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Palestine

May 13, 2026

Ramallah 4:03 am

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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

Palestinian man Saeed el-Aer (L) trains stray dogs with other boys on the property of the organisation he helped set up, the Sulala Society for Training and Caring for Animals, in Zahra, south of Gaza city July 17, 2016. Picture taken July 17, 2016. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTSIUK4

Gazan personally finances rescue for stray animals

A Palestinian citizen has launched the first welfare society in the Gaza Strip for stray dogs and cats, as there is no government funding or official organization for attending to these animals.

Former Israeli President Shimon Peres delivers a statement to the media as he is discharged from a hospital near Tel Aviv, January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner/File Photo - RTSNKPV

Israeli-Arab MK sticks by statements bashing ailing Peres

Talking to Al-Monitor, Arab Knesset member Basel Ghattas explains why he slammed former President Shimon Peres, who is hospitalized and in critical condition.

Palestinian judges discuss a petition to suspend municipal elections, at the High Court office in the West Bank city of Ramallah September 8, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2ON46

Fight over Palestinian electoral lists gets technical

Fatah refuses to work with the Gaza courts to resolve the disqualification of some of its electoral lists by the Central Election Commission as officials struggle to find answers in legal texts.

Palestinians shop as a mannequin displaying a headscarf and robe is seen at a market ahead of the Eid al-Adha festival in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip September 23, 2015. Muslims across the world are preparing to 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

Hajj is 'blessed season' for Gaza shop owners

Added expense and problems with transport are leading Gazans to buy hajj gifts from local markets rather than in Saudi Arabia.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a news conference with Chancellor Angela Merkel (unseen) at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, April 19, 2016. REUTERS/Hannibal Hanschke - RTX2AOLJ

Why Palestinians aren't holding their breath for Moscow meeting

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has agreed to meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Russia despite the latter’s rejection of the Palestinian preconditions.

A Palestinian teacher holds a sign during a protest demanding better pay and conditions, in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 7, 2016. For a month, more than 25,000 teachers in the West Bank have been on strike over pay and benefits, causing chaos for schools, pupils and parents, and prompting the Palestinian Authority to deploy military police on the streets of Ramallah. The sign reads, "If the sons of our people are in the streets, are the teachers' sons in palaces?". Picture taken March 7. REUTERS/Moh

Can Palestinian Authority cope with decline of international aid?

International aid to the Palestinian Authority fell by 70% over the last four years, significantly affecting the Palestinian government's budget, and consequently, the economy.

Gideon Remez, one of the Israeli researchers who said on Thursday that Soviet-era documents showed that Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas worked in the 1980s for the KGB, the now-defunct Russian intelligence agency, holds up a page he received after some documents smuggled out of Russia by a former KGB archivist were released for public research two years ago, with a line in Russian reading, " "Krotov", which is the derived from the Russian word for "mole" and, "Abbas, Mahmoud, born 1935 in Palestine, mem

What's behind Israeli report claiming Abbas was KGB spy?

Israeli researchers have accused Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas of having been a KGB agent, to wide criticism from Palestinians who see the claim as part of an Israeli smear campaign to get rid of Abbas.

Pictures of Palestinian Hamas militants held in Israeli jails are seen through a fence during a rally marking Palestinian Prisoner Day, in Gaza City April 17, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2AAQR

Israel dangles Gazan operatives, but Hamas won't negotiate

Despite multiple offers by Israel, Hamas refuses to make a deal for the release of three Israelis before Israel releases 50 prisoners it recaptured in 2014.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas meet at Netanyahu's residence September 15, 2010 in Jerusalem, Israel. Netanyahu and Abbas are deadlocked in peace negotiations over Israeli settlement building. (Photo by Lior Mizrahi-Pool/Getty Images)

Is Netanyahu trying to kill Russian summit initiative?

Palestinian sources believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's release of his ''ethnic cleansing'' video is part of an attempt to sabotage a Russian-backed summit with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

A Palestinian boy holds a sign that reads "we demand our dignity" in front of Israeli soldiers during a protest calling for the reopening of a closed street in the West Bank city of Hebron August 24, 2016. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTX2MW1E

Why referendum on West Bank is unlikely to change anything

Instead of going to the streets, the Israeli peace camp prefers an online campaign that is unlikely to change anything within Israeli public opinion.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas heads a Palestinian cabinet meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah July 28, 2013. REUTERS/Issam Rimawi/Pool/File Photo - RTX2O7X6

Hamas accuses Abbas of blocking local elections to protect Fatah

The Palestinian High Court of Justice has suspended the local elections slated for Oct. 8, citing concern that Jerusalem was left out of the electoral process and that Fatah lists were being disqualified by Hamas-run courts in the Gaza Strip.

Netanyahu cries 'ethnic cleansing' after offering to negotiate

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stated that he is willing to meet Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, but then quickly released a video clip accusing those who call for the evacuation of the settlements of supporting ethnic cleansing.