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Palestine

July 25, 2026

Ramallah 2:34 pm

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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

Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah (C) sits next to deputy prime minister Ziad Abu Amr (L) and former minister al-Sharafi (R) during a meeting to discuss national reconciliation, on March 26, 2015 in Gaza City, in the Hamas-run Palestinian territory. Hamdallah urged rival factions to set aside their differences, even as protesters gave him a cool reception in war-battered Gaza. It was only Hamdallah's second visit to the Gaza Strip since a unity government agreed on by rivals Fatah and Hamas took off

Gaza's employee crisis derails latest reconciliation attempt

Tensions are continuing to worsen within Palestine’s consensus government over the issue of the Gaza employees, who still have not been paid.

The Dome of the Rock and al-Aqsa mosque are seen in background as an Israeli flag flutters from atop a home of Jewish settlers in Silwan, a mostly Palestinian district abutting the Old City, November 3, 2014. For months, the streets of mainly Arab East Jerusalem, in the shadow of the Old City but where tourists seldom venture, have been ablaze, with daily clashes between armed Israeli police and Palestinians throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails.The roots of the unrest are many: from the killing in July of a

Turkish pilgrims to Jerusalem face backlash

Turkey’s Department of Religious Affairs elicited protests from an unexpected quarter when it added Jerusalem to its Umrah pilgrimage.

Palestinians clean the Al Aqsa mosque after clashes with Israeli police on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City November 5, 2014. Israeli security forces entered a Jerusalem holy compound and clashed with Palestinian stone throwers on Wednesday, officials said. Daily clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinians in the streets of East Jerusalem and the Old City compound have stoked fears of a new Palestinian Intifada, or uprising. RE

UNESCO resolutions raise Palestinian hopes

New UNESCO resolutions raises Palestinian hopes for more effective thwarting of Israeli violations of Palestinian land through illegal settlements and violation of historic sites.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (C) sits next to President Reuven Rivlin (R) during a Memorial Day ceremony at Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem April 22, 2015. Israel on Wednesday marks Memorial Day to commemorate its fallen soldiers. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX19SR0

How Bibi uses settlements to block Palestinian state

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu believes that Israel is under a constant existential threat and thus perceives those who believe in peace as naive and unrealistic.

An Israeli soldier cast his ballot on an army base near the southern city of Ofakim March 15, 2015. Israeli soldiers started voting on Sunday in Israel's parliamentary election. Polling stations for the rest of Israel open on Tuesday. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: ELECTIONS POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR4TEUW

Israel's Gaza-war soul-searching

Those in the Arab world who claim that Israel lost many wars mistakenly perceive the democratic process of auto-criticizing and evaluating misjudgments during the war as admission of defeat.

Gaza's dying bamboo crafts industry

Handmade bamboo furniture, which is part of the Palestinian identity, is endangered as the financial crisis is worsening in Gaza.

A Palestinian woman looks on during a mass wedding ceremony in Gaza City, on April 11, 2015. Nearly 200 Palestinian couples were married in a ceremony funded by an Emirati governmental organisation. AFP PHOTO / MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

Gaza women shed veil, spark conversation

Journalist Razan Madhoon has stirred debate about religiosity in the Gaza Strip by posting pictures of herself unveiled on Facebook.

A Palestinian boy jumps into the Mediterranean Sea as he enjoys a warm day with others at the seaport of Gaza City March 27, 2015. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

Social divide widens between West Bank, Gaza Strip

The inequitable distribution of resources and political and social opportunities between the West Bank and Gaza Strip is deepening the rift between the two territories, feeding people’s growing dissatisfaction on each side.

Palestinian women present their identity cards to an Israeli border police officer as they wait to make their way to Jerusalem to attend the first Friday prayer of Ramadan in al-Aqsa mosque, at Qalandia checkpoint near the West Bank city of Ramallah July 4, 2014. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR3X1SO

Facebook group shares checkpoint wait in real time

Thousands of Palestinians are using Facebook to share traffic updates to help each other avoid spending hours every day waiting to drive through Israeli checkpoints.

Gaza’s bookstores struggle

With the purchasing power of Gazans on the skids, people are reading less, and some libraries and book shops are barely scraping by and others are closing down.

RAMALLAH, WEST BANK - MAY 15: Palestinians gather to demonstrate on May 15, 2012 in central Ramallah, West Bank. Palestinians mark Israel's establishment in 1948 with "Nakba" or "catastrophe" day on May 15, to remember the thousands of Palestinians who fled or were expelled during the creation of the Jewish state and the subsequent war. (Photo by Uriel Sinai/Getty Images)

Israelis mark Independence, Nakba Day

While the initiative to jointly mark both Israeli Independence Day and Nakba Day has been maintained for several years now, it remains confined to a small segment of the public, with the Arab sector feeling increasingly alienated by the Jewish population.

Israeli soldiers stand guard as a Palestinian farmer sits on the ground after planting olive trees during a protest against what Palestinians say is land confiscation for Jewish settlements in the Jordan Valley, a hotly contested part of the occupied West Bank April 8, 2014. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS AGRICULTURE MILITARY) - RTR3KEMR

Palestine’s empty breadbasket

The Jordan Valley, once considered Palestine’s most fertile area, has been taken over by Israeli settlers who have barred Palestinians from using the land.