Share to FacebookShare to XArticle printing is available to subscribers onlyPrint in a simple, ad-free formatSubscribeComments: Zen reading is available to subscribers onlyAd-free and in a comfortable reading formatSubscribe04:15 AM • August 30 2026 IDTThe West Bank is shaping up to be the main arena of tension between the government and the Israel Defense Forces in the run-up to the October 27 general election. In Iran, Lebanon and Gaza, it is largely Donald Trump who determines the rules of the game. For now, it seems the U.S. president is not seeking a new escalation in the Middle East before the November 3 midterms. Yet Trump is leaving Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu some room for carrying out military operations, as is evident in the Israel Air Force's repeated attacks in the Strip and, to a lesser extent, in Lebanon.In the NewsZamir-Netanyahu Rift Grows Over Settler ViolenceDismantling of Kurdish Forces in Syria Requires Israel to Reexamine Its PolicyIDF Says It Targeted a 'Hamas Military Wing Commander' in Gaza StripYes, the Oslo Accords Led Israel to the Oct. 7 DisasterIsrael's Expulsion DoctrineRemembering and rebuilding two years laterICYMIHasan Piker Talks Hamas, anti-Zionism and Why Americans Are Fed Up With Israel'Israel Is Sending Militias to Commit War Crimes – and I Have to Protect Them'Israeli Court Acquits Man of Assaulting Nun in Jerusalem's Old CityBeing Israeli Abroad Has Become Embarrassing. You Don't Talk About ItPoll: Likud Sinks to 19 Seats as New Right-wing Party Falls Below ThresholdJewish Space Lasers? Israel Wants 'Rods From God'