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Palestine

May 12, 2026

Ramallah 8:26 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

A Palestinian man removes weeds from the Hisham's Palace archaeological site, located five kilometres north of the West Bank city of Jericho, on October 20, 2016, after the mosaic in the palace was uncovered and readied for display. / AFP / ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Palestinians get glimpse of world’s largest mosaic in Jericho

A Japanese-funded project to protect and exhibit the largest mosaic floor in the Middle East, an ancient creation dating back to the Umayyad period, promises to protect this treasure of Palestinian heritage and attract thousands more visitors to Jericho.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh (C) shakes hands with a man as he arrives to lead Eid al-Adha prayer in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip September 24, 2015. Muslims across the world celebrate the annual festival of Eid al-Adha or the Feast of the Sacrifice, which marks the end of the annual haj pilgrimage, by slaughtering goats, sheep, cows and camels in commemoration of the Prophet Abraham's readiness to sacrifice his son to show obedience to Allah. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX1S6G2

What's behind Hamas’ latest Cabinet reshuffle in Gaza?

Hamas carried out a ministerial reshuffle in the Gaza Strip, claiming to pump new blood into the ministries as the consensus government has failed to meet its responsibilities toward Gaza.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a meeting for the Central Council of the Palestinian Liberation Organization, in the West Bank city of Ramallah, March 19, 2015 file photo REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman/File photo - RTSR1TC

How Abbas can counter Netanyahu’s maneuver

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu uses time and again the demand that Palestinians recognize Israel as the homeland of the Jewish people to sideline the issues of occupation and settlements.

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman is seen during a meeting with the Cypriot Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Nicosia, Cyprus September 16, 2016.REUTERS/Yiannis Kourtoglou - RTSO008

The Israeli defense minister’s surprising offer

Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman granted the Palestinian newspaper al-Quds an interview in an attempt to reach out to the Palestinian public while bypassing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Amit (2nd L), a 7 year old cancer patient, sits on his intravenous drip stand decorated with an animal figure at Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva March 23, 2006. The hospital offers art therapy for children undergoing cancer treatments as a way to make their treatments more friendly. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTR17JJ2

Is Israel banning entry of Gaza cancer patients?

Israeli physicians say that many cancer patients from the Gaza Strip are banned from entering Israel, and so they are hospitalized in Gaza where there is no adequate medical treatment.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) and Palestinian security adviser Mohammad Dahlan (R) attend a meeting with Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh in Gaza April 5, 2007. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA) - RTR1OBRZ

How to replace Abbas? Produce a vice president

While some Palestinian politicos discuss creating a vice presidential position appointed by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as a transitional safeguard, others complain that the next in line to lead must be elected.

Prisoners gesture from their cell at HaSharon (Rimonim) high security prison, some 40 kilometers northeast of Tel Aviv, on February 23, 2014, after an American-Israeli prisoner serving life for murder was shot dead after he seized a gun and opened fire on three guards, before barricading himself in a prison bathroom. Samuel Sheinbein was killed when elite troops entered the bathroom at Rimonim prison to bring the situation to an end. AFP PHOTO / JACK GUEZ (Photo credit should read JACK GUEZ/AFP/Getty

Despite difficulties, Palestinian women continue to marry prisoners

More Palestinian women are marrying prisoners serving life sentences in Israeli jails in what they see as an act of patriotism.

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev chairs a meeting on social and economic development of regions in Pskov, Russia, August 16, 2016. REUTERS/Dmitry Astakhov/Sputnik/Pool - ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. - RTX2L9WK

Russian-Palestinian relations better than during Soviet era

Russian-Palestinian relations remain strong at both the official and public level, as Moscow has always supported the Palestinians’ right to self-determination and regularly funds cultural centers in the Palestinian territories.

RAMALLAH, : Palestinian outgoing cabinet minister and Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan speaks in front of a portrait of Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas during a press conference he held in the West Bank city of Ramallah 15 January 2006. Israel gave its approval for Arab residents of annexed east Jerusalem to vote in this month's Palestinian election but made clear it would not tolerate campaigning by Islamic militant group Hamas. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/G

Egyptian conference deepens internal Fatah split

The conference on the Palestinian cause held in Ain Sokhna in Egypt stirred controversy among Fatah members supporting Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and supporters of dismissed Fatah leader Mohammed Dahlan.

Hagai El-Ad, Executive Director of B'Tselem, a leading Israeli human rights organisation, poses in his office in Jerusalem December 16, 2015. An ultra-nationalist Israeli group has published a video accusing the heads of four of Israel's leading human rights organizations, including "B'Tselem", of being foreign agents funded by Europe and supporting Palestinians "involved in terrorism." REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX1YYPY

Will foreign pressure save or destroy Israel?

After the executive director of Israeli human rights group B'Tselem spoke out against settlements before the UN Security Council, the resulting criticism took issue only with his call for international intervention to advance peace.

Why one Palestinian actor came back to the Israeli stage

Actor George Ibrahim appeared at the Acre Fringe Theater Festival almost 30 years after leaving the Israeli art scene and establishing the Al-Kasaba Ramallah Theater.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks to the media during a press event in the West Bank city of Ramallah August 5, 2012. An aid convoy left Ramallah on Sunday carrying food and medicine in a symbol of support for Palestinian refugees caught up in the crisis in Syria. Sixteen trucks drove through Abbas's presidential compound before leaving for Jordan bound for Damascus. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST SOCIETY) - RTR366DZ

Will the Palestinian Authority succeed in pursuing activists beyond its borders?

Palestinian activists living abroad report being targeted for airing their criticisms on social media.