Israeli-Palestinian conflict

This aerial view shows residents waving Somaliland flags as they gather to celebrate Israel's announcement recognizing Somaliland's statehood in downtown Hargeisa, on Dec. 26, 2025.

Somalia’s president heads to Turkey as Israel’s Somaliland recognition rattles region

The Somali leader’s visit comes amid a heightened Turkish-Israeli rivalry, fueled by Israel’s recognition of Somaliland, in the region and beyond.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu participates in a joint news conference with US President Donald Trump (not seen) in the State Dining Room at the White House on Sept. 29, 2025, in Washington.

Analysis

In 2025, Netanyahu saved his coalition but stalled on Gaza, Iran, Lebanon

With 2025 ending, Israelis are frustrated over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s refusal to fully end the Gaza war, solve the Hezbollah problem, reach a deal with Syria or find a way to constructively impact talks on the Iranian nuclear program.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Saeed Jaras / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Facing Israeli pushback, Turkey recalibrates public messaging on Gaza force

Turkey’s top diplomat has suggested that being part of the Gaza stabilization force is not Ankara’s priority.

US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R) shakes hands with Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani at the State Department in Washington, on Dec. 17, 2025.

Qatar’s prime minister meets US officials as Gaza plan stalls

Sheikh Mohammed's visit comes as questions mount over Hamas' disarmament and the role of international troops in post-war Gaza.

Latest News

Over 600 Israeli ex-security chiefs urge Trump to disarm Hamas, back PA in Gaza

President Donald Trump speaks with Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025 in Jerusalem.

Analysis

Stunt or recalibration? Israel's Raam to break with Muslim Brotherhood

Head of Israel's Raam, Mansour Abbas, speaks at his campaign headquarters in the northern Israeli city of Tamra before national election polls close, on Nov. 1, 2022

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

How the Trump administration reshaped US diplomacy toward Hamas

Donald Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner (L), White House special envoy Steve Witkoff (C) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio attend a meeting between President Trump and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi (not pictured) at a summit on Gaza in Sharm el-Sheikh, Oct. 13, 2025.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

Interview

Cyprus weighs joining Gaza force but 'not enough clarity' on mission, FM says

Cyprus' Foreign Minister Constantinos Kombos speaks to media at a Ministerial Council meeting of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) on December 4, 2025 in Vienna, Austria. (GEORG HOCHMUTH/AFP via Getty Images)

Constantinos Kombos

Cypriot Foreign Minister

US President Donald Trump speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Oct. 13, 2025, in Jerusalem.

Israel, US send mixed signals on Gaza phase 2 before Trump-Netanyahu meeting

The US president is expected to press Netanyahu to advance the second phase of the Gaza plan, halt plans for a large-scale strike on Hezbollah in Lebanon and compromise on issues related to Syria.

Basem Naim, member of Hamaspolitical bureau speaks during an interview with AFP in Istanbul on February 8, 2025. Hamas has no desire to return to war with Israel, a senior official with the Palestinian group told AFP on February 8, 2025, nearly three weeks into a fragile ceasefire that halted fighting in Gaza. "Returning to war is certainly not our wish nor our decision," Basem Naim said in an interview. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Hamas official says group needs guarantees on war's end and statehood to disarm

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim stopped short of pledging that Hamas would not fire on international troops, but said the militant group has "no problem” with the stabilization force.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

The US National flag flies at half staff on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC on December 4, 2025, in honor of Sarah Beckstrom, the National Guard member who was fatally shot the week before. An Afghan man accused of shooting two members of the National Guard near the White House, killing one, pleaded not guilty on December 2, 2025 to murder charges. Lakanwal is charged with first-degree murder for the death of Sarah Beckstrom, 20, a National Guard member from West Virginia, as well as ass

US strategy document names Iran 'chief' destabilizer, calls Syria 'potential problem'

The document frames US engagement as shifting away from energy and conflict and toward broader economic and defense partnerships.

A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

Tamara Alrifai

JERUSALEM - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands and speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on the day of Trump's address on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem. President Trump is visiting the country hours after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

As he stalls Gaza plan, will Netanyahu pick his far-right coalition over Trump?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t publicly go against the Gaza plan of President Donald Trump, but he keeps stalling on discussing the parameters for the implementation of the plan’s second phase.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s spy chief holds talks in Egypt over trapped Hamas militants

Turkey’s spy chief met with Qatari, Egyptian officials as the Gaza ceasefire process stalls over Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels.

UN Security Council votes for US resolution on the Gaza peace plan

UN Security Council endorses US plan for Gaza security force

The US-drafted resolution also endorses the Trump-led Board of Peace and references possible statehood for the Palestinians.

ISTANBUL, TURKEY - JUNE 01: People carry a large Palestinian flag during a protest to express support for Palestinians in Gaza outside the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque on June 01, 2025 in Istanbul, Turkey. Protests continue as talks between Hamas, Israel and the U.S continue to seek a ceasefire deal and negotiate for a permanent end to the war. (Photo by Chris McGrath/Getty Images)

Analysis

Turkey's Gaza ambitions grow as Israel's pushback hardens: Can US mediate?

Ankara is expanding its influence in Gaza through aid and mediation amid Israeli wariness, heightening tensions that the United States is working to keep in check.

Rina Bassist

Ezgi Akin

By Rina Bassist , Ezgi Akin

A South African Airways (SAA) flight is seen on the tarmac before departing from the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Sept. 23, 2021.

After 13 hours, 150 Gazans allowed to enter South Africa: What to know

The group were reportedly stranded for several hours after opting to leave the war-torn Palestinian enclave.

Evan Vucci / Getty Images

Analysis

With Saudi Arabia on sidelines, Trump looks to widen Abraham Accords circle

A senior Trump administration official says to expect additional Abraham Accords signatories in the coming months.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Young Palestinians look at the damage in the Hajja Hamida Mosque after it was reportedly set on fire and vandalised by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Deir Istiya, near Salfit in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on November 13, 2025. Violence in the West Bank has soared since the war in Gaza broke out in October 2023. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli settlers torch, vandalize West Bank mosque as attacks skyrocket

Israeli settlers torched a mosque in the central West Bank on Thursday amid a serious escalation in settler attacks across the Palestinian territory in recent weeks.

A Palestinian man tries to extinguish flames from a burning truck after an Israeli settlers attack in the village of Beit Lid, east of Tulkarm, in the occupied West Bank on Nov. 11, 2025.

Israeli settlers arrested after injuring 4 Palestinians in West Bank rampage: What to know

The UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that October saw the highest monthly number of Israeli settler attacks since it began tracking the incidents in 2006.