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July 24, 2026

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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

Jamal Zahalka (C), an Israeli-Arab lawmaker from the Joint Arab List, is taken out of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech as he presents his new coalition government following the mid-March general elections, in Jerusalem May 14, 2015. Netanyahu's new rightist coalition government, hobbled from the outset by its razor-thin parliamentary majority, was sworn in late on Thursday amid wrangling within his Likud party over cabinet posts. REUETRS/Jim Holl

Why one Arab Knesset member provoked Israeli police on the Temple Mount

The outburst by Knesset member Jamal Zahalka on the Temple Mount this week reveals the dangerous game he is playing at the sacred site, staging himself as a victim while world leaders gather at UN headquarters.

Abbas turns to Russia

It seems Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is asking Russia to step up its role in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as the United States is slowly retreating from dealing with the region's issues.

Electricity crisis tests right to protest in Gaza

Palestinians disgruntled by ongoing power outages have expressed their frustration through street demonstrations, but the police have not been accommodating.

Netanyahu, modern-day Goliath?

The thinking behind Israel relaxing the rules of engagement against Palestinians throwing stones is a double-edged sword.

A Palestinian man covers his face from tear gas fired by Israeli troops during clashes following a protest against the Israeli police raid on Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque on Tuesday, in the occupied West Bank city of Hebron September 18, 2015. Israel deployed hundreds of extra police around the Old City of Jerusalem on Friday after Palestinian leaders called for a 'day of rage' to protest at new Israeli security measures. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTS1R5M

Will there be a third intifada?

Despite growing tensions with Israel, Palestinians must decide whether to preserve the fragile rule of order and security in the West Bank or launch a third intifada.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas talk at a meeting at the presidential compound in the West Bank city of Ramallah January 4, 2014. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (WESTBANK) - RTX171OW

Netanyahu, Abbas rush to meet, but Americans say 'not so fast'

The Obama administration is not keen on a summit meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Mahmoud Abbas, fearing that without proper preparations, it could upset the already fragile situation.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen delivering his speech to the U.S. Congress on television screens in an electronics store in a Jerusalem shopping mall March 3, 2015. Netanyahu warned U.S. President Barack Obama on Tuesday against accepting a nuclear deal with Iran that would be a "countdown to a potential nuclear nightmare" by a country that "will always be an enemy of America". REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR4RWX2

What Israel should do about Iran

Israel, if it fully takes into account the Mideast's yawning Sunni-Shiite divide, could benefit from reconsidering its point of view on Iran.

A Palestinian woman argues with Israeli soldiers after Palestinian farmers said they were stopped by Israeli army and settlers from working in their farm land in Halhul town near Karme Tzur settlement, north of the occupied West Bank city of Hebron September 11, 2015. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTSL6J

Hebron activists challenge IDF narrative on shooting

Hebron residents who documented the incident in which a young Palestinian woman was shot by an IDF soldier in Hebron contradict the IDF's story.

What will it take for US to restart Israeli-Palestinian peace talks?

Any negotiations over an Israeli unity government must include a demand by the Zionist Camp for a clear path leading to negotiations, based on the 1967 lines, with stringent security measures and at least a qualified acceptance of the Saudi initiative.

Israel looks to respond to stones with bullets

Rather than offering new diplomatic horizons, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has extended the West Bank’s open-fire orders against Palestinian youth throwing stones also to East Jerusalem, thereby separating Jerusalem's two intertwined zones.

Is Al Jazeera Hamas' voice to the outside world?

Hamas has made a habit of giving Al Jazeera exclusive glimpses into its operations, and the news group has been facing criticism for it.

Israeli policemen stand guard as a group of Jewish youths leave after visiting the compound which houses al-Aqsa mosque, known by Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and by Jews as the Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City September 22, 2015. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX1RV04

Ultra-Orthodox war against Jews ascending Temple Mount

Ultra-Orthodox leaders generally agree that Jews should not ascend the Temple Mount, but a growing number of Orthodox-Zionist rabbis support Temple Mount activists in their campaign to ascend, for nationalist reasons.