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

Israel cover image

Israel

October 14, 2026

Tel Aviv 5:35 am

23°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 politburo deputy chief Moussa Abu Marzouk speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus January 5, 2009. REUTERS /Khaled al-Hariri (SYRIA) - RTR2325K

Is Hamas Considering Recognition Of Israel?

As a step toward international recognition, Hamas is seeking to be removed from the US terrorist organizations list, and for that purpose even considers acknowledging Israel in its 1967 borders, reveals Shlomi Eldar.

Pro-Palestinian activists attend a rally to mark the second anniversary of the Mavi Marmara Gaza flotilla incident in central Istanbul May 31, 2012. Nine activists, eight Turkish and one Turkish-American, died on May 31, 2010, when Israeli commandos raided the Mavi Marmara ship, which was part of a flotilla seeking to break the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Osman Orsal (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR32WF0

Israel Should Seek to Re-Establish Good Relations With Turkey

Present-day Turkey is completely different from the country Israel knew in the not-too-distant past, writes Arad Nir, and it is precisely because of this that Israel should restore its relations with Ankara.

An Israeli soldier fires towards the leg of a Palestinian detained during a protest against the controversial Israeli barrier in the West Bank village of Nilin, in this frame grab from a video taken about three weeks ago and released on July 20, 2008, by Israeli rights group B'Tselem. The video footage of the Israeli soldier firing what appears to be a rubber bullet at point-blank range at a bound and blindfolded Palestinian detainee has led to an army investigation. REUTERS/B'Tselem via Reuters TV (WEST

Israeli Center Keeps Focus On Human Rights

Naela Khalil reports on B’Tselem, an Israeli human rights center that documents Israeli violations in the Palestinian territories.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YVND

Obama Should Re-Launch Peace Process

Some are expecting US President Barack Obama to relaunch Israeli-Palestinian peace talks, but this should not mean negotiations just for the sake of negotiations that eventually go nowhere, writes Nassif Hitti.

Samer al-Issawi, one of four Palestinians held by Israel who has been on an intermittent hunger strike, gestures as he leaves Jerusalem's magistrates' court February 19, 2013. Hundreds of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails declared a one-day fast on Tuesday in solidarity with four inmates whose hunger strike has fuelled anti-Israel protests in the occupied West Bank. Gaunt and wheelchair-bound, Issawi appeared on Tuesday before the Jerusalem civil court, which deferred releasing him for at least another

Israel Offers Deportation To Samer Issawi

Israel has offered Samer Issawi deportation instead of release, which is a serious violation of human rights, Daoud Kuttab writes.

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

Golden Opportunity Awaits New Israeli Finance Minister

If Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid limits himself to only one or two structural changes, the new finance minister can succeed despite his lack of experience, writes Mazal Mualem.

Israelis use binoculars to see the fighting in the Syrian village of al-Jamlah, from the Israeli occupied Golan Heights, close to the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria March 7, 2013. Israel voiced confidence on Thursday that the United Nations could secure the release of U.N. peacekeepers seized by Syrian rebels near the Golan Heights, signalling it would not intervene in the crisis. Israel captured the Golan Heights in the 1967 Middle East war and annexed it in 1981 in a move not recognized internati

Israel: Re-thinking Syria's Opposition

Shlomi Eldar writes that a film clip showing Syrian rebels shooting into the air along the Golan border offers an ominous signal to the world, and especially to Israel.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a reception following the swearing-in ceremony of the 19th Knesset, the new Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem February 5, 2013. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3DE06

Will Netanyahu Redefine Status Quo With Ultra-Orthodox?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has a historic opportunity to redefine the status quo between the state of Israel and the ultra-Orthodox sector, writes Nadav Perry.

Children cross the street as residents of south Tel Aviv carry Israeli flags during a protest against African migrants living in their neighbourhoods May 30, 2012. Last week a similar protest held by residents of the low-income neighbourhoods where many of the border-jumpers from Eritrea, Sudan and South Sudan live led to violence, including a rampage that an Israeli broadcaster dubbed a "pogrom". Fleeing poverty, fighting and authoritarian rule, some 60, 000 Africans have crossed illegally into Israel thro

Sudanese Refugees Face Harassment, Deportation in Israel

Sudanese and other African refugees fleeing persecution often do not find a welcome reception in Israel, writes Jillian Kestler-D’Amours from Tel Aviv.

U.S. President Barack Obama talks to the audience before he signs the Violence Against Women Act while at the Department of Interior in Washington, March 7, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EPDP

Obama’s Visit to Israel Is All About Iran

US President Barack Obama will have a broad regional agenda when he visits Israel, including the peace process, but the trip is really all about Iran, writes Alon Pinkas.

Dr. Aliza Lavie (C), a Yesh Atid (There's a future) party candidate, celebrates exit poll results at the party's headquarters in Tel Aviv January 22, 2013. Israel's parliament, long heavy with retired generals, is getting a new look, with a freshman class that includes two youth protest leaders, an Ethiopian immigrant, a high tech millionaire and more women than ever. Thanks to the surprise second place finish of Yesh Atid, as well as the success of a new far-right group, the 120-member Knesset will have a

The Glass Ceiling Remains For Women in Israeli Politics

Israeli women are bold, assertive, and talented, writes Ben Caspit, but they face an insurmountable obstacle on their way to the highest echelons of political power because they lack a glorious military background.

Members of the Iranian delegation, led by Supreme National Security Council Secretary and chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili (3rd L), sit at a table during talks in Almaty February 26, 2013. World powers began talks with Iran on its nuclear programme in the Kazakh city of Almaty on Tuesday, in a fresh attempt to resolve a decade-old standoff that threatens the Middle East with a new war. REUTERS/Ilyas Omarov/Pool (KAZAKHSTAN - Tags: POLITICS ENERGY) - RTR3EAS0

World Powers Blinked First In Iran Nuclear Talks

Alon Ben David writes that the outcome of the nuclear talks in Kazakhstan has put the option of an Israeli attack back on the agenda in Jerusalem.