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Palestine

August 4, 2026

Ramallah 7:20 pm

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Palestinian Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

How Hamas disarmament deal may test Iran's regional strategy

A possible Hamas decision to disarm would represent more than a Gaza development, testing Iran's decades-old strategy of projecting power through regional allies.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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.

Latest News

Explainer

What does Hamas' move to dissolve its Gaza government mean?

Government Media Office Director Ismail Thawabteh (R) and Hamas spokesperson Hazem Qassem (L) speak at a press conference.

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.

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

U.S. President Barack Obama speaks about the situation in Iraq from the South Lawn of the White House in Washington June 13, 2014. Obama said on Friday he will take several days to review options for how the United States can help Iraq deal with a militant insurgency, saying any action would need significant involvement by Iraq itself. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (UNTIED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3TNFS

Israelis ask whether Obama has given up on Iraq

The crisis in Iraq has only sharpened the perception by Israelis that Barack Obama is now willing to act with resolve in the Middle East.

Wine-grower Gershon Ferency harvests Chardonnay grapes in his vineyard near the West Bank Jewish settlement of Bat Ayin, south of Bethlehem August 20, 2012. Established in 1993, Ferency's winery produces some 6,500 bottles of kosher wine a year using organically grown grapes. REUTERS/Nir Elias (WEST BANK - Tags: FOOD AGRICULTURE) - RTR36ZI0

Israel's settlement tourism

Following a vast campaign designed to rebrand the West Bank settlements as tourist attractions with guided tours to biblical sites, and to open it up to the Israeli mainstream, the region has become popular with tourists from Israel and overseas.

(From L to R) Palestinian legislator Mustafa Barghouti, Palestinian Fatah delegation chief Azzam al-Ahmed, Hamas prime minister in the Gaza Strip Ismail Haniya, Hamas deputy leader Musa Abu Marzuk, and secretary-general of the Palestinian Arab Front (PAF) Jameel Shehadeh, pose for a picture in Gaza on April 23, 2014. Rival Palestinian leaders from the West Bank and Gaza Strip agreed to form a unity government within five weeks as peace talks with Israel face collapse. AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo c

Barghouti says Israel must end 'profitable occupation'

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, veteran Palestinian politician Mustafa Barghouti, who played a key role in negotiating the latest reconciliation deal, provides new details on the unity negotiations and what comes next.

Egyptians celebrate after the swearing-in ceremony of President elect Abdel Fattah al-Sissi, in front of the Presidential Palace in Cairo, June 8, 2014. Sisi promised to rule Egypt in an inclusive manner after he was sworn in as president on Sunday but gave no indication he would reconcile with the Muslim Brotherhood movement he removed from power nearly a year ago. REUTERS/Asmaa Waguih (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS ELECTIONS) - RTR3SS6R

Hamas silent on Sisi's election

Hamas leaders and spokespeople have been instructed not to make any public statements concerning the election of President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi in Egypt, to avoid aggravating the new president.

Palestinian women walk near a mosque in a street in the Gaza Strip March 13, 2014. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY RELIGION) - RTR3GYYE

Women shut out from Fatah-Hamas reconciliation deal

Women were absent from the Palestinian reconciliation meetings, which shows the lack of female participation in the affairs of the Gaza Strip.

An Israeli police officer stands inside a burnt mosque in the Bedouin village of Tuba-Zangariya in northern Israel October 3, 2011, before the arrival of Israel's President Shimon Peres. They strike in the dead of night, setting fire to mosques and daubing their walls with "Price Tag" graffiti, the defiant slogan of Israeli settlers waging a vigilante campaign branded as "un-Jewish" by President Shimon Peres. The "price-taggers" have vowed to avenge any move by Israeli authorities to uproot settlement out

Why doesn't Netanyahu label price tag attacks as terrorism?

Participants of the 14th Herzliya Conference criticized Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for persisting in refusing to define settlers who commit "price tag" attacks as members of a terror organization.

A Palestinian boy looks at a militant during an anti-Israel rally organized by Islamic Jihad movement in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip October 24, 2013. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX14MNS

Ex-Islamic Jihad leader launches new armed group in Gaza

A former Islamic Jihad leader has announced the creation of a new “resistance faction” in the Gaza Strip, which has been accused of promoting sectarianism.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) talks to Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid before their meeting in Jerusalem December 6, 2013. REUTERS/Pablo Martinez Monsivais/Pool (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTX1665G

Lapid slams Netanyahu for 'crisis' in US-Israel ties

In a landmark speech, Finance Minister Yair Lapid broke ties with right-wing coalition members and laid claim to Israel's center-left.

A Palestinian employee paid by Palestinian Authority stands next to a policeman as he waits to receive his salary outside a closed bank in Gaza City June 5, 2014. A Palestinian unity government formed by President Mahmoud Abbas and the Islamist Hamas group faced its first and serious challenge on Thursday when civil servants of Hamas, who were not on the payment list, scuffled with those cashing their salaries. Civil servants employed by Hamas since 2007 arrived and prevented employees paid by the Palestini

Protests by Hamas government workers force banks to close

Just days after the new Palestinian reconciliation government was announced, a crisis has broken out because employees of the former Hamas government in Gaza have not received salaries, unlike their Palestinian Authority counterparts in the West Bank.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh prepares to deliver a farewell speech for his former position as a Hamas government Prime Minister, in Gaza City June 2, 2014. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas swore in a unity government on Monday after overcoming a last-minute dispute with the Hamas Islamist group. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RTNG

Israel should put Fatah-Hamas government to the test

The establishment of a Palestinian government culminates a decade of changes the Hamas movement is undergoing, offering Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu an opportunity to force it into changing its fanatical charter.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (R) meets Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman in Rome, March 6, 2014.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque (ITALY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3G4K4

Liberman: Arabs 'must come out of the closet'

Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman outlines his vision for a regional arrangement with Arab Gulf states.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) listens to Foreign Affairs and Defence committee chair Zeev Elkin during a committee meeting at parliament in Jerusalem June 2, 2014. Netanyahu warned on Sunday against any international rush to recognise a Palestinian government due to be announced under a unity pact between the Fatah and Hamas Islamist groups.REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3RRU6

Sinking ties with US linked to Netanyahu's political fortunes

A drop in US-Israel ties has provoked a domestic political crisis for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who faces challenges from Avigdor Liberman and Naftali Bennett.