Israeli-Palestinian conflict

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.

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.

Latest News

UN Security Council endorses US plan for Gaza security force

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

Analysis

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

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)

Rina Bassist

Ezgi Akin

By Rina Bassist , Ezgi Akin

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

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.

Analysis

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

Evan Vucci / Getty Images

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Former Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert attends a demonstration against the Israeli government's controversial justice reform bill, in Tel Aviv on March 1, 2023. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

A way forward, ex-Israeli PM Olmert says Gaza cease-fire only road for solution

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said the plan he recently presented with former Palestinian official Nasser al-Kidwa for ending the Gaza war does not have buy-in from the current Israeli or Palestinian leadership.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Nasser al-Kidwa, former minister for foreign affairs of the Palestinian Authority, ex-member of the Fatah movement's central committee, and nephew of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, gives an interview in Gaza City on Sept. 24, 2022.

Exclusive

A way forward, ex-Palestinian FM Nasser Kidwa calls for Arab security presence in Gaza

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, former Palestinian Foreign Minister Nasser al-Kidwa said that Palestinians must be serious and practical in order to reach an agreement to end the war in Gaza and establish a Palestinian state.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

The flags of Israel, United Arab Emirates, and Bahrain are projected on the ramparts of Jerusalem's Old City on September 15, 2020 in a show of support for Israeli normalisation deals with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu signed landmark accords normalizing the Jewish state's relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain, as part of a peace push brokered by US President Donald Trump. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty

Analysis

Israel-UAE trade to hit $3.3B in 2024 as wars in Lebanon, Gaza continue

Despite a growing Arab public backlash against economic ties with Israel, and politically strained ties between the UAE and Israel since the Gaza war, bilateral trade has continued across the technology, tourism and agriculture sectors.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

TOPSHOT - US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and former US Representative Liz Cheney (R) arrive for a campaign event at Ripon College in Ripon, Wisconsin, October 3, 2024. (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI / AFP) (Photo by KAMIL KRZACZYNSKI/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab Americans are evenly split between Harris and Trump. Will it matter?

As the US weighs its response to escalations in the Middle East, a new poll finds Arab American support for Harris and Trump virtually tied.

Megan Mineiro

By Megan Mineiro

In Washington, DC, reporting on US Congress

People inspect the remains of an Iranian missile that fell into the home of a Bedouin family in the Negev desert near Arad on October 2, 2024, in the aftermath of an overnight Iranian missile attack on Israel.

Analysis

As world awaits Israel's response to Iran, can US help stave off ‘all-out war’?

Benjamin Netanyahu mulls four options to respond to Iran, the US moves goalposts on containing the war, the Gulf looks for assurances on oil assets and more.

Andrew Parasiliti

By Andrew Parasiliti

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, national security

In this handout image provided by the Iranian Leader's Press Office, Iranian Supreme leader Ali Khamenei (C) is seen alongside Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian (L), Parliament Speaker Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf (2L), Judiciary Chief Mohsen Ejeie (2R) and Hezbollah representative in Iran Abdallah Safieddine reading the Koran during the Friday prayer ceremony on October 04, 2024 in Tehran, Iran.

Analysis

Iran's Khamenei seeks to navigate between defiance, de-escalation after missile salvo

In his first public Friday sermon in over four years, the Iranian leader demonstrated defiance yet seemed keen to avoid further escalation by signaling to Israel that Tehran has no appetite for a direct confrontation and prefers its regional proxies to wage the limited battle on its behalf.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian meets with regional leaders at the Asia Cooperation Dialogue in Doha on Oct. 2, 2024.

As Iran, Israel lurch toward war, Saudi Arabia seeks rapprochement with Tehran

Riyadh seeks assurances from Tehran that energy infrastructure in the region is spared amid talks of Israeli retaliation targeting Iranian oil and gas assets.

An armed man sits in front of a car damaged in a reported Israeli strike in Damascus on Oct. 2, 2024.

As Israel steps up attacks on Syria, is Bashar al-Assad next?

While targeting Assad and his brother would destabilize the regime and potentially deprive Hezbollah of its rear base, an Israeli source has denied any such plans.

Smoke billows at the site of Israeli airstrikes in a south Beirut suburb, early on Oct. 2, 2024.

Analysis

Biden moves goalposts on containing war as Israel invades Lebanon

Preventing the spread of war between Israel and militant groups to fronts beyond Gaza has been the Biden administration’s top Middle East policy priority for nearly a year, but Israeli forces have now pushed into Lebanon with Washington’s green light.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

A man walks across from a raging fire at oil storage tanks a day after Israeli strikes on the port of Yemen's Houthi-held city of Hodeidah on July 21, 2024.

Analysis

How an Israeli retaliation on Iran could impact Gulf energy flow

Energy facilities along the east and west of the Arabian Peninsula brace for possible Israeli attacks against Iran and its proxies.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

A man checks the damages at a restaurant in the aftermath of an Iranian missile attack on Israel, on Oct. 2, 2024 in Tel Aviv.

Damage from Iran’s attack on Israel: What we know

Some Israeli bases sustained light damage, according to reports, while Iran hailed the attack as a success.

Defence Secretary John Healey visits RAF Akrotiri, during a visit to Cyprus to meet troops as the government steps up efforts for a potential evacuation of Lebanon.

US, China, France, others weigh Lebanon evacuation plans for nationals

The situation in Lebanon and the region has quickly deteriorated, prompting several countries to come up with plans to secure the safe evacuation of their nationals from the country.