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Palestine

July 27, 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

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas chairs a Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, May 4, 2016. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX2CU11

Will PLO adopt new political strategy?

As partisan bickering costs the Palestinian cause momentum in the regional and international arenas, the Palestinian National Initiative hopes a new strategy will unify the political leadership and end the division.

A member of the Palestinian security forces loyal to Hamas speaks on a walkie-talkie at Rafah border crossing between Egypt and southern Gaza Strip May 19, 2016. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTSEZZG

What do Palestinians think about Egypt's peace initiative?

Hamas leaders are unhappy about the Egyptian initiative, which positions Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas as Israel's only interlocutor, but fear to express loudly their objections.

Palestinian teenagers handle a nine millimeter semi-automatic pistol in the Dheisheh refugee camp in Bethlehem January 4, 2001. The Dheisheh refugee camp hosts thousands of Palestinian refugees since the 1948 Israeli occupation. [Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat began consulting Arab leaders in Cairo on Thursday on U.S. President Bill Clinton's peace proposals before announcing whether he accepts them. ] - RTXK7RJ

The West Bank's growing gun problem

Faced with an alarming arms proliferation, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has instructed his security forces to strike with an "iron fist" to prevent further bloodshed that could plunge the West Bank into complete security chaos.

Palestinians collect watermelons at a farm in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip May 12, 2015.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

- RTX1CMR2

Why Israeli watermelons are making headlines in Gaza

As local watermelon supplies dwindle, the Ministry of Agriculture in Gaza has allowed the import of watermelons from Israel and lifted an eight-year ban to cover the daily consumption of nearly 600 tons.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) meets Egypt's Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry in Jerusalem July 10, 2016 REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTSH5M1

Netanyahu distracts public, buys time with Egypt talks

Facing another police probe, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is directing the public's attention to a possible summit in Cairo with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas prays for Maysara Abu Hamdeya, a Palestinian inmate who died from cancer in an Israeli hospital on Tuesday, during a Fatah Central Committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 2, 2013. Hamdeya's death threatened to raise tensions in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Palestinians, who view jailed brethren as heroes in a fight for statehood, have held several protests in recent weeks in support of prisoners. REUTERS/Mohamed Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLIT

Have Arab leaders forgotten about Palestine?

Palestinian senior officials feel that not only are Arab countries preoccupied by the Islamic State threat, but that the countries are also tired of the Palestinian issue and are sidelining the urgency of establishing a Palestinian state.

Palestinians pass through an opening in the Israeli barrier fence as they attempt to make their way to attend the third Friday prayer of the holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jerusalem's al-Aqsa mosque, near the West bank city of Bethlehem June 24, 2016. REUTERS/Mussa Qawasma TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2HXNV

Is Israel doomed to live with terror?

Former Mossad Deputy Chief Ram Ben Barak disagrees with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's position that Israel is doomed to live with terror, claiming that it is up to Israel to decide if it wants to pay the price of occupation.

Palestinian Munir Shindi, 36, drives a replica of a 1927 Mercedes Gazelle that he built from scratch, on a street in Gaza City June 19, 2016. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX2H5BK

Gaza mechanic turns heads in handmade classic car

Palestinian auto mechanic Munir Shindi has finished his masterpiece: a replica of the 1927 Mercedes Gazelle built from scratch in his workshop in Gaza City.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault (L) arrive for a meeting on May 15, 2016 during a meeting at the Prime Minister's office in Jerusalem. Ayrault met Netanyahu before meeting Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas ahead of a French-sponsored Middle East peace process summit in Paris on May 30. Israel has rejected the initiative, the Palestinians support it and the United States has been cold. REUTERS/ MENAHEM KAHANA/Pool - RTSECIO

EU to push forward with two-state conference, with or without Washington

EU senior officials are planning a two-state conference to be held before the end of the year, with both a bilateral and a multilateral track.

Supporters hold posters of Bahrain's leading Shi'ite cleric Isa Qassim during a sit-in outside his home in the village of Diraz west of Manama, Bahrain June 21, 2016. REUTERS/Hamad I Mohammed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTX2HIPR

Khamenei says Iran has not intervened in Bahrain

Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iran has not intervened in Bahrain and encouraged the island state's leaders to act wisely in order to not turn a political conflict into a civil war.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gestures as he speaks at the Cybertech 2016 conference in Tel Aviv, Israel January 26, 2016. REUTERS/Baz Ratner - RTX242M5

Israel amps up cyberwar on Palestinian Facebook posts

To fight the Palestinian attacker 2.0, the IDF and Shin Bet are increasing cyber efforts to detect internet posts by potential assailants.

Hamas leader Yehia Sinwar attends a rally in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip January 7, 2016. The rally, organized by Hamas movement, was held to honor the families of dead Hamas militants, who Hamas's armed wing said participated in imprisoning Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, organizers said. Shalt was abducted by militants in a cross-border raid in 2006, and was released in exchange for more than 1,000 Palestinians held in Israeli jails. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem - RTX21FPI

Why Hamas refused to return IDF remains

Hamas' release of two Israeli civilians and the remains of two soldiers was never on the table as a condition of the Israeli-Turkish reconciliation agreement.