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Palestine

September 19, 2026

Ramallah 11:57 pm

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Palestinians hold up the green Hamas flag during a protest by supporters of both the Fatah and Hamas movements, as they rally in support of the Palestinian people following Friday noon prayers in Hebron, occupied West Bank, Nov. 3, 2023.

Majority of Palestinians lose trust in Hamas and Fatah, new poll finds

A recent poll by a Palestinian survey center found that trust in Palestinian factions has declined, amid stalled efforts to implement the Gaza peace plan and escalating settler violence in the West Bank.

Latest News

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

As Israeli settler attacks mount, Trump avoids public pressure on Netanyahu

Israeli soldiers arrive in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has faced escalating Israeli settler violence over the past month, on Aug. 29, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

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

Palestinians sit outside their house as Israeli soldiers patrol near the West Bank City of Hebron June 15, 2014. Israel said on Sunday Hamas militants had abducted three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank, warning of "serious consequences" as it pressed on with a search and detained dozens of Palestinians. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MILITARY) - RTR3TVDN

Would Israel cut a deal with Hamas for kidnapped students?

Contrary to the Gilad Shalit kidnapping, when 1,027 Palestinian prisoners were released, the right-wing community of the current kidnapped might not be ready to cut such a deal or give up land to bring the children home.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he speaks during a conference in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 19, 2014. Israeli forces traded gunfire with Palestinians on Thursday, the military said, in the fiercest street battles in the occupied West Bank since a search began for three Israeli teenagers missing for a week. Abbas roundly condemned the kidnappers on Wednesday and promised to hold to account those responsible. His words in turn were denounced by Hamas and other factions, who accused hi

Hamas gains in backlash to Abbas speech

President Mahmoud Abbas’ speech in which he emphasized security coordination with Israel has seen a fierce backlash from the Palestinian street, givng Hamas a likely poll boost.

Palestinian Minister of Housing and Public Works Mufeed Al-Hassayna (R) shakes hands with former Hamas government Minister of Housing Youssef Graze during office handover ceremony in Gaza City June 4, 2014. Islamist Hamas handed control of two government ministries in Gaza to members of the new Palestinian unity government on Wednesday, a further sign of reconciliation between the rival factions after the collapse of peace talks with Israel. In Gaza, new cabinet ministers Saleem Al-Saqqa, a Gaza lawyer, and

Palestinian budget burdened by hefty pensions for ministers

The latest unity government is the 17th Palestinian government in two decades, and an enormous number of former ministers are enjoying excessive benefits the government cannot afford.

Masked Palestinians supporting Hamas gestures "three" as a reference to Israeli teenagers who went missing during a rally in support of Palestinians in the West Bank and against an arrest campaign by Israeli troops, in the central Gaza Strip June 20, 2014. Israeli troops killed a Palestinian teenager in the occupied West Bank on Friday and arrested 25 people, pursuing a weeklong crackdown against Islamist militants and house-to-house searches for three Israeli teenagers who went missing eight days ago. REUT

Israel deputy minister: Abbas heads a terrorist government

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Deputy Minister Ofir Akunis blames Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for the unsolved abductions of the three Israeli students.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (R) and Mohammad Nazzal, a member of the Hamas leadership, speak to media after their meeting with Jordan's King Abdullah at the Royal Palace in Amman January 28, 2013. REUTERS/Majed Jaber (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3D30A

Israel blames Hamas political leaders for abductions

Israel is no longer buying the distinction between Hamas' political and military divisions.

The mother of Palestinian Mohammed Attallah mourns his death at a hospital in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 22, 2014. Israeli troops killed two Palestinians on Sunday, one of them Attallah, Palestinian medics and a militant group said, as Israel pressed on with its crackdown on Hamas, the Islamist group it accuses of abducting three Israeli teens. In Ramallah, the Islamic Jihad militant group said one of its members was killed by Israeli gunfire.The Israeli military said it was "not familiar" with th

Palestinians blame PA for Israeli crackdown in West Bank

The Israeli military response in the West Bank following the kidnapping of three teenagers has raised serious fears of a popular revolt in the occupied territories.

(L-R) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Pope Francis and Israeli President Shimon Peres arrive in the Vatican Gardens to pray together at the Vatican June 8, 2014. REUTERS/Max Rossi (VATICAN - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3SRQM

Israel should back Mahmoud Abbas to deter ISIS

While the United States and Europe try to strengthen moderate Arab countries as a counterbalance to global jihad extremists in Iraq and elsewhere, Israel continues to diminish moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

Israeli soldiers take part in searches for three Israeli teenagers believed to have been abducted by Palestinians near the West Bank City of Hebron June 21, 2014. Israel sent more troops to the occupied West Bank on Saturday to search for three missing teenagers it says were abducted by Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.
REUTERS/Baz Ratner(WEST BANK - Tags: CIVIL UNREST MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR3UZBB

Palestinian officials fear 'regional crisis' with Israel over kidnappings

The kidnappers of three Israeli teenagers have successfully hidden their tracks, frustrating Israeli and Palestinian efforts to find them.

Palestinian youths take a nap as they wait with other passengers to cross into Egypt at Rafah border crossing in the southern Gaza Strip August 12, 2013. Egypt has sharply cut the number of Palestinians allowed to enter from the Gaza Strip since its military ousted Islamist president Mohamed Mursi last month, the tiny enclave's Islamist Hamas rulers said on Monday. An Egyptian official said the curbs were "not a punishment" for Hamas's Islamist leanings but an effort to reduce civilian traffic as Egypt has

Gaza's unemployed graduates: between Google and falafel

With the unemployment rate steadily on the rise in the Gaza Strip, many college graduates are taking and creating jobs outside their specialty.

A Jewish settler reacts as she stands atop the roof of a temporary structure before Israeli policemen demolish it in the West Bank Jewish settler outpost of Maale Rehavam, near Bethlehem May 14, 2014. Some seven structures were razed on Wednesday by Israeli border police officers and no injuries or arrests were made during the incidences, a police spokesman said on Wednesday. The structures were demolished as part of Israel's continuing effort to remove settlements built without government authorization. R

Kidnapping highlights Israelis' surrender to settlers

It is natural that the kidnapping of three Israeli youths would generate solidarity among the public, but it also raises the question of why peace-loving secular Israelis have let themselves be dragged along for years, from clash to clash, by a nationalistic messianic minority.

A young Palestinian poses for a photograph after participating in a military-style graduation ceremony at Fajer Al-Entesar (dawn of victory) summer camp, organised by the Hamas movement, in Gaza City June 19, 2014. Hamas stages dozens of military-style summer camps for young Palestinians in the Gaza Strip to prepare them to "confront any possible Israeli attack", organisers said. The writing on the wall is a verse from holy Koran that reads: "And hold firmly to the rope of Allah all together and do not beco

Despite reconciliation deal, Hamas controls Gaza

Although Hamas has officially handed the reins over to a new consensus government, it maintains power on the security level.

Israelis take part in a mass prayer at the Western Wall, Judaism's holiest prayer site, in Jerusalem's Old City, for the return of three teenagers who were abducted June 15, 2014. Israel said on Sunday that Hamas militants had abducted three Israeli teenagers in the occupied West Bank, warning of "serious consequences" as it pressed on with a search and detained dozens of Palestinians. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3TX4G

Knesset takes action on kidnappings

Legislation introduced in the Knesset to prevent future kidnappings may just be to please constituencies on Israel's right.