Palestinian elections

FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images

Italy’s Meloni hosts Abbas amid EU Palestinian statehood push: What we know

During his three-day visit to Italy, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas met with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Pope Leo XIV and is reportedly set to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.

Wife of jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti appeals to Trump for his release

Barghouti has been imprisoned in Israel since 2002, after being convicted of planning attacks that killed five people, and he has been held in solitary confinement since October 2023.

An Israeli flag flies along a highway near the settlement of Carmel on Aug. 4, 2025, in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank.

Analysis

Trump squeezes Palestinian leadership as West Bank teeters

The Trump administration is escalating its pressure campaign against the Palestinian Authority as a wave of countries prepare to recognize a Palestinian state and Israel considers West Bank annexation.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

French President Emmanuel Macron (R) speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as they make their way to a meeting at the Elysee Presidential Palace in Paris on July 20, 2022.

Amid Gulf pressure, Abbas tells Macron 'Hamas will no longer rule Gaza'

Abbas has increased his anti-Hamas rhetoric in recent weeks as war rages in Gaza and a deal with Israel remains elusive, but the group has refused the call to disarm.

Latest News

Analysis

Hussein Sheikh as PLO's first vice president: Palestinian reform or Abbas gesture?

Secretary General of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), Hussein al-Sheikh, gestures as he arrives for the 32nd Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Central Council session in Ramallah on April 23, 2025. Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas on April 23 urged Hamas to free all hostages in Gaza, saying their captivity provided Israel with "excuses" to attack the territory, as rescuers recovered charred bodies from an Israeli strike. (Photo by Zain JAAFAR / AFP) (Photo by

By Rosaleen Carroll

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

Interview

Senior Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub calls for 'Marshall-like plan' to rebuild Gaza

Secretary-General of Fatah’s Central Committee Jibril Rajoub looks on during an interview in Paris on July 27, 2024.

Jibril Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub

Fatah Central Committee Secretary-General

Guarded optimism on Palestinian reconciliation ahead of Fatah-Hamas meeting in China

Palestinians lift flags of the Hamas and Fatah groups as they demonstrate in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Polls show soaring Palestinian support for Barghouti as Hamas, Abbas stumble

Polls show soaring Palestinian support for Barghouti

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

New Palestinian government sworn in as PA reform prospects dwindle

The new Palestinian government is made up of ministers unaffiliated with political factions but loyal to the Palestinian Authority's longtime president.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

Palestinian UN mission makes small gains as all eyes on Qatar cease-fire talks

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Former Chairman of the Palestine Investment Fund Mohammad Mustafa (L) poses for a photo with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Meet Mohammad Mustafa, likely incoming Palestinian PM

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh stands next to a portrait of the Palestinian Authority's President Mahmud Abbas during a cabinet meeting in which he announced his government's resignation and called for "new political measures" in Ramallah on Feb. 26, 2024, amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

Internal Palestinian discussions heat up in wake of Moscow meeting

Internal Palestinian discussions are heating up as pressure mounts on Israel and Hamas to produce some sort of truce before the beginning of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas gesticulates during a joint press conference with the German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on August 16, 2022. (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER / AFP) (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER/AFP via Getty Images)

As Palestinians head to Russia, Abbas ponders least bad option for PM

A large Palestinian delegation will head to Moscow this week to try and reach consensus on a postwar government that could include Hamas representatives in an expanded Palestine Liberation Organization.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 15: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends an observation of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations on May 15, 2023 in New York City. A day of observation of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba was held at the UN with performances by Palestinian singer Sanaa Moussa, Grammy Award-nominee cellist and composer Naseem Alatrash who was accompanied by the New York Arabic Orchestra and directed by Eugene Friesen. Nakba was the displacement o

Palestinians want Abbas to resign, but don't say goodbye yet

Despite his unpopularity at home, President Mahmoud Abbas remains Palestine's primary representative to Western officials and the leadership transition must be slow and cautious.

Yahia al-Sinwar (C), Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, shakes hands with a masked fighter of Hamas' Qassam Brigades during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation, in Gaza City on December 14, 2022. - Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the militant group's leader in the Gaza Strip said on December 14. Since Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group has held the bodies of Israeli

Why Gaza's future will still include Hamas in a larger Palestinian deal

With the day after the war approaching, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank needs Hamas in Gaza as much as Hamas needs the Palestinian Authority.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in the Muqata'a, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on January 10, 2024.

Fatah prepares for Palestinian leadership succession amid focus on 'day after' in Gaza

As President Mahmoud Abbas' approval sags, Fatah leaders have been searching for a formula to break the political impasse within the movement and prepare for potential postwar governance of the Gaza Strip.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Men walk past a section of Israel's separation barrier painted with a portrait of Palestinian Marwan Barghouti, held in an Israel jail, on November 6, 2023 in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

Could Marwan Barghouti lead post-war Palestinian government?

Marwan Barghouti is currently in prison for his role directing attacks against Israelis during the second intifada, but he's also the most popular Palestinian leader by a long shot, fueling news that he could be part of a future prisoner exchange.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends an observation of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations on May 15, 2023 in New York City.

Is time running out for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas?

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas has stayed relatively quiet amid the war in Gaza, but this approach is only further eroding his popularity with the Palestinian population.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) shakes hands with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas during their meeting in Jordan's capital Amman on October 13, 2023. Blinken began on October 12 a tour of Arab capitals as he seeks to build pressure on Hamas while Israel readies a likely massive offensive on the Gaza Strip following the militants' attacks. (Photo by Jacquelyn Martin / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JACQUELYN MARTIN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

US wants a 'revitalized' Palestinian Authority, but can Abbas deliver?

The recent call by US President Joe Biden for Gaza and the West Bank to be reunited under "a revitalized Palestinian Authority" has left many questioning what this might look like.

ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Palestinian president fires West Bank governors as PA's unpopularity grows

The Palestinian Authority is unpopular in the West Bank and elections have not been held in nearly two decades, while Islamist rival Hamas’ support is rising in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Adam Lucente

By Adam Lucente

In New York City, reporting on regional news, militancy, climate change