Palestine - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palestine cover image

Palestine

September 6, 2026

Ramallah 1:39 pm

28°C

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

The German navy tested Israel’s LORA ballistic missile as Berlin considers acquiring the system, deepening defense ties with Israel despite criticism of the Gaza war.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israeli soldiers arrive in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has faced escalating Israeli settler violence over the past month, on Aug. 29, 2026.

Analysis

As Israeli settler attacks mount, Trump avoids public pressure on Netanyahu

President Donald Trump has stayed silent amid a spate of settler attacks on Palestinians and their property in the West Bank.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Evan Vucci / Getty Images

Analysis

Why Palestinians see success of Trump talks as contingent on Israeli elections

Some view the channel to Jared Kushner as necessary for reaching a political settlement, but others see a US effort to secure Palestinian acquiescence to Trump’s Gaza plans.

Mohammed Najib

By Mohammed Najib

A boy walks carrying a table on his back past salvage workers scrapping the rubble of a building that was destroyed during Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza City on Aug. 16, 2026. — Photo by Omar Al-Qattaa / AFP via Getty Images

Israel, Hamas bide their time as Gaza peace plan stalls

As the Israel-Hamas ceasefire approaches the one-year mark in October, the Board of Peace is under pressure to deliver results in the Gaza Strip.

Latest News

Ex-defense minister: Israel in ‘worst possible’ Gaza situation as Hamas gains strength

Palestinian militant group Hamas police officers stand guard as people attend the opening of the Fatah party's eighth general conference at Al-Azhar University in Gaza City on May 14, 2026.

Turkey seeks Interpol Red Notices for Netanyahu over Gaza flotilla

Murat Kocabas / Middle East Images / AFP via Getty Images

Beatrice Farhat

Associate Editor (Lebanon)

In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict

Daoud Kuttab

Palestine Columnist

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Naima Morelli

In Rome, reporting on Middle East culture

Fatima AbdulKarim

In Ramallah, reporting on the West Bank

KHAN YUNIS, GAZA - MARCH 30: Leader of Hamas in the Gaza Strip Yahya Sinwar greets Palestinians during a protest within the "Great March of Return" and "Palestinian Land Day" demonstrations at Israel-Gaza border in Khan Yunis, Gaza on March 30, 2019. (Photo by Abed Zagout/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Israel passes ball of prisoner exchange deal back to Hamas

On the back of the coronavirus crisis, Israel is now examining a three-phased plan proposed indirectly by Hamas for the exchange of prisoners.

Services emerge to help Middle Eastern men beat high costs of marriage

In Gaza and Egypt, men are seeking help from religious authorities and matchmaking services to persuade their prospective brides' families to lower financial demands.

Houses in the Israeli settlement of settlement of Kedumim are seen in the foreground as part of the Palestinian city of Nablus is seen in the background (far left) in the Israeli-occupied West Bank February 20, 2020. Picture taken February 20, 2020. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RC2R7F9HN66O

Intel: Netanyahu, Gantz strike West Bank annexation deal

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his rival, Blue and White leader Benny Gantz, struck a deal today to annex parts of the West Bank as part of their bid to form a unity government.

Elderly Palestinian women are reflected in a mirror during an awareness lesson on coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in a nursing house that stepped up preventive measures to protect the patients, in Jenin in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, April 2, 2020. REUTERS/Raneen Sawafta - RC2CWF9971N2

Will Trump administration provide COVID-19 aid to the Palestinians?

The US administration recently announced a global $274 million coronavirus aid package, but the Trump administration is nonetheless doubling down on the fight to eliminate all Palestinian aid.

Palestinian workers returning from Israel arrive at a testing site for the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), outside the Israeli-controlled Tarqumiya checkpoint near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank March 26, 2020. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RC2RRF9ZN4LX

Coronavirus restrictions expose deficit in Palestinian-Israeli Oslo Accord

The coronavirus outbreak exposed a largely unknown deficit in the Oslo Accords: the existence of large areas outside the authority of Palestinian and Israeli powers.

A man sprays disinfectant to curb the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), inside Jaramana Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria April 1, 2020. Picture taken April 1, 2020. REUTERS/Omar Sanadiki - RC29WF9SNKKP

How the pandemic, plummeting oil prices could reshape Middle East

COVID-19 will weaken fragile states, raising risk of failure but creating openings for diplomacy.

GAZA CITY, GAZA - DECEMBER 16: Yahya Sinwar, the leader of Hamas in Gaza, attends the event marking the 31st anniversary of the establishment of Hamas at Al Katiba Square in Gaza City, Gaza on December 16, 2018. (Photo by Ali Jadallah/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Hamas blusters for Israeli coronavirus aid

Hamas has neglected the health system of Gaza for years, so its only weapon against the coronavirus is threatening Israel or offering a deal for help.

A palestinian worker manufacture protective coverall suits and masks at a workshop in Gaza City on March 31, 2020. amid coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Factories in the Gaza Strip used to specialize in the manufacture of shirts and jeans, for despite the closure of many of them in previous years due to the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip and the inability to export and its aftermath From economic problems that led to the closure of many factories, But with the invasion of the new coronavirus to the world,

Coronavirus revives Gaza's sewing sector as tailors turn out PPE

As COVID-19 spreads across the Middle East, Israel is having medical gear made in the Gaza Strip, where clothing manufacturers have shifted production to sorely needed personal protective equipment.

Coronavirus drives opening of Turkish hospital in Gaza

The Palestine-Turkish Friendship Hospital has finally opened in the Gaza Strip to help fight the coronavirus outbreak, which authorities fear will quickly become a humanitarian disaster.

GAZA, Feb. 24, 2020 -- Militants in the Gaza Strip fire rockets to Israeli cities on Feb. 24, 2020. Israeli war jets on Monday struck posts that belong to Palestinian militant group in Gaza Strip for the second day in a row, according to Palestinian security sources. Israeli army said in a press statement that it has began targeting Islamic Jihad posts in Gaza. (Photo by Xinhua/ via Getty Images)

Rocket fired toward Israel amid coronavirus outbreak in Gaza

Hamas weighs escalating confrontation with Israel as COVID-19 cases grow.

HEBRON, March 22, 2020 -- Palestinian workers try to enter Israel through a checkpoint between the West Bank city of Hebron and Beersheva, March 22, 2020. The Israeli authorities announced late on Saturday that all crossings to and from Israel will be closed to limit the spread of COVID-19. A total of 53 Palestinians have been infected with the virus since March 5, and 17 of them have recovered, the health ministry in the West Bank said earlier Saturday. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua via Getty) (Xinhua/xio

Palestinian workers in Israel face more restrictions amid coronavirus outbreak

The Palestinian government in the West Bank has escalated its precautionary measures on Palestinian workers returning from Israel in order to prevent further spread of the coronavirus.

Palestinian artists paint protective face masks to encourage people to wear them as a precaution against the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Gaza City March 30, 2020. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RC2DUF9EIP84

Israel suggests strings be attached to coronavirus aid for Gaza

Israeli Defense Minister Naftali Bennett has urged that any aid to Gaza for the COVID-19 pandemic be linked to the recovery of soldiers' remains.