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Palestine

September 20, 2026

Ramallah 2:29 am

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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

A Palestinian employee paid by Palestinian Authority stands next to a policeman as he waits to receive his salary outside a closed bank in Gaza City June 5, 2014. A Palestinian unity government formed by President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist Hamas group faced its first and serious challenge on Thursday when civil servants of Hamas, who were not on the payment list, scuffled with those cashing their salaries. Civil servants employed by Hamas since 2007 arrived and prevented employees paid by the Palestini

Protests by Hamas government workers force banks to close

Just days after the new Palestinian reconciliation government was announced, a crisis has broken out because employees of the former Hamas government in Gaza have not received salaries, unlike their Palestinian Authority counterparts in the West Bank.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh prepares to deliver a farewell speech for his former position as a Hamas government Prime Minister, in Gaza City June 2, 2014. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a unity government on Monday after overcoming a last-minute dispute with the Hamas Islamist group. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RTNG

Israel should put Fatah-Hamas government to the test

The establishment of a Palestinian government culminates a decade of changes the Hamas movement is undergoing, offering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to force it into changing its fanatical charter.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Rome, March 6, 2014.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (ITALY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3G4K4

Liberman: Arabs 'must come out of the closet'

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman outlines his vision for a regional arrangement with Arab Gulf states.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) listens to Foreign Affairs and Defence committee chair Zeev Elkin during a committee meeting at parliament in Jerusalem June 2, 2014. Netanyahu warned on Sunday against any international rush to recognise a Palestinian government due to be announced under a unity pact between the Fatah and Hamas Islamist groups.REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RRU6

Sinking ties with US linked to Netanyahu's political fortunes

A drop in US-Israel ties has provoked a domestic political crisis for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces challenges from Avigdor Liberman and Naftali Bennett.

Palestinians hold pictures of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (top) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as they celebrate the announcement of the unity government, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 2, 2014. President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a Palestinian unity government on Monday under a reconciliation deal with Hamas Islamists that led Israel to freeze U.S.-brokered peace talks with the Western-backed leader. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY)

Hamas seeks to reclaim political influence via PLO

The inclusion of Hamas, as well as Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), in the PLO could strengthen the influence of the "resistance" wing within the organization.

A Palestinian boy stands next to an Israeli policeman at a police barrier in Jerusalem's Old City June 2, 2014. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR3RW4G

Poll suggests Israelis could be sold on Arab League Initiative

A poll conducted ahead of a major Israeli political conference examined the extent of the Israeli public’s exposure to the Arab Peace Initiative, and findings indicate that most Israelis are ignorant of the details of the plan.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki (R) takes his oath of office in front of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during a swearing-in ceremony of the unity government, in the West Bank city of Ramallah June 2, 2014. Abbas swore in a unity government on Monday after overcoming a last-minute dispute with the Hamas Islamist group.
REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RTFI

Obama administration gets it wrong on Hamas

The recent call by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to protect Al-Aqsa Mosque might inflame an already volatile situation around the unity government, which the United States should refuse to recognize.

Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (L) and Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shake hands as they meet in Moscow February 27, 2007. Meshaal praised Russia's efforts to end a Western aid embargo on the Palestinian administration during a visit to Moscow intended to win support for a new unity government. REUTERS/Pool (RUSSIA) - RTR1MVPV

Hamas sees Russia visit as means to end regional isolation

Hamas political bureau leader Khaled Meshaal will visit Moscow in the coming weeks, where he is expected to ask Russia to help restore Hamas' ties with Iran and to pressure Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to soften his opposition to the Islamist movement.

Sufian Abu Zaida, Palestinian minister of prisoner affairs, speaks to the press near Hasharon prison after meeting Fatah's jailed leader Marwan Barghouti, close to Tel Aviv December 15, 2005. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas scrambled on Thursday to heal a split in his ruling Fatah party after young dissidents dealt him a serious blow less than six weeks before parliamentary elections. The rift in Fatah's ranks, which could boost the militant group Hamas in its electoral challenge to Abbas, came as Israe

Exclusive: Abu Zaida talks on his removal from Fatah

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Sufian Abu Zaida, expelled from Fatah, defines Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as a "dictator," while criticizing Israel's objection to the unity government, saying it offers Israel both security cooperation and recognition.

Palestinian fishermen ride a boat in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Gaza City April 28, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: SOCIETY) - RTR3MYZV

Gaza travel agencies offer false hope of emigration

Several travel agencies in the Gaza Strip are taking part in illegal emigration, often taking thousands of dollars from would-be Palestinian emigrants who risk their lives to reach Europe.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman attends a meeting with the business community in Uganda's capital Kampala, September 10, 2009. Lieberman, accompanied by business and military delegation, is on an official African visit to Ethiopia, Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria. REUTERS/James Akena (UGANDA POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTR27O1U

Liberman outlines vision for 'regional arrangement' with Arab states

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman offers a plan for open contacts with "moderate" Arab states to deal with the threat from Iran and in pursuit of an agreement with the Palestinians.

Palestinians find respite from siege at Gaza’s ancient port

Once an ancient trading hub, Gaza’s port now serves as a popular recreational location for local Palestinians wishing to forget the woes of living under siege.