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Palestine

July 23, 2026

Al Bīrah 11:02 pm

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Flags of Spain and Argentina

Culture

How Argentina-Spain World Cup final became debate over Israel, Palestine

Governments and fans alike have turned teams and players into symbols of political division.

Government Media Office Director Ismail Thawabteh (R) and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem (L) speak at a press conference.

Explainer

What does Hamas' move to dissolve its Gaza government mean?

Hamas has agreed to hand civilian administration over to the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza, but the committee is not yet in Gaza and may not deploy until Hamas’ disarmament is resolved.

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

In an interview with Al-Monitor, head of the Arab-Israeli Hadash-Ta'al Knesset faction, Ayman Odeh, said his party is prepared to make difficult decisions to topple Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Kiros has taken a hard stance against Israel and opposes all aid to the country as pro-Palestinian candidates make further inroads in the party.

Latest News

Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank

Israeli security forces attempt to disperse Palestinians who had gathered to protest the reported burning of land by Israeli settlers in the Palestinian village of Idna, west of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on June 5, 2026.

Ireland bans hard-line Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich: What to know

Israeli policemen surround Israeli Minister of National Security and far-right politician Itamar Ben-Gvir as he arrives outside the Damascus Gate of the walled Old City of Jerusalem on May 26, 2025, during a flag march for Jerusalem Day, commemorating the Israeli army's 1967 capture of the city's eastern sector during the Arab-Israeli war.

Record Israeli arms exports highlight global rush for air defense

People stand in front of the Arrow 3 shield system during an event of the German Air Force to declare the Initial Operating Capability for the Arrow Weapon System for Germany at the Annaburger Heide Air Base in Schoenewalde / Holzdorf, eastern Germany, on Dec. 3, 2025.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

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 masked Palestinian protester holds a knife during a protest near the Israeli border fence in northeast Gaza October 9, 2015. Israeli troops fired across the border into Gaza on Friday, killing four Palestinians and wounding at least a dozen others who were throwing stones during a rally in support of protests in Jerusalem, hospital officials in Gaza said. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTS3QE4

Bibi blames everyone but himself for recent violence

The Israeli government blames incitement for a series of stabbing attacks by individual Palestinians instead of acknowledging the real reasons they are willing to take such a risk.

Farah Baker, 16, uses her phone to tweet in her family's home in Gaza City, August 10, 2014. As bombs explode in Gaza, Palestinian teenager Farah Baker grabs her smartphone or laptop before ducking for cover to tap out tweets that capture the drama of the tumult and fear around her. The 16-year-old's prolific posts on Twitter have made her a social media sensation through the month-old conflict. Once a little known high school athlete, Baker's following on the Web site has jumped from a mere 800 to a whoppi

Will social media spark a third intifada?

Social media campaigns encourage and intensify the recent Palestinian outbreak that no party can control unless one "thinks differently," suggests media analyst Orit Perlov.

Palestinians inspect the damage after Egyptian forces flooded smuggling tunnels dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip September 18, 2015. According to Palestinian witnesses, the Egyptian authorities pumped water from the Mediterranean Sea through pipes to destroy the tunnels. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTS1R6D

Gaza tunnels, how did it all start?

The division of Rafah led to the creation of the tunnels, which are still being used to smuggle goods from Egypt to the Gaza Strip despite Egyptian authorities’ efforts to the contrary.

Netanyahu weighs more aggressive action as Hamas leader backs 'intifada'

The Israeli prime minister is under pressure from the Israeli right as Israeli-Palestinian violence escalates; Syrian Kurdish leaders back Russian intervention to battle the Islamic State.

Bibi looks to score political points from current wave of terror

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has addressed the public directly after the stabbing in Tel Aviv, telling Israelis that they aren't facing a new intifada and that Israel's most experienced security chiefs are capable of containing the violence.

Palestinian militants from al-Husine brigade loyal to Fatah movement is seen during a military-style exercise graduation ceremony in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, September 20, 2015. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem - RTS20TV

Hamas turns blind eye to Fatah’s military activities in Gaza

Fatah-affiliated militias are operating in Gaza to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas’ displeasure and with no restrictions from Hamas, which says it welcomes every contribution to an armed resistance against Israel.

A different kind of intifada

The sustainability and longevity of the current protests in Palestine seem dependent upon the continuation of violence and whether or not people manage to stay hopeful.

Coming days may see turning point in West Bank violence

As long as the major Palestinian organizations resist taking the lead in the current wave of violence and Israel restrains itself, it is still possible to avoid another new intifada.

Israelis do not want a leader with vision

Israelis no longer want a leader with a vision, but rather a “strong leader” who will threaten the Palestinians with harsh actions and retaliation.

Ramallah, a small city overloaded

Ramallah and its surrounding communities will need smart planning and extensive upgrades to their infrastructure to deal with a burgeoning flow of workers.

Members of the Palestinian security forces take part in a training session in the West Bank city of Hebron May 22, 2013. Led by the secular Fatah party, the Western-backed PA has pursued surveillance, firings, arrests and torture to bar its Islamist militant rivals Hamas from public life in the West Bank, since the Palestinian territories were split in 2007 when Hamas seized control of the Gaza Strip coastal enclave. Picture taken May 22, 2013. To match Insight PALESTINIANS-HAMAS/CRACKDOWN REUTERS/Ammar Aw

Despite mounting violence, IDF-PA security cooperation unlikely to end

While peace negotiations between the Palestinian Authority and Israel keep hitting an impasse, it looks like security cooperation continues as usual.

Israeli soldiers take position during clashes with Palestinian protesters in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron October 4, 2015. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office said he would meet security chiefs later on Sunday to discuss more action to tackle a rising wave of violence in East Jerusalem, which includes the Old City, and the West Bank, areas that Israel captured in a 1967 war. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTS2YR1

The real intifada is taking place within Israeli political right

IDF personnel estimate that the current spike of terror does not foretell a third intifada and recommend the political echelon restore calm in the West Bank.