Israeli-Palestinian conflict

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Feature

Gazans show cautious hope ahead of first local elections in 20 years

The city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza is set to hold municipal elections for the first time in nearly two decades.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds the hand of his wife Sara as they attend a ceremony commemorating Israel's Remembrance Day for fallen soldiers, or Yom HaZikaron, at the Military Cemetery on Mount Herzl in Jerusalem on April 21, 2026. (Photo by Ilia YEFIMOVICH / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Israel's Netanyahu says he was treated for prostate cancer: What we know

The prime minister said he postponed the report’s publication to prevent it from being released at the height of the war with Iran.

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Children and families gather to receive free meals shortly before Iftar during the holy month of Ramadan at a displacement camp in central Gaza City, on Feb. 27, 2026.

Iran war deepens Gaza crisis as prices soar, aid falters

Gazans fear that Israel could exploit the wider regional war to reenter Gaza, especially as buffer zones along the border continue to expand and civilians are targeted to keep them away.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Latest News

'Apartheid': Arab countries including UAE, Jordan decry new Israeli law

MOJAHID NAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Settler violence spike exposes Israeli government rift with military

Israeli settler violence graffiti

Analysis

India's Modi arrives in Israel as fears grow of US-Iran conflict

PM Netanyahu - X

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

'No meaningful protection': Israel’s new Gaza aid rules raise data, security risks

People walk through a heavily damaged street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

Palestinian authorities confiscate illegal drugs in Gaza.

Palestinians blame Israel for Gaza drug trade

Gaza is experiencing a surge in illegal drug trafficking, addiction and crime.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

Will Israel's Netanyahu upend Lebanon gas deal, Iran policy?

Now that the election is over, victor Benjamin Netanyahu will find it hard to keep some of his promises.

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz (L) with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (C) and Defense Minister Hulusi Akar (R), Presidential Palace, Ankara, Turkey, Oct. 27 2022.

Turkey, Israel relaunch security ties during historic visit

On a historic official visit to Ankara, and after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz announced the official resumption of bilateral security relations.

Mourners attend the funeral of Palestinians killed in an overnight Israeli raid, in the occupied West Bank city of Nablus on Oct. 25, 2022.

Israel expands military operations in West Bank ahead of elections

Israeli forces kill five Palestinians in attack on Lion's Den complex in Nablus.

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

Two-state solution shrinks as campaigning wraps up in Israel

Even Prime Minister Yair Lapid, commended internationally for supporting the two-state solution at the UN, has stopped championing the issue on the campaign trail.

Israeli security forces deploy in the Deir Sharaf area, near the Israeli settlement of Shavei Shomron, west of Nablus, following a reported attack, West Bank, Oct. 11, 2022.

Israel destroys Lion’s Den explosive factory in Nablus

A week before the Nov. 1 elections, Israel Defense Forces raided an explosive factory of the Palestinian Lion’s Den terrorist group and killed one of its founders.

Israeli settlers walk with batons as they cross a street during clashes in which Israeli settlers attacked Palestinian residents and shops in the town of Huwara, West Bank, Oct. 13, 2022.

Settler violence ramps up as Israeli elections near

Alongside growing tensions in the West Bank and clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces, the number of violent clashes between settlers and Palestinians keeps growing rapidly.

RONNY HARTMANN/AFP via Getty Images

Israel agrees to PA helicopter purchase

With West Bank tensions calming somewhat, Israel has agreed for the Palestinian Authority to acquire helicopters for Palestinian officials to travel to Jordan and within the West Bank.

Israeli security forces deploy in the Deir Sharaf area.

Support for Lion’s Den grows as Israel maintains siege on Nablus

Israel continues its siege on the city of Nablus in the northern West Bank, leading to economic losses while threatening to launch a military operation there.

Israeli soldiers search an area for Palestinian assailants who fled after they carried out an attack on an Israeli checkpoint with an explosive device and gunfire, in the village of Till, near Nablus, West Bank, Oct. 16, 2022.

Israel resorts to besieging West Bank cities as tensions mount

Israel is implementing a policy of besieging the West Bank cities and towns, as resistance operations are increasing and expanding across the West Bank.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israeli far-right lawmaker and leader of the Otzma Yehudit (Jewish power) party, attends a campaign event in the northern Israel Kibbutz of Ayelet Hashahar on Oct. 6, 2022.

Israeli Knesset member waves gun in east Jerusalem

Ultranationalist Itamar Ben Gvir is exploiting an incident in which he brandished a gun in the east Jerusalem Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood ahead of the Nov. 1 elections.

Israeli security forces check the documents of Palestinian laborers who work in Israel, before allowing them to cross through a hole in a security fence in the village of Muqeibila near Jenin, West Bank, Sept. 6, 2021.

Israel revokes work permits of 164 Palestinian militants' relatives

In addition to pressuring the Nablus-based Lion’s Den group, Defense Minister Benny Gantz revoked the permits of group members' relatives to work in Israel.