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Palestine

August 1, 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.

Latest News

Interview

Ayman Odeh says Arab parties could back Bennett or Eisenkot to block Netanyahu

Joint List Party leader Ayman Odeh attends a meeting on April 5, 2021 in Jerusalem, Israel.

Ayman Odeh

Head of the Knesset's Hadash-Ta'al faction

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.

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

France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius (R) is welcomed by Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki upon Fabius' arrival at the West Bank city of Ramallah June 21, 2015. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prefaced talks about a French-led peace initiative on Sunday by saying foreign powers were trying to dictate to Israel a deal with the Palestinians. Fabius, on a two-day visit to the Middle East, was due to meet Palestinian leaders in the occupied West Bank before seeing Netanyahu later in the day. REU

France prepares sanctions against settlement policy

France is considering sharp economic measures against Israeli goods and businesses east of the Green Line, and might implement these measures once the agreement with Iran is signed.

A Palestinian policeman loyal to Hamas stands next to lines of cars as drivers wait to fill them with fuel outside a petrol station in Gaza City September 15, 2013. The Gaza Strip is experiencing a shortage in fuel smuggled in via tunnels dug beneath the Gaza-Egypt border as Egyptian security forces have stepped up a crackdown campaign on the tunnels since July, residents said. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS TRANSPORT) - RTX13LZS

Increased import taxes drive Gaza auto dealers around the bend

Auto dealers in the Gaza Strip are facing a double taxation policy that is slashing their profits, amid an already precarious industry and deteriorating living conditions.

A Palestinian woman holds a picture of a jailed relative during a rally in solidarity with hunger-striking Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, in Gaza City June 11, 2014. Israel's parliament has given initial approval to a law to enable the force-feeding of Palestinian prisoners on a hunger strike, drawing defiance from activists who said on Tuesday it would not deter the inmates. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3T6PC

Israeli doctors against 'force-feeding' Palestinian prisoners

Israeli medical associations claim that the "force-feeding" bill promoted by the government is unethical, but the authorities are still pushing the proposal forward to avoid image-damaging Palestinian prisoner deaths.

A Palestinian woman buys candies from a vendor at a market ahead of Eid al-Adha in the West Bank city of Nablus September 30, 2014. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION SOCIETY) - RTR48DQO

Sense of belonging draws Palestinians to West Bank

Growing numbers of Palestinians living in Israel prefer shopping and conducting other business in the West Bank because of a sense of belonging and to bolster the economy.

Children's fashion show takes the runway in Gaza

A children's fashion show, only the second of its kind in Gaza’s history, divided members of the civil society and religious hard-liners, who deemed the event non-reflective of Gazan society and culture.

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (C) shakes hands with a Palestinian man during his visit to the Seaport of Gaza City June 1, 2015. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

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Hamas, Israel take baby steps toward truce

The conduct of talks between Hamas and Israel about a truce has raised suspicions among Palestinian Authority and Fatah officials that Hamas hopes one day to establish a "State of Gaza," independent of the West Bank.

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad (L) meets Abbas Zaki, the personal envoy of the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in Damascus, in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA on October 7, 2013. REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (SYRIA - Tags: POLITICS) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS -

Political detente thaws Fatah-Syria relations

The longstanding tension between Fatah and Syria seems to be easing on a number of fronts through cooperation between Palestine and the Syrian regime.

Palestinians shop in a market ahead of the holy month of Ramadan, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 17, 2015. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

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Gazans' inability to buy gifts affects social relationships

Gazans are facing harsh living conditions with little money to spend, which is increasingly affecting social relationships in a society where buying gifts for family and friends when visiting their homes is part of the culture.

An Israeli soldier stands at a staging area after crossing back into Israel from Gaza July 28, 2014. Israel eased its assaults in the Gaza Strip and Palestinian rocket fire from the enclave declined sharply on Monday, the military said, with both the United States and United Nations calling for a durable ceasefire. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL - Tags: CIVIL UNREST CONFLICT MILITARY POLITICS) - RTR40CN3

Former IDF lawyer finds UN report on Gaza war 'relatively balanced'

Pnina Sharvit-Baruch, the former head of the IDF’s Department of International Law, tells Al-Monitor in an interview that though the UN report on the Gaza war was fairly impartial, it cannot be used as the basis for a criminal indictment.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and France's Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius deliver statements in Jerusalem June 21, 2015. Netanyahu prefaced talks about a French-led peace initiative on Sunday by saying foreign powers were trying to dictate to Israel a deal with the Palestinians. Fabius is promoting a French-led initiative that would see the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, which collapsed in 2014, relaunched through an international support group comprising Arab states, the European Unio

Israel blames France for anti-Israeli approach

While Israeli leaders tend to be open to at least discussing US peace initiatives, European proposals, most recently a French effort, are perceived as anti-Israel.

A view of Wadi Fukin is seen from the Jewish settlement of Beitar Illit (front), near the West Bank town of Bethlehem September 10, 2014. Days after a ceasefire was reached in the war in Gaza last month, Israel announced that 400 hectares (988 acres) west of Bethlehem, in the occupied West Bank, was now "state land" - that is territory for Israel, not land that will be part of any future Palestinian state. Picture taken September 10, 2014. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR45RRL

Palestinians stand their ground in Wadi Fukin

Palestinian residents in the town of Wadi Fukin close to Bethlehem invest in their land by cultivating it and raising livestock in a way to stop, or at least delay, Israeli expropriation plans.

Palestinians jump into a pool at Crazy Water Park in Gaza City August 3, 2010. New leisure projects and restaurants have been springing up in the Gaza Strip, some partially funded by Hamas Islamists ruling a territory long seen as a symbol of Palestinian hardship. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT SOCIETY RELIGION TRAVEL) - RTR2H0CZ

Local tourism in Gaza witnesses cautious growth

Local tourism in Gaza is still dependent on the worsening economic and political situation, which explains the cautious attendance at resorts.