Palestine - AL-MONITOR: The Middle Eastʼs leading independent news source since 2012

Palestine cover image

Palestine

July 26, 2026

Al Bīrah 3:28 am

21°C

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

Palestinians clash with Israeli border police during clashes at a checkpoint between Shuafat refugee camp and Jerusalem October 9, 2015. In the past 10 days, four Israelis have been shot or stabbed to death in Jerusalem and the occupied West Bank, and at least a dozen have been wounded by Palestinians wielding knives or screwdrivers in stabbings in Tel Aviv and other Israeli cities. Several Palestinians have also been killed, and scores wounded in clashes with Israeli security forces during stone-throwing

Desperate Palestinian leadership could choose armed struggle

With the Trump administration clearly on Israel’s side, Palestinian leadership might resort, once again, to armed struggle.

Herbal medicine industry flourishing in Gaza Strip

Gazans believe that herbal medicine is a better option for the public health and the citizen’s pockets in light of the decadelong Israeli siege.

Israeli volunteers drive sick Gazans from border to hospital

Every day, Israeli volunteers drive Gazan medical patients, including children sick with cancer, from the Gaza border checkpoint to hospitals in Israel.

A general view taken on August 11, 2015 shows the Al-Azhar University, which was built on the former Jewish settlement of Netzarim, south of Gaza City, as Palestinians prepare to mark the tenth anniversary of the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. Following the departure of the last Jewish settlers from Gaza in August 2005, the Israeli army demolished houses and dismantled its equipment before formally handing over the land to the Palestinian Authority. AFP PHOTO / MOHAMMED ABED (Photo credit should read

Will debt and poor financial prospects close Gaza's Al-Azhar Institute?

Al-Azhar's administration is calling for funds in the face of declining enrollment and rising debt.

Israeli policemen try to remove pro-settlement activists from a house during an operation by Israeli forces to evict settlers from the illegal outpost of Amona in the occupied West Bank February 1, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2Z6O2

The Israeli right's 'flattery fest' for Amona

Before, during and after the evacuation of the illegal Amona outpost, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his ministers groveled to the right-wing factions of the settler movement.

WASHINGTON, DC - JUNE 25: Representative Chris Smith(R-NJ) speaks during a Capitol Hill briefing to discuss "the silent suffering of American children and their left-behind parents who are victims of international parental child abduction" in the Cannon House Office Building on June 25, 2015 in Washington DC. (Photo by Kris Connor/ Getty Images)

Congress takes aim at UN over Israel stance

Lawmakers are preparing a slew of measures aimed at curbing what they see as anti-Israel discrimination at the United Nations.

A general view shows the Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the occupied West Bank, near Jerusalem January 17, 2017. Picture taken January 17, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTSW9M6

PA warns of danger if Israel annexes West Bank settlement

Believing it will deal a fatal blow to any future peace process, the Palestinian Authority has warned of escalation if Israel annexes the Ma'ale Adumim settlement in the West Bank to Jerusalem.

Young Gazans launch startups to battle unemployment

Faced with rampant unemployment, talented young Gazans are creating their own innovative projects with no official funding and support.

Women take part in a rally, the closing event of the March of Hope, a 2-week-long event organised by Women Wage Peace, a non-political movement calling for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and women's participation in such a solution, outside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office in Jerusalem October 19, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2PJSP

Israeli-Palestinian solidarity overcomes politics

Despite voices on both sides of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict drumming up animosity toward the other side, there are many examples of people from both sides who see the other as human beings.

A man cycles past images of newly elected U.S. President Donald Trump which are displayed on monitors in Tel Aviv, Israel November 9, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX2SSC2

What will Trump era mean for Gaza?

The Palestinians paid close attention to the inauguration speech of US President Donald Trump, who promised to eliminate radical Islam — something Hamas took personally.

A truck loaded with goods enters Rafah town through the Kerem Shalom commercial crossing between Israel and the southern Gaza Strip on April 27, 2014 as the crossing reopened after the Jewish Passover holidays. The coastal strip, whose air and sea lanes are blocked by Israel, has three land crossings; Erez and Kerem Shalom with Israel and Rafah with Egypt. AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Smuggling activities more than double at Israel-Gaza borders

Israel has announced an unprecedented rise of goods smuggling through its border into the besieged Gaza Strip, despite the Israeli security measures at the crossings.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (R) welcomes representatives of Palestinian political parties and movements and other officials during a meeting in Moscow, Russia, January 16, 2017. REUTERS/Sergei Karpukhin - RTSVQQG

Moscow offers stage for Palestinian talks

All parties involved in Palestinian-Israeli peace talks must put long-term achievements ahead of immediate gains if the problems are ever to be solved — starting with reconciliation among Palestinian factions.