Settlements

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu waves as he arrives outside the West Wing of the White House September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Netanyahu is in Washington to participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel euphoric over Trump's cabinet: Will he pick annexation or Saudi deal?

"Everything is ready," a senior source in Israel's settlement enterprise told Al-Monitor. "We just have to get Trump's approval and carry it out."

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

Israel's Finance Minister and leader of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich attends a meeting at the parliament, Knesset, in Jerusalem, on March 20, 2023.

Israel's Smotrich calls for annexation of occupied West Bank: What we know

Israeli far-right minister and long-time supporter of Israeli settlements Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that he had ordered preparations for an Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank.

JERUSALEM, UNSPECIFIED - NOVEMBER 6: Supporters of Republican presidential nominee, former President Donald Trump during an election night watch party on November 6, 2024 in Jerusalem, Unspecified. Americans cast their ballots today in the presidential race between Republican nominee former President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, as well as multiple state elections that will determine the balance of power in Congress. (Photo by Amir Levy/Getty Images)

Israeli settlers, ultra-Orthodox celebrate Donald Trump’s victory

Believing that newly elected Donald Trump will support their political agenda, leaders of the Israeli settler movement prayed and thanked god for the former president's election victory.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli critically injured in West Bank truck attack

An Israeli citizen was hit by a gas tanker driven by a Palestinian man from the occupied West Bank village of Rafat on Wednesday morning.

Latest News

Erdogan: Turkey plans 'legal steps' for Israel's killing of US-Turkish activist

Members of Palestinian security forces carry the body of slain Turkish-American International Solidarity Movement activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi.

Record-high Israeli settler violence in West Bank with 1,246 attacks since Oct. 7: ICG

An Israeli check point in the region at the scene as in the presence of armed Israeli forces, settlers attack the industrial area of the town of Beita and set fire to some Palestinian properties in the West Bank on August 2, 2024.

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EU's top diplomat asks member states to sanction some Israeli ministers

European Union High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell attends a debate on Iran's unprecedented attack against Israel, the need for de-escalation and an EU response, as part of a plenary session at the European Parliament, Strasbourg, France, April 24, 2024.

Top UN court rules Israel’s presence in Palestinian territories illegal

Public hearings on the request for the indication or modification of provisional measures submitted by South Africa, application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide in the Gaza Strip (South Africa v. Israel), The Hague, May 16-17, 2024.

Houses in the Israeli settlement of settlement of Kedumim are seen in the foreground as part of the Palestinian city of Nablus is seen in the background (far left) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2R7F9HN66O

Intel: Netanyahu, Gantz strike West Bank annexation deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, struck a deal today to annex parts of the West Bank as part of their bid to form a unity government.

Are Netanyahu, Bennett preparing Jordan Valley annexation?

Blue and White leader Benny Gantz must beware of right-wing ministers such as Defense Minister Naftali Bennett trying to establish facts on the ground before the unity government is established.

An employee of the Islamic Waqf stands in front of the closed doors of Al-Aqsa mosque in the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, after Muslim clerics shut the mosque until further notice as a precaution against coronavirus March 15, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2BKF9DQLY0

How coronavirus outbreak has boosted Palestinian-Israeli cooperation

While Palestinian-Israeli cooperation has been revved up to the highest level for some time due to the coronavirus outbreak, some problems persist.

A general view picture shows part of East Jerusalem neighbourhoods behind the Israeli barrier January 29, 2020. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RC2LPE9PKBS0

Israel, US pretend East Jerusalem Palestinians don’t exist

The latest report by the US State Department refers to Palestinians of East Jerusalem as “non-Israeli residents,’’ as if changing their description could change the reality.

Democratic 2020 U.S. presidential candidate former New York Mayor Mike Bloomberg delivers remarks during the AIPAC convention at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, U.S., March 2, 2020. REUTERS/Tom Brenner - RC2RBF9BWPZS

Opposition to Bernie Sanders draws out bipartisan unity at AIPAC

AIPAC has struggled to maintain its bipartisan stature on Capitol Hill recently, but rallying Democrats and Republicans against Bernie Sanders has given it a new opportunity.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu talks to the U.S. Ambassador David Friedman during his visit to Ariel settlement in the West Bank, February 24, 2020. Sebastian Scheiner/Pool via REUTERS - RC287F98LHX4

How Netanyahu is burying the two-state solution

If Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ever had the common sense to leave room for a future agreement with the Palestinians, he buried it recently with his decision to build new housing units in Jewish east and south Jerusalem neighborhoods.

Palestinian demonstrators gather near the Israeli barrier in the village of Bilin as the Jewish settlement of Modiin Illit is seen in the background, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 7, 2020. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RC2NVE9EZDCB

Another UN step underscoring illegality of Israeli settlements

The Palestinians are banking on the newly released UN list of businesses operating in the Israeli settlements to bring those businesses before the judiciary and pressure them to end activities in the settlements.

12 years later, Olmert plan discussions could resume

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert in New York to discuss reviving the Olmert plan to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Members of the media work as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu walks after holding a weekly cabinet meeting in the Jordan Valley, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank September 15, 2019. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RC1DC97D0610

Will settlers' anger push Netanyahu into Blue and White's arms?

Yamina and settlers leaders are demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu unilaterally annex West Bank territory despite the objection of the White House, but their campaign runs the risk of backfiring politically.

Jordan fears long-term threat to its national security following Trump’s peace plan

No sooner had President Donald Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan than Jordan reacted, warning against the dangerous repercussions such deal will have on the kingdom and on the region as a whole.

U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi discusses the Trump administration Middle East peace plan proposal during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, U.S., January 28, 2020. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst - RC27PE9N3OF6

Democratic leaders hold fire on Trump’s Mideast peace plan

Pro-Israel Democrats are holding their fire on President Donald Trump’s Israeli-Palestinian peace proposal despite some reservations.

Trump’s plan unveiled: Netanyahu's best and worst day ever

The 'deal of the century' presented by President Donald Trump is unlikely to bring about Israeli-Palestinian peace but serves first and foremost to boost the electoral fortunes of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israel's indicted prime minister.