adjusts its course. Picture taken December 4, 2012. To match Analysis ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/ISOLATION REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DF7C

Inside the Israeli Settlement Enterprise

The illegal outpost Adei Ad in the West Bank illustrates the methods used by settlers, backed by the state, to take over Palestinian lands, writes Akiva Eldar.

A general view shows the newsroom at the headquarters of the Qatar-based Al Jazeera English-language channel in Doha February 7, 2011. As much as CNN capitalized on its coverage of the 1990-91 Gulf War, Al Jazeera English has won praise for its on-the-spot reporting and context about the Egyptian protests. It will be talking to U.S. cable operators about deals "in the coming days and weeks," Al Anstey, managing director of Al Jazeera's English-language service said in a telephone interview from Qatar. REUTE

Former IDF Spokesman: Israel Needs Its Own 'Al Jazeera' TV

Former IDF spokesperson and Knesset member Nachman Shai explains, in an interview with Mazal Mualem, why Israel fails again and again in the media-diplomacy battlefield.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (R) and the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani arrive at a cornerstone laying ceremony for Hamad, a new residential neighbourhood in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip October 23, 2012. The Emir of Qatar embraced the Hamas leadership of Gaza on Tuesday with an official visit breaking the isolation of the militant Palestinian Islamist movement, to the dismay of Israel and rival, Western-backed Palestinian leaders in the West Bank. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (G

Qatar’s Political Influence on Hamas

With its headquarters in Qatar, Hamas will have to accept the spirit and direction of its new patron, Emir Hamed Bin Khalifa Al Thani, writes Shlomi Eldar.

A general view shows Al-Azhar University, which was founded in the 10th century through the endowment of a charitable trust, or awqaf, in Cairo March 19, 2013. The endowments, known as awqaf, receive donations from Muslims to operate specific social projects, such as mosques, schools and welfare schemes. The system goes back more than a thousand years, to soon after the birth of Islam. A fund management venture set up in Dubai this month is taking aim at one of the great backwaters of the Middle Eastern eco

Egyptians Show High Interest In Israeli Literature, Culture

Jacky Hugi writes that the study of the Hebrew language and its literature is widespread in Cairo's universities.

U.S. President Barack Obama (R) watches a cultural event alongside Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad at the Al Bireh Youth Center in Ramallah March 21, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F9QE

Is Fayyad’s Resignation A Wake-up Call for Israel?

The resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad plays into the hands of Hamas, jeopardizing the Palestinian Authority and the two-state solution, warns Akiva Eldar.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) speaks with US Secretary of State John Kerry as President Shimon Peres (R) sits beside them during a ceremony marking Israel's annual day of Holocaust remembrance, at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem April 8, 2013. Israel on Monday commemorates the six million Jews killed by the Nazis in the Holocaust during World War Two.
REUTERS/Gali Tibbon/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTXYDCL

When Netanyahu Met Kerry,One Year From Now

Ben Caspit argues that one year from now, on Israel's next Independence Day, the political stagnation and lack of negotiations in the Middle East will still persist.

Unique Memorial Ceremony Unites Israelis, Palestinians

Akiva Eldar took part in an alternative Memorial Day ceremony where Israeli and Palestinian bereaved families shared their pain and their hopes for a better future.

Yair Lapid, head of Yesh Atid (There is a Future) party attends the swearing-in ceremony of the 19th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Uriel Sinai/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DDXV

Imagine Israel Independence Day — 2014

Mazal Mualem outlines what the Israeli political map could look like one year from today.

Layla al-Issawi holds a picture of her son Samer, who has been on hunger strike for 209 days while being held in an Israeli prison, at her home in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Issawiya February 17, 2013. The European Union on Saturday called on Israel to improve conditions for Palestinians in its jails, and a Palestinian minister said there would be rallies next week to support hunger-striking prisoners. Nearly 5,000 Palestinians are held in Israeli jails, many charged with involvement in attacks on

Israeli Women Visit Palestinian Hunger Striker

Israeli women take turns visiting Palestinian hunger striker Samer Issawi at Kaplan Hospital, writes Shlomi Eldar.

Israeli soldiers stand in formation during a ceremony marking Memorial Day at the Western Wall in Jerusalem's Old City April 14, 2013. Israel commemorates its fallen soldiers on Memorial Day, which begins Sunday night. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY SOCIETY MILITARY) - RTXYLKP

Israelis Divided Over Artists Who Dodge Draft

Knesset member and former IDF chief education officer Eliezer Stern explains in an interview with Mazal Mualem why he strongly objects to performers who dodge army service to perform at Memorial and Independence Day official events.