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Palestine

July 2, 2026

Ramallah 4:45 am

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Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Kiros has taken a hard stance against Israel and opposes all aid to the country as pro-Palestinian candidates make further inroads in the party.

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.

Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank

In a new report, Amnesty International said that the escalating forced displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is part of a state-led campaign to control the Palestinian territory.

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.

Ireland bans hard-line Israeli ministers Ben-Gvir, Smotrich: What to know

Ireland joined France and the United Kingdom in banning Israel's far-right and pro-settler ministers.

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.

Record Israeli arms exports highlight global rush for air defense

Rocket and air defense systems sales accounted for 29% of Israel's defense exports in 2025.

Latest News

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

Israel’s Shin Bet chief meets Mohammed Dahlan in UAE: What to know

JOSEPH EID/AFP via Getty Images

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

Muslim worshippers break their fast outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed.

Wartime closures at Jerusalem holy sites raise fears of lasting shift among Palestinians

Palestinians say sweeping restrictions during Ramadan and ahead of Eid reflect security concerns, but there is concern they could ultimately reshape access to worship in the Old City.

Displaced Palestinians gather for a fast-breaking Iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Feb. 23, 2026.

Analysis

Hamas sits out Iran war as Gaza, Gulf interests take priority

Hamas has so far stayed out of the escalating Iran war, despite its longstanding alliance with Tehran, reflecting a cautious strategic calculation.

Abeer Ayyoub

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a United Nations Summit on Palestinians at UN headquarters during the United Nations General Assembly, New York, Sept. 22, 2025.

Spain recalls Israel ambassador, calls Iran war 'flagrant illegality': What to know

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the US-Israel war in Iran a "flagrant illegality.”

People walk through a heavily damaged street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

'No meaningful protection': Israel’s new Gaza aid rules raise data, security risks

The guidelines expand Israeli authority to deny NGO registration in the Palestinian territories and visas for foreign aid workers as Gaza continues to reel from two years of war.

ANKARA, TURKEY - JANUARY 21: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on January 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among world leaders that have been invited by United States President Donald Trump, to join the Gaza Board of Peace, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also included as an appointed member. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey’s exclusion from Gaza force may be a strategic blessing

Despite being excluded from Gaza’s international stabilization force, Ankara will likely leverage its ties with Hamas to maintain influence within the Trump administration’s Board of Peace.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

How did FIFA become part of Trump’s Gaza reconstruction effort?

FIFA signed a deal on Thursday that marks the global soccer association's most significant postwar intervention in the Middle East yet.

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Billions pledged, but Hamas' grip clouds Trump’s Gaza plan

The Board of Peace is touting new aid and military commitments, but will they make a difference if Hamas still holds the guns in Gaza?

US President Donald Trump attends the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace" at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Trump touts pledges of troops, billions for Gaza at Board of Peace summit

As the board meets for the first time, questions hang over Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Al-Monitor in an interview that the 2025 strike on Iranian nuclear sites was only a preview of what the US military is capable of.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press statement with his French counterpart in Ankara, on Jan. 27, 2026.

Fidan heads to US as Turkey eyes Gaza troop role: What to know

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar is also expected to attend the Board of Peace meeting, raising the prospect of the first face-to-face talks between top Turkish and Israeli diplomats since the war amid high-running tensions.

Excavators move along a street as Israeli forces are deployed during the demolition of the home of Palestinian Tariq al-Masalmeh in the village of Beit Awa, southwest of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on Feb. 11, 2026.

As Israel advances West Bank land registration, Palestinians see de facto annexation

The plan restarts a land registration process in Area C of the West Bank, requiring Palestinians to prove ownership or risk having their land classified as state property.

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

Israel fears that the rivalry between the UAE and Saudi Arabia will further push Riyadh toward countries that espouse political Islam policies.