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Palestine

July 28, 2026

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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

Al-Monitor recognized by IPI as 'Free Media Pioneer'

The International Press Institute has awarded the annual Free Media Pioneer Award to Al-Monitor as “a model for independent coverage of the region through its news, features, analysis and commentary at a time of political upheaval.”

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is seen on a screen as he speaks at the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) policy conference in Washington March 5, 2012. REUTERS/Joshua Roberts (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2YWD1

After AIPAC and J Street, Israel's third lobby: ZPAC?

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman reportedly will break from Likud to run separately in the next elections.

Palestinians show their ID cards to Israeli police inside a bus in Jerusalem August 12, 2004. Investigators were still examining if members of a militant cell which bombed a West Bank checkpoint Wednesday were still at large. The blast killed two Palestinians and wounded 16 people. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen GCM/SM - RTR8GY0

Hamas slams PA for removing religion from ID cards

Hamas is saying that the Palestinian Authority's decision to abolish religion from national ID cards is a prelude to accommodating Jewish settlers in a future Palestinian state.

GAZA CITY, -: Palestinian Prime Minister Ismail Haniya, new Finance Minister Salam Fayad (2R) and new Sports and Youth Minister Bassem Naim (R) arrive for the first meeting of the new Palestinian unity cabinet in Gaza City, 18 March 2007. The new Palestinian government held its first cabinet meeting today, vowing to confront rampant lawlessness and end a crippling international aid freeze but facing a continued Israeli boycott. AFP PHOTO/MAHMUD HAMS (Photo credit should read MAHMUD HAMS/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas uses backchannel to Tel Aviv

According to Hamas sources, the Islamist movement sent an indirect message to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and not for the first time.

Cars burn at the site of an explosion in the Shi'ite town of Hermel February 22, 2014. A suicide bomber killed two Lebanese soldiers with a car bomb near an army checkpoint in a Hezbollah stronghold in northeast Lebanon on Saturday, security sources said.The latest bombing, in a country destabilised by the civil war in neighbouring Syria, was the third such attack in recent weeks in Hermel, a predominantly Shi'ite Muslim area near the border with Syria. Fifteen people were wounded. REUTERS/Rami Bleibel (LEB

Nasrallah talks Palestine after bombings in Lebanon

Following reports that Palestinian nationals have been involved in planning and carrying out recent suicide attacks in Lebanon, there are concerns that it could lead to a division between Palestinian and Lebanese factions involved in the resistance against Israel.

An Israeli policeman scuffles with a Palestinian during clashes near Lion's Gate in Jerusalem's Old City February 7, 2014. Tensions briefly ran high on Friday in Jerusalem's Old City following clashes that erupted between Israeli police and stone-throwing Palestinians on a compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: RELIGION POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX18CFC

The Jordan Option and Al-Aqsa Mosque

Jordan is torn between its special role in East Jerusalem and its concerns over the Palestinian impact on Jordanian identity.

A member of Palestinian civil defense extinguishes a fire at a Hamas training camp after it was hit by an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip December 24, 2013. A Gaza sniper shot dead an Israeli civilian over the border on Tuesday and Israel hit back with air strikes on two Hamas training camps which hospital officials said killed a Palestinian girl near one of the targets. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTX16TBF

Gaza border residents live under constant Israeli fire

Israeli troops regularly fire on Gaza's border residents, with locals suspecting Israel is trying to reestablish a buffer zone inside the Gaza Strip.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry is greeted by U.S. Ambassador to Israel Dan Shapiro (L) as he arrives in Tel Aviv November 8, 2013. Kerry met privately with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Friday before joining nuclear talks between major powers and Iran in Geneva. REUTERS/Jason Reed (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX154Z7

Knesset member: Netanyahu can't pass an agreement

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Knesset member Orit Strock repeats the message she and her associates delivered to US Ambassador Dan Shapiro — that their coalition will block an agreement with the Palestinians.

Gaza Salafists pledge allegiance to ISIS

Al-Qaeda's decision to cut ties with the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) continues to polarize the global jihadist network, with Gaza's Salafists siding with the latter.

Israel's Likud Party leader Benjamin Netanyahu visits the Mount of Olives during a tour in Jerusalem February 2, 2009. Netanyahu is a candidate for prime minister in Israel's February 10 election. Opinion polls forecast victory for right-winger Netanyahu. In the background is the Dome of the Rock in the compound known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif, and to Jews as Temple Mount, in Jerusalem's Old City. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM) - RTXB5P8

Bibi becomes victim of Israel’s radical right

Twenty years after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu led the campaign of incitement against the “Oslo criminals,” he has become a victim of the same messianic political movement that he nurtured.

Gaza political cartoonist faces censorship, death threats

A Gaza artist has been threatened for drawing a cartoon that demonized Islamic Jihad.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) stands next to German Chancellor Angela Merkel after their joint news conference in Jerusalem February 25, 2014. Germany views Iran as a potential threat not just to Israel, but also to European countries, Chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FPD4

Merkel visits Israel as violence flares on Temple Mount

The violent clashes on the Temple Mount and the attack on an arms convoy on its way to Lebanon, both while German Chancellor Angela Merkel was visiting Israel, are warning signs of the current situation's fragility.