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Palestine

May 13, 2026

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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 votes in the West Bank village of Bani Naim May 5, 2005. Palestinians voted on Thursday in municipal elections likely to strengthen Islamist faction Hamas against President Mahmoud Abbas's troubled Fatah movement and hint at the outcome of a planned parliamentary ballot. REUTERS/Ammar Awad AWA/GOT - RTRA7PE

Will Palestinian municipal elections increase tension with Israel?

Israel might be confronted in October with a new reality, where Hamas takes over some West Bank municipalities.

during the Beach Soccer XXXX match between XXX and XXXX on Day 0 of the 3rd Asian Beach Games Haiyang 2012 at XXXX on June 16, 2012 in Haiyang, China.

Will Palestinian beach soccer team make it to Vietnam?

The Palestinian Football Association is working with FIFA to promote beach soccer in Gaza by organizing championship tournaments in the Gaza Strip, although the athletes hold out little hope of competing abroad.

TO GO WITH AFP STORY BY HOSSAM EZZEDINE
Art students perform during the Palesitinian Dance and Song Festival against Discrimination late on August 4, 2015 in the West Bank city of Ramallah. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

How art is bringing Gaza, West Bank together

For the first time, the Palestine International Festival for Dance and Music was held in both Gaza and the West Bank.

A Palestinian woman reacts after Israeli troops demolished her shed near the West Bank village of Um AlKhair, south of Hebron August 9, 2016. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTSM063

Why Israeli NGOs are shifting tactics to stop village demolition

The international community is doubling its pressure on Israel to not demolish the Palestinian village of Khirbet Susya and evacuate all of its residents.

A Palestinian man walks past a closed gate of al-Aqsa University in Gaza April 15, 2008. Two major Gaza universities suspended classes on Tuesday, saying a fuel crisis in the Hamas-controlled territory was making it difficult for students to travel to school. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA) - RTR1ZI9K

Al-Aqsa University students pay the price of Gaza-Ramallah bickering

Al-Aqsa University in the Gaza Strip is affected by the political tension between the Education Ministries of Gaza and the West Bank, with the latter threatening to invalidate the university’s degrees.

A Palestinian tunnel worker uses his mobile as he rests inside a smuggling tunnel beneath the Gaza-Egypt border in the southern Gaza Strip July 19, 2013. The Islamist group Hamas appealed to Egypt's new rulers on Thursday not to pursue its destruction of smuggling tunnels into the Gaza Strip, warning they risked throttling the small Palestinian territory. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX11ROK

How this group is fighting corruption in Gaza

The Coalition for Accountability and Integrity - Aman is distributing awards to those reporting on all forms of corruption cases in Gaza, in an effort to fight this rampant phenomenon.

Will Gaza photographer ever accept international awards in person?

Palestinian photographer Ashraf Amra has won another international photojournalism prize but may miss the Moscow award ceremony for the second year in a row, unable to leave the Gaza Strip.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks during a ceremony at the Peres Center for Peace in Jaffa, Israel, July 21, 2016. REUTERS/POOL/Dan Balilty - RTSJ1NL

Netanyahu's new worldview

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appears to have discarded seeking negotiations for a two-state solution with the Palestinians for a backdoor approach of forging alliances with Arab and other states.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) chairs a meeting with the Palestinian Liberation Organisation's¬í (PLO) executive committee in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 1, 2016. REUTERS/Fadi Arouri/Pool - RTS8TEU

Is Abbas using Christians to keep Hamas from power?

A presidential decree has sparked controversy in requiring that Christians head nine municipal councils.

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 21: American and Palestinian flags wave outside of the Verizon Center during the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) conference on March 21, 2016 in Washington, D.C. Presidential candidates from both parties gathered in Washington to pitch their plans for Israel. (Photo by Gabriella Demczuk/Getty Images)

Lobbying 2016: Palestine lobbies to win battle over peace talks

Palestinian supporters of Hizb ut-Tahrir take part in a rally calling for Khilafah, or Islamic rule, in Gaza City June 5, 2013. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX10CH3

Hizb ut-Tahrir: Palestine is not our main cause

The spokesman for the Islamic Hizb ut-Tahrir insists that his party has nothing to do with the Islamic State, as the latter seeks to establish an Islamic caliphate by using violence, while Hizb ut-Tahrir seeks the same goal but through political means.

A view of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim is seen near Jerusalem July 25, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad/File Photo - RTX2JRJ5

Is Israel annexing West Bank Area C?

Israel is actively pursuing a strategy of economic expansionism in Area C, making the Oslo Accord’s plan for a future Palestinian state not feasible.