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Palestine

May 13, 2026

Ramallah 4:56 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 women take to social media to reveal their names

The non-identification of women’s names in electoral lists and wedding cards triggered a campaign on social media calling for the empowerment of Palestinian women.

A Palestinian stone-thrower looks on as he stands in front of a fire during clashes with Israeli troops following the funeral of Palestinian Riham Dawabsheh at Duma village near the occupied West Bank city of Nablus, September 7, 2015. The mother of a Palestinian toddler killed in a July arson attack in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, died on Monday of her burns, the third fatality after her husband succumbed to his injuries last month. Suspected Jewish attackers torched the family's home in the northern We

One year into Palestinian uprising: What’s the status today?

The popular uprising in the West Bank has significantly waned, but not disappeared, in recent months in the absence of organized political support.

A Palestinian man holds up a vase in a glass factory in the West Bank city of Hebron December 15, 2007. Picture taken December 15, 2007. REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK) - RTX4SNC

Hebron's handicrafts honored with top award

The West Bank city of Hebron won the World Craft City award, which officials hope will encourage cultural exchange and trade with other parts of the world.

A Palestinian marching band parades during a Christmas procession at Manger Square in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 24, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX1ZYV3

Why Palestine's 'Merry Christmas people' are not so merry

A Palestinian official caused an uproar when he described Palestinian Christians as the “Merry Christmas people.”

Hamas security forces stand guard at the entrance of the cabinet headquarters of Gaza's Hamas rulers on December 30, 2014 in Gaza City before a meeting of Palestinian unity government officials to launch reconstruction of the territory devastated by a 50-day summer war with Israel. Speaking late on December 29 shortly after a ministerial delegation from the West Bank arrived in Gaza, former Hamas prime minister Ismail Haniya accused the government of failing "to keep its commitments, by not carrying out rec

Hamas hampering persistent press

The Foreign Press Association accused Hamas of imposing restrictions on foreign journalists entering the Gaza Strip, which the government denied.

Palestinians are seen behind flame from burning tyres during clashes with Israeli troops in the West Bank town of Qabatya, near Jenin February 22, 2016. Israeli forces closed the main entrance of the town on Monday a day after a Palestinian from Qabatya was shot dead by Israeli troops after he tried to stab a soldier, Palestinian witnesses said. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2829U

Will Israeli-Palestinian conflict escalate in December?

Both Israel and the Palestinians are using the period of international deadlock at the end of 2016 to consolidate their support bases instead of advancing dialogue initiatives.

Culinary training program cooks up job training for Gaza

To meet the growing needs of Gaza's flourishing restaurant industry, one woman has created a first-of-its-kind project to teach the culinary arts in partnership with the Smile Training and Development Center.

Palestinian Hamas leader in Gaza Ismail Haniyeh waves to his supporters during an anti-Israeli rally in Gaza city April 28, 2016. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem - RTX2C2YQ

Qatar or Iran: Who will save Hamas?

The Hamas delegation will split forces after performing the hajj in Mecca, with Ismail Haniyeh heading to Qatar and Mahmoud al-Zahar visiting Iran.

GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP - JANUARY 25: Palestinian women show their inked fingers after voting in the Palestinian legislative election at a UN school which is being used as a polling station, January 25, 2006, in Gaza City, Gaza Strip. The newly elected Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) will be expanded, and half of the seats will be allotted by proportional representation of all parties that gather more than two percent of the vote. (Photo by Abid Katib/Getty Images)

Why did Fatah remove female candidates' names from electoral lists?

Fatah did not identify the names of female candidates on some of its electoral lists running in the Oct. 8 local elections, which raised the ire of activists who took to social media.

Israeli MP and chairperson of center-right Yesh Atid party, Yair Lapid, casts his ballot at a polling station with his wife Lihi (R) on March 17, 2015 in Tel Aviv. Voting polls opened for unpredictable elections to determine whether Israelis still want incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as leader, or will seek change after six years. AFP PHOTO / GIL COHEN MAGEN (Photo credit should read GIL COHEN MAGEN/AFP/Getty Images)

Meet the man who might replace Netanyahu

A recent poll put Yesh Atid leader Yair Lapid ahead of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, if elections were held today.

Backdropped by Jerusalem's Old City Ottoman walls, Jerusalem's mayor Nir Barkat speaks during a joint press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (unseen) on February 23, 2015, a day after Barkat and his bodyguard apprehended a young Palestinian who stabbed an ultra-Orthodox Jew in Jerusalem. AFP PHOTO / GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Controversial cable car project in Jerusalem pushed by Israeli mayor

The Israeli mayor of Jerusalem is using an extensive Disney-like cable car project to improve his standing with the Likud Party, while the Palestinians publicly oppose his unilateral action.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, 30 August 2016. REUTERS/Abir Sultan/Pool - RTX2NKHM

Netanyahu unruffled by critical UN envoy report

Neither criticism by UN Middle East envoy Nikolay Mladenov over settlement expansion nor a ruling by Israel's own Supreme Court against the construction of illegal outposts have ruffled Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's insistence on portraying Israel as the victim of international persecution.