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Palestine

May 11, 2026

Ramallah 11:16 pm

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Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

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

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Analysis

On eve of Palestinian local elections, competition in short supply

With many races unopposed and rivals excluded, the vote underscores a calibrated effort to contain dissent and prioritize stability.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

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.

Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Former Israeli prime minister

Latest News

Meloni suspends Italy's military cooperation agreement with Israel

Meloni

'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

Wartime closures at Jerusalem holy sites raise fears of lasting shift among Palestinians

Muslim worshippers break their fast outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed.

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

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivers a speech in his Jerusalem office December 28, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2WRPD

Is Trump really Netanyahu’s 'dream president’?

Benjamin Netanyahu must cope with a Trump administration whose policies are not yet known while facing pressures from the far right to annex settlement blocs and other pressures from Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman, the prime minister's rival from the pragmatist right.

Who are the Nawari, Gaza's alienated 'Gypsies'?

Palestine's marginalized Nawari community is forced to rely on begging and dancing for income and suffers particular discrimination in highly conservative Gaza, where many look down on Nawaris for their traditions.

(First row From L) Russian Ambassador to France Alexander Orlov, US Secretary of State John Kerry, French President Francois Hollande, French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault, European Union Foreign Policy Chief Federica Mogherini, State Secretary for European Affairs Harlem Desir pose for a family picture during the Mideast peace conference in Paris, France, January 15, 2017. REUTERS/Bertrand Guay/POOL TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSVNHB

After Paris — a Moscow conference on Mideast peace?

Palestinians are now developing a follow-up strategy to the Paris II conference, and are hoping for a Moscow conference in the near future.

Is Palestinian autonomy plan back on Likud table?

Likud Knesset member Yoav Kisch rejects the two-state solution and offers in its stead a three-phase plan for Palestinian autonomy.

Israeli far-right's new target: Arab bus drivers

Activists of the far-right Lehava have launched a hate campaign against Arab bus drivers.

A Goldfinch (Carduelis carduelis) perches on a cherry branch in the village of Studencice April 22, 2009. REUTERS/Srdjan Zivulovic (SLOVENIA ANIMALS ENVIRONMENT) - RTXE94M

Goldfinch trainers seek to spread wings beyond Gaza

Palestinian trainers of singing goldfinches hope to one day take part in international competitions, but have been limited so far because of closed borders.

A car (L), which Israeli police said was used by an Arab Israeli to ram into a group of policemen, is seen at the scene of the incident in Umm Al-Hiran, a Bedouin village in Israel's southern Negev Desert January 18, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTSW1KM

Israeli Bedouin blame government for recent violence

After an Israeli police officer was killed when a villager ran over him with his car, Israeli Bedouin claim that policemen are carrying out demolitions like military operations.

French Minister of Foreign Affairs Jean-Marc Ayrault addresses delegates at the opening of the Mideast peace conference in Paris, January 15, 2017.Around 70 countries and international organisations are making a new push for a two-state solution in the Middle East at the conference in Paris. REUTERS/Thomas Samson/POOL - RTSVKTN

Has Israeli left given up on two states?

Israel’s left no longer preaches for coexistence, dialogue or reconciliation, and focuses only on separating the two peoples through unilateral measures.

Palestinian activist Mohammed al-Taluli (top), 25, chants slogans during a protest at the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip on January 12, 2017, against the Palestinian enclave's ongoing electricity crisis.
The 25-year-old nicknamed Guevara because of his admiration of the Latin American revolutionary has returned to his home despite warnings that Hamas security forces were looking for him due to his role as an organiser of recent protests over severe electricity shortages.
/ AFP / Mohammed A

Gaza's electricity protests are bold sign of dissent

Qatar pledged to donate $12 million to help ease the Gaza Strip's electricity crisis, following a wave of massive protests against Hamas' ineffectual running of the electricity sector in the Strip.

A man browses in a bookshop in downtown Cairo October 13, 2010. Poking fun at everything from the president's almost 30-year rule to the capital's frenetic traffic, satirical books are filling more shelf space in Egypt's bookshops and reflecting the frustrations of a young generation. Limited outlets for political expression, state crackdowns on organized dissent and a growing wealth gap in the Arab world's most populous state are fuelling demand for such literary satire, literary critics say. Picture taken

Why Gazan authors are moving to Egypt

Egypt remains the No. 1 destination for Arab authors in general, and Gazan authors in particular, due to its cultural and scientific stature.

Origami birds hang from a tree in memory of victims of the magnitude 9.0 earthquake and tsunami which struck Japan last week, in the centre of Sofia, March 17, 2011. REUTERS/Oleg Popov (BULGARIA - Tags: DISASTER SOCIETY ENVIRONMENT) - RTR2K053

Gaza’s autistic children master art of origami

Parents of children with autism in the Gaza Strip have discovered their kids’ hidden talent to fold papers.

An Israeli soldier speaks on his mobile phone at a military outpost on Mount Hermon in the Golan Heights over looking the Israel-Syria border February 4, 2015. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTR4O8R8

Did Hamas hack the IDF?

Israeli army officials claim that some of its soldiers were duped by fake Facebook accounts set up by Hamas, which then hacked soldiers' phones and obtained sensitive intelligence information.