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Palestine

May 12, 2026

Ramallah 3:43 pm

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Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Feature

Gazans show cautious hope ahead of first local elections in 20 years

The city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza is set to hold municipal elections for the first time in nearly two decades.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Analysis

On eve of Palestinian local elections, competition in short supply

With many races unopposed and rivals excluded, the vote underscores a calibrated effort to contain dissent and prioritize stability.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Former Israeli prime minister

Latest News

Meloni suspends Italy's military cooperation agreement with Israel

Meloni

'Apartheid': Arab countries including UAE, Jordan decry new Israeli law

MOJAHID NAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Settler violence spike exposes Israeli government rift with military

Israeli settler violence graffiti

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

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

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

Palestinian children look at models of dinosaurs, which were donated by Henry Lowe to Bethlehem-Bath Links, during the opening of a dinosaur exhibition arranged by a Bath charity in the West Bank city of Bethlehem March 14, 2017. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma - RTX3107J

Dinosaurs come to life at Bethlehem exhibit

Bethlehem is now home to an exhibit of animatronic dinosaurs, which is proving popular with Palestinian schoolchildren.

An ultra-Orthodox Jewish man is seen in the foreground as the Dome of the Rock, located in Jerusalem's Old City on the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, is seen in the background February 15, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTSYSCA

Will zealots ignite another firestorm on the Temple Mount?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hopes the Supreme Court will resolve the issue of Knesset members’ visiting the Temple Mount so he doesn't have to.

Palestinians hold a poster of Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan during a Hamas rally in support of Erdogan's government against a coup attempt, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip July 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTSI917

Is Turkey trying to bypass Abbas in Gaza?

Hamas says it has not succumbed to Turkish pressure to negotiate with Israel, but the exchange raises discussion about Turkey’s role in accelerating the peace process between the adversaries.

Palestinian members of Hamas' armed wing carry the body of senior militant Mazen Fuqaha during his funeral in Gaza City March 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX32N91

Hamas weighs options in wake of commander's assassination

A senior Hamas military operative, Mazen Faqha, was shot near his home in western Gaza, with Israel being the main suspect behind the assassination, raising concerns about a fourth war in the Gaza Strip.

A Palestinian policeman shows one of the hundreds of seized marijuana plants at the police headquarters in the West Bank city of Hebron on March 31, 2015. The plants, which were confiscated in the Hebron area, were being cultivated by a Palestinian farmer in cooperation with Israelis, the Hebron police said. AFP PHOTO/ HAZEM BADER (Photo credit should read HAZEM BADER/AFP/Getty Images)

Drug cultivation, trafficking on the rise in West Bank

Despite increased efforts to counter it, drug cultivation and trafficking has increased in the West Bank in the first quarter of 2017 compared to previous years.

Gaza military court sentences two to death for drug offenses

In the first ruling of its kind since the creation of the PA, a military court in Gaza City has sentenced two Palestinians to death for dealing drugs, worrying human rights groups.

Jordanians really don't want Israel’s gas

Jordan's agreement to buy Israeli natural gas has Jordanians up in arms.

Palestinian members of the Hamas security forces stand guard during the opening of the Sheikh Hamad residential project in the southern Gaza Strip town of Khan Younis on January 16, 2016.
One thousand units financed by Qatar were attributed to Gazans whose homes were razed during the Israeli offensive on the enclave in 2014 which displaced thousands of people. Qatar pledged 407 million dollars for the reconstruction of Gaza including the construction of apartments, infrastructure and a hospital. / AFP / M

Gaza real estate sector on the rise

The real estate sector in Gaza is booming in light of a fast-rising population and a small surface area, but will this spur benefit the government?

Houses are seen in this general view of Silwan, a Palestinian neighbourhood close to Jerusalem's Old City June 29, 2016. Picture taken June 29, 2016. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTX2J0WD

Palestinians get 'right to return' — to Jerusalem

The Israeli High Court of Justice ruled that Palestinian residents of Jerusalem cannot be permanently stripped of their residency rights after having lived elsewhere.

A general view of the the holy mosque of Nabi Musa where the tomb of Prophet Moses is placed, surround by the desert near the West Bank town of Jericho 23 November 2002. The tomb is considered holy because it houses the grave of the prophet Moses according to local tradition. Moses is recognized by Moslems as one of the great prophets of Islam. The main body of the present shrine, the mosque, the minaret, and some of the rooms, were built in AD 1269 during the reign of the Mamluk Sultan, Al Dhaher Baybars.

Palestinian government hopes ancient shrine can lure in tourists

The Palestinian ministries of Tourism and Endowments are planning to renovate Jericho’s Shrine of the Prophet Moses to boost tourism and revive the economy.

Israel Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman speaks at the 53rd Munich Security Conference in Munich, Germany, February 19, 2017. REUTERS/Michaela Rehle - RTSZCHS

How will ban on national fund affect Palestinians?

Israel’s recent decision to label the Palestinian National Fund, which serves as the PLO’s Ministry of Finance, as a “terror group” raised Palestinian concerns over the future of relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.

Palestinian supporters of Mazen Faqha, who was shot dead by unknown gunmen in the Gaza Strip a day earlier, march during a demonstration in the West Bank village of Tubas on March 25, 2017.
Gunmen in the Gaza Strip on March 24 shot dead a Hamas official who was freed by Israel in a 2011 prisoner swap, the interior ministry in the Palestinian enclave said. Faqha was released along with more than 1,000 other Palestinians in exchange for Gilad Shalit, an Israeli soldier Hamas had detained for five years. / AFP

Assassination of Hamas senior operative won't ensure Passover calm

While Israel tries to prevent attempts by Hamas and other groups to perpetrate attacks during the Passover period, officially Israel did not take responsibility for the killing of Hamas military branch senior operative Mazen Faqha.