Palestine - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palestine cover image

Palestine

July 27, 2026

Ramallah 1:05 pm

28°C

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

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

Erdogan turns blind eye to online hate speech

Anti-Semitic tweets by the pop star Yildiz Tilbe have found support within some Justice and Development Party (AKP) quarters while the government maintains an official silence.

A Palestinian man, who is a relative of Tayseer Al-Batsh's family, reacts next to the rubble of Al-Batsh's family house, which police said was destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Gaza City July 13, 2014. The Israeli air strike on the home of Al-Batsh, Gaza's police chief, killed 18 people on Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said, and Hamas fired the largest salvo of rockets yet on Tel Aviv since the start of the Jewish state's offensive in the Palestinian enclave.The strike on the home of Al-Batsh in Gaza

The destructive hatred of Hamas

The rule of Hamas, based on hate toward Israel rather than on rebuilding the Gaza Strip, is at the root of the miseries suffered by Gaza residents, both adults and children.

As tensions boil, Israeli Arabs and Jews recall second intifada

The relationship between Jewish and Arab Israeli society is hitting its lowest point ever as both sectors erupt in heated protest of the murders of teenagers and the rockets raining from Gaza.

Israeli airstrikes damage Egyptian homes

In an attempt to destroy smuggling tunnels, Israel’s bombardment along the Gaza-Egypt border has damaged Egyptian homes.

Israel continues to strike targets at home

Human rights activists charge that Israel’s bombing of civilian homes in Gaza where a member might be a combatant constitutes a violation of international law.

Hamas' armed wing spokesman speaks during a news conference in Gaza City July 3, 2014. The spokesman said Israel was breaking the 2012 ceasefire agreement and the group would act according to developments on the ground. He said Israel would pay a heavy price in any upcoming war. Israel said on Thursday it was beefing up its forces along its frontier with the Gaza Strip, in what it called a defensive deployment in response to persistent Palestinian cross-border rocket attacks. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA -

Hamas: no cease-fire until siege of Gaza lifted

The United States is indirectly communicating with Hamas via its regional allies to negotiate a cease-fire, but Hamas is insisting that Israel lift its crippling siege on Gaza.

An Egyptian soldier keeps guard on the border between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip July 1, 2013. Egyptian soldiers and members of Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas are on alert to guard the border area after massive protests in Egypt, Hamas officials said. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX118II

Hatred of Hamas leaves Egyptians unsympathetic

Many Egyptians, upset with Hamas for its alleged support of terrorism against their country, are not expressing much sympathy for the Gaza Strip in its conflict with Israel.

Israeli soldiers scuffle with Palestinian protesters during a protest against the Israeli air strikes in Gaza strip, at Hawara checkpoint near the West Bank city of Nablus, July 14, 2014. Palestinian militants resumed rocket attacks on Tel Aviv on Monday after a 24-hour lull in strikes on the Israeli commercial capital, and Israel kept up its air and naval bombardments of the Gaza Strip despite growing international pressure for a ceasefire. Around half a dozen Israelis have been wounded since the start of

West Bank clashes intensify amid Gaza war

Israel’s war on Gaza, with its heavy civilian casualties, is fueling already tense clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli soldiers in the West Bank.

Israel considers costs of escalation in Gaza

Gaza residents bear the costs of war; Israel weighs its option with Hamas; Al-Monitor interviews Iraqi political leaders; the forgotten war in Syria.

Palestinians, who fled their homes that are adjacent to the border with Israel, ride in a truck as they make their way to stay in a United Nations-run school in Gaza City July 13, 2014. An Israeli air strike on the home of Gaza's police chief killed 18 people on Saturday, Gaza's health ministry said, and Hamas fired the largest salvo of rockets yet on Tel Aviv since the start of the Jewish state's offensive in the Palestinian enclave. Israel's offensive has killed 145 Palestinians since Tuesday. Gaza medica

Hamas' attack on Israel destroys Gaza

Hamas rose to power through those in Gaza who wished to better their dire situation, but the movement chose to invest its resources in attacking Israel, ignoring the devastating consequences of its choice on the population.

Israeli strike kills family having coffee

Members of the Hamad family were sitting drinking coffee in front of a relative’s home when an Israeli strike claimed their lives.

An explosion is seen in the northern Gaza Strip after an Israeli air strike July 13, 2014. Israeli naval commandos clashed with Hamas militants in a raid on the coast of the Gaza Strip on Sunday, in what appeared to be the first ground assault of a six-day Israeli offensive on the territory aimed at stopping Palestinian rocket fire. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR3YCA0

Israel and Hamas' lose-lose situation

The current escalation in the Gaza Strip could have been avoided had Israel truly agreed to the two-state solution, thus nullifying the political force of Hamas and its desire to hurt Israel at any cost.