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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

May 12, 2026

Ramallah 5:23 pm

31°C

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

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - JULY 13: In this handout photo provided by the Palestinian Press Office (PPO), Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) meets with the Central Committee of the Fatah movement July 13, 2014 in Ramallah, West Bank. The total number of Palestinians killed by Israeli airstrikes on the Gaza Strip since Monday has reached 166, according to a Palestinian Health Ministry official. (Photo by Thaer Ghanaim/PPO via Getty Images)

Dismissed Fatah leaders look to reform movement from outside

A group of Fatah leaders who were dismissed by President Mahmoud Abbas for having allegiances to Mohammed Dahlan called for the formation of a committee of Fatah elders to end the division plaguing the movement.

Palestinian families of those killed in violence in the Gaza Strip, hold posters reading in Arabic: "punishment for criminals" as they protest in support of execution outside a conference being held by non-governmental organisations on the occasion of the World Day Against the Death Penalty, in Gaza City, on October 9, 2013. The Gaza Strip's Islamist rulers Hamas hanged a prisoner today who had been convicted of murder, its interior ministry said, despite international calls for a halt to executions. Under

Gazans divided over death sentences

Gaza courts issued six death sentences in October, prompting concern among human rights groups for Gaza's judicial situation.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he delivers a speech during a rally marking the 12th anniversary of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's death, in the West Bank city of Ramallah November 10, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2T0A6

Will Fatah’s upcoming conference do more harm than good?

There are fears among Palestinians that the seventh Fatah conference to be held Nov. 29 will lead to an organizational split.

U.S. President Barack Obama meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (L) at the White House in Washington March 17, 2014. President Barack Obama on Monday urged Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to make tough decisions and take risks for peace with Israel, saying he hoped to see progress in U.S.-brokered negotiations in coming weeks.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3HG6Q

Will state of Palestine be Obama's legacy?

Some observers are urging that President Barack Obama allow a vote in favor of recognizing the state of Palestine at the UN Security Council before leaving office.

How Gaza's female filmmakers rebel against reality

The Women's Affairs Center in the Gaza Strip held a women's film festival where viewers watched short productions that tackled bold subjects.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks to Republican U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump during their meeting in New York, September 25, 2016. Kobi Gideon/Government Press Office (GPO)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2SIOS

What Netanyahu wants from Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has already started preparing his first meeting with President-elect Donald Trump in order to persuade him to embrace his two-state rejectionist position.

A teacher distributes meals to students as part of a World Food Programme (WFP)-run project to provide healthy meals to students and to raise awareness of good eating habits, at Hofa Al-Mazar school in the city of Irbid, Jordan, April 26, 2016. REUTERS/ Muhammad Hamed - RTX2BQMO

Why is Jordan preventing Gazan refugees from doing their jobs?

The Jordanian Ministry of Education is implementing a decision to ban Gazan teachers in Jordan from continuing to teach in Jordanian schools.

Palestinian activists blog for change on bus tour of neglected sites

The Taghyeer foundation has started a bus project that takes prominent internet activists on tours of marginalized areas in the West Bank in hopes of bringing about positive change.

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish man walk next to a poster of Donald Trump in Jerusalem's Mea Shearim neighbourhood, October 13, 2016. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTSS53C

Middle East will quickly teach Trump rules of the game

As US president, Donald Trump will have little option but to engage in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and when he does, judiciously.

Palestinian farmers use scythes to pick thyme plants (Zatar) to be sold at West Bank and Arab countries markets, in the West Bank village of Falamyeh near Qalqilya September 17, 2015. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini - RTS1KL4

Medicinal herb industry takes root in Palestine

The cultivation of medicinal herbs in Palestine has been growing over the past decade in an industry that benefits from the experience of Palestinian former workers in Israeli settlements.

U.S. President Barack Obama looks up during his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York September 21, 2016. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque - RTSOTI2

Obama’s last chance of ending Israeli occupation

President Barack Obama must now muster the courage to fulfill his 2009 Cairo speech pledge to push for the establishment of a Palestinian state.

Why Israeli Arabs prefer studying in the West Bank

Israeli-Arab students find it difficult to pass the entry exams of universities in Israel that favor Hebrew-speaking Israeli Jews, and prefer enrolling in West Bank universities.