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Palestine

July 28, 2026

Ramallah 4:29 am

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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

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu from a room overlooking the snow covered city of Jerusalem, during a meeting December 13, 2013. REUTERS/Brian Snyder (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16GGI

Kerry's artificial negotiations

Secretary of State John Kerry's frustrations on the Middle East should not come as a surprise.

Palestinian artists perform at al-Shawa theatre in Gaza City March 9, 2010. Live theatre is rare in the Gaza Strip; public criticism of its Islamist rulers is rare too. So perhaps it was no surprise that a play which gives vent to Palestinians' frustrations with their leaders should be a hit. Picture taken March 9, 2010. To match Reuters Life! PALESTINIANS-GAZA/THEATRE REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: ENTERTAINMENT POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTR2BXPS

Gaza theaters battle censorship, conservatism

A lack of female performers, the siege and close monitoring by the Hamas government has resulted in a dwindling Gaza theater industry.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (C) welcomes Palestinian prisoners released from Israeli prisons in the West Bank city of Ramallah early December 31, 2013. Israel set free 26 Palestinian prisoners on Tuesday as part of U.S.-brokered peace efforts, after pledging to press ahead with plans to build more homes in Jewish settlements. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX16XON

Abbas falls into prisoner release trap

The release of Palestinian prisoners has been diverted from a trust-building measure to a decisive issue for the negotiations' advancement and for the credibility of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas vis-a-vis his people.

Palestinian women hold pictures of jailed relatives during a protest marking "Palestinian Prisoners Day" in the West Bank town of Ramallah April 17, 2007. The women were calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said on Monday that Marwan Barghouthi, a Palestinian uprising leader, is on a list of prisoners the Hamas movement demands Israel release in exchange for a captive soldier. REUTERS/Oleg Popov (WEST BANK) - RTR1OPVW

Both Pollard, Barghouti should be released

Jonathan Pollard should be released on humanitarian grounds, but the release of prominent Fatah member Marwan Barghouti could resuscitate negotiations with the Palestinians.

A Palestinian anchor works inside a studio of Al-Aqsa Television in Gaza City March 19, 2010. U.S. Treasury on Thursday imposed sanctions against two firms in Gaza Islamic National Bank and Al-Aqsa Television for their ties to Hamas. Mohammed Abu Thraya, deputy director of the Al-Aqsa station called on world media outlets to condemn what he called an assault by Israel and the U.S. against "free media". REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST MEDIA) - RTR2BTGD

Hamas to launch new satellite TV channel

Hamas is preparing to launch a new television channel to promote its perspective despite its current financial crisis.

The mother of Palestinian prisoner Omar Massoud, who has been held by Israel since 1993, displays to the camera a picture of him ahead of his expected release, at his family's house in Gaza City October 29, 2013. Israelis say Massoud was convicted of killing an Israeli in 1993. Israel is to release 26 Palestinian prisoners in a second stage of a deal brokered by the United States in July that brought a resumption of peace talks. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT) - RTX14SHV

The forgotten Palestinian prisoners

The Palestinian prisoner cause is suffering from a lack of public interest, poor local media coverage and no political support.

Israel's Prime Minister Ehud Olmert (L) speaks with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas during their meeting in Jerusalem January 8, 2008, in this picture released by the Israeli Government Press Office (GPO). Olmert and Abbas met on Tuesday, the eve of a visit by President George W. Bush, to try to get peace talks moving. REUTERS/Moshe Milner/GPO/Handout (JERUSALEM) ISRAEL OUT. EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. - RTX5C98

The tragedy of Ehud Olmert

The chance for a peace agreement with the Palestinians disappeared with the former Israeli prime minister, who has been sentenced to prison for bribery.

Israeli soldiers and border policemen stand in front of a section of Israel's controversial barrier at Aida refugee camp in the West Bank town of Bethlehem March 24, 2014, where witnesses say Israeli forces confronted stone-throwing Palestinian protesters on Monday. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTR3IE2E

Netanyahu weighs collapse of peace talks

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu must manage a right-wing coalition that has no interest in a release of Palestinian prisoners to keep the peace talks going.

A Palestinian woman stands at the entrance to her house in the Shuafat refugee camp in the West Bank near Jerusalem November 26, 2013. Marooned behind the wall, Israel's controversial barrier, the Shuafat refugee camp reveals the state's uneven treatment of Arab and Jewish neighbourhoods, creating a de facto partition of Jerusalem, which is the epicentre of the Middle East conflict. Picture taken November 26, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY) - RTX16PGL

Jerusalem’s water crisis

Because Israeli authorities are neglecting East Jerusalem residents by failing to ensure a constant water supply, both Israelis and Palestinians have to cooperate on water management as a pollution catastrophe nears.

A man uses a mobile phone to record Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal (C) while he speaks during the funeral of Hamas member Kamal Husni Ghanaja in Amman June 29, 2012. Hamas said on Thursday that one of its members, Ghanaja, had been killed in his home in Damascus. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR34D20

Hamas, Jordan probe possibility of better ties

Cut off from Egypt, Hamas hopes improved ties with Jordan will help it emerge from isolation.

1980: President Sadat of Egypt (1918 - 1981) meets Prime Minister Menachem Begin (1913 - 1992) of Israel for talks on the normalisation of relationships between their two countries. The meeting took place in Aswan in Upper Egypt. In 1978 both men were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. (Photo by Keystone/Getty Images)

Netanyahu and Abbas are not Begin and Sadat

Documents released from Israel's State Archives this week on the Israel-Egypt peace negotiations reveal the commitment of both leaders to achieve such an agreement, unlike current negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.

Supporters listen as Ismail Haniyeh, prime minister of the Hamas Gaza government, speaks during a Hamas rally marking the anniversary of the death of its leaders killed by Israel, in Gaza City March 23, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST ANNIVERSARY) - RTR3I86Q

Hamas takes Israeli threats seriously

Hamas is paying close attention to Israel's latest threats of military retaliation and a possible re-invasion of Gaza.