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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 14, 2026

Tel Aviv 12:45 am

24°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

Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal (L) waves to people as he sits in a jeep beside senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in Rafah before leaving Gaza Strip December 10, 2012. Hamas leader Meshaal ended his first visit to the Gaza Strip on Monday with a pledge his Islamist movement would strive to heal political rifts with Palestinian rivals who hold sway in the occupied West Bank. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3BFC0

Why Khaled Meshaal Should Thank Israel

The Israeli military operation in Gaza positioned Khaled Meshaal, head of the Hamas political bureau, to be re-elected to the leadership of Hamas, writes Shlomi Eldar.

Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses the media before his flight to Denmark for an official visit at Esenboga Airport in Ankara March 19, 2013. REUTERS/Umit Bektas (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3F72Q

Did Erdogan Really Accept Netanyahu's Apology?

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accepted the Israeli apology for the Mavi Marmara incident, but sticks to the same anti-Israeli rhetoric as before, writes Arad Nir.

Book Addresses Forgotten Palestinians of Israel

An updated version of Atallah Mansour's book provides a unique, first-hand look into the experiences of Arab citizens of Israel.

An Israeli flag flutters in the wind as a naval vessel (not seen) escorts the Mavi Marmara, a Gaza-bound ship that was raided by Israeli marines, to the Ashdod port May 31, 2010. Israeli marines stormed the Turkish aid ship bound for Gaza on Monday and 10 pro-Palestinian activists were killed, triggering a profound diplomatic crisis. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR2ELLI

Will Israel Warm Up To Moderate Islamists?

Mustafa Akyol argues that its recent apology to Turkey shows Israel can find a way toward peace with Islamists.

Israeli Kadima party chairman Roni Bar-on (L) and Transportation Minister Meir Sheetrit attend a Kadima party meeting in Jerusalem January 16, 2006. Ariel Sharon's Kadima party named interim Prime Minister Olmert as its acting chairman on Monday to lead it into Israel's March 28 election, a party statement said. REUTERS/Chris Helgren - RTR1882C

Sheetrit: Ashkenazi Leaders Lack Negotiation Skills with Arabs

In an interview with Mazal Mualem, Meir Sheetrit explains why Israel should have adopted long ago the Arab Peace Initiative.

Israeli Arab demonstrators carry a huge Palestinian flag during a demonstration marking Land Day in the northern town of Sakhnin March 30, 2013. Land Day is the annual commemoration of protests in 1976 against Israel's appropriation of Arab-owned land in Galilee. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY) - RTXY307

Lessons From Land Day

According to Clovis Maksoud, Land Day should remind leaders and the Arab Summit to stress Palestinians' human rights and unity.

Israelis, Iranians Meet at Summit

Shlomi Eldar is surprised to discover an Israeli flag fluttering beside the Iranian flag at the well-known tourist site of Mount Tahtali, Turkey.

Leaders from Arab states are seen attending the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha March 26, 2013. A summit of Arab heads of state opened in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday expected to focus on the war in Syria as well as on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXXXR4

Israel Ignores the Outreached Hand of the Arab League

The Arab League summit in Doha reaffirmed its 2002 peace initiative but, as Akiva Eldar writes, Israel is totally indifferent.

Nazareth Women's Magazine Editor Is Shaping Public Opinion

In an interview with Shlomi Eldar, Yara Mashour, editor of the Arabic-language magazine Lilac, describes herself as a liberated woman who is not afraid of shattering conventions, both in Arab and Israeli society.

U.S. President Barack Obama (C) participates in a farewell ceremony with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and President Shimon Peres (L) at Tel Aviv International Airport March 22, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FBWR

Israel: From Startup Nation To Startup Peace

To become an international success story and to reimagine itself as a place where entrepreneurship thrives, Israel must leave occupation behind, writes Nadav Eyal.

Israeli tourists sit with the owner of a Kashmir houseboat (R) in Srinagar August 19, August 2004. Kashmir, once a tourist haven but now the centre of a bloody Islamic insurgency, seems like a most unlikely destination for Israelis who are themselves battling Palestinian Islamic militants at home. REUTERS/Danish Ismail FK/SH - RTR8W4T

Israeli Backpackers Celebrate Passover in Thailand

Young Israelis, just out of the army, routinely leave Israel for the Far East to “clear the head,” writes Ben Caspit, but gather for a massive Passover ceremony across Thailand, Nepal or India.

Snow boarders ride a ski lift on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights near the Israel-Syria border February 7, 2010. The Golan Heights form a strategic plateau between Israel and Syria of about 1,200 square kilometers (460 square miles). Israel captured it in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internationally.
REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (ISRAEL - Tags: ENVIRONMENT TRAVEL SOCIETY) - RTR29XGT

Land of Milk and HoneyFor Few Israelis

Successive Israeli governments have allowed international and Israeli companies to profit unfairly from natural resources that should benefit all Israelis, writes Idan Grinbaum.