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Palestine

July 25, 2026

Ramallah 5:16 am

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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

Latest News

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

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

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.

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

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators protest against Israel's military action in Gaza, after Friday prayers in Durban July 25, 2014. REUTERS/Rogan Ward (SOUTH AFRICA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR404V5

South African Jews, not Israel, suffer from boycott

The BDS movement has been active in South Africa for years, but it's the local Jewish community, not Israel-South Africa bilateral trade relations, that are paying the price of the boycott calls.

Members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas march during a military graduation ceremony in Gaza City May 21, 2015. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem

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Is Hamas preparing for long-term truce with Israel?

Hamas’ military wing, Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, has been implementing a series of military measures signifying a possible truce with Israel, but is not ruling out the possibility of a deadly confrontation.

A Palestinian fighter from the Izz el-Deen al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, gestures inside an underground tunnel in Gaza August 18, 2014. A rare tour that Hamas granted to a Reuters reporter, photographer and cameraman appeared to be an attempt to dispute Israel's claim that it had demolished all of the Islamist group's border infiltration tunnels in the Gaza war. Picture taken August 18, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CONFLICT TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR42YJW

Radical Islamists add to Hamas' burden

On top of its many other security and political challenges, Hamas is also dealing with the radical Islamist elements in Gaza that are firing rockets at Israel while Hamas struggles to maintain a cease-fire agreement.

Palestinian men face prison sentences for Facebook posts

Facebook posts by a number of Palestinian men have been deemed inciteful to violence by the magistrate’s court in Jerusalem, amid public uproar calling the legality of the charges into question.

Netanyahu derails debate on boycott, occupation

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu views the boycott campaign against Israel through a prism of anti-Semitism and is avoiding public debate over the BDS movement's motives, namely the occupation.

Representatives of various Palestinian armed factions leave after holding a news conference to condemn the decision of an Egyptian court that banned Hamas' armed wing, in Gaza City February 5, 2015. An Egyptian court last week banned Hamas' armed wing and listed it as a terrorist organization, prompting Hamas to reject Egypt as a mediator between Israel and the Palestinians, a role it has played for decades.
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Gaza's crowded political scene

In the absence of an applicable law governing partisan life in Palestine, the Gaza Strip has seen the emergence of dozens of new factions since 2000.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu holds a meeting of his new cabinet, in honor of Jerusalem day, at the Israeli Museum in Jerusalem May 19, 2015. REUTERS/Atef Safadi/Pool - RTX1DLBQ

Fall of the Israeli Foreign Ministry

The traditional roles of the ministry — namely building bridges of common interests with the international community or engaging in a viable Middle East peace process — have evaporated with Israel's most right-wing government.

Activists gesture from the "Stefano Chiarini" ship, which is part of the "Freedom Flotilla II", during a demonstration against the Greek authorities' ban on Gaza-bound ships on the Greek island of Corfu July 2, 2011. Greek authorities said on Friday that ships destined for Gaza -- which involves transit through international waters -- were prohibited from leaving Greek ports. REUTERS/Marko Djurica (GREECE - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2ODFT

Gazans nervous as next freedom flotilla nears

After successive failed attempts, a third freedom flotilla will set sail to the Gaza Strip, though many activists expect Israeli opposition.

A Palestinian vendor sells pickles in a market as Muslims prepare for the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, in Gaza City August 20, 2009. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA RELIGION) - RTR26XC6

Life as a Gaza street vendor

Owners of small businesses in Gaza are already struggling to make ends meet, and the fines and taxes they are required to pay are adding to their difficulties.

A Palestinian Bedouin woman stands next to her sheep in the West Bank village of Al-Eizariya, near east of Jerusalem September 18. 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS ANIMALS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR46STW

Bedouin face expulsion as Israel builds Greater Jerusalem

Bedouin communities in the highlands of Jerusalem are facing evacuation threats by Israeli authorities who purportedly plan to use the land to expand the settlements.

Palestinians supporting Hamas chant slogans during a rally celebrating Hamas student supporters winning the student council election at Birzeit University in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 23, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman
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Israel, Hamas need each other

Elements within the Israeli security establishment propose to negotiate with Hamas and enable Gaza to benefit from Israeli distillation facilities, electricity services and employment opportunities, while assuring Israel a certain degree of calm.

Tourists visit Herodium, where Herod's fortress palace once stood, south of the West Bank city of Bethlehem March 31, 2015. Israeli archaeologists have recently uncovered a grand arched walkway built by Herod the Great at his palace of Herodium that sheds more light on the formidable building projects of the Jewish Roman king. After the palace-fort was completed, Herod appears to have changed his mind and he ordered the entire mound, including the walkway, to be buried under rubble and it remained hidden un

Israelis travel under radar to tour Jericho, Bethlehem

Hundreds of Israelis are discreetly visiting Jericho and Bethlehem to see archaeological marvels and enjoy local hospitality.