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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

September 30, 2026

Ramallah 5:05 am

18°C

Israeli PM

On secret UAE visit, Netanyahu asked MBZ to deny pre-Oct. 7 warnings

During his trip to Abu Dhabi, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu asked President Mohamed bin Zayed to deny reports that he had been warned ahead of the Oct. 7 attack that Hamas was preparing a major assault.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Latest News

Majority of Palestinians lose trust in Hamas and Fatah, new poll finds

Palestinians hold up the green Hamas flag during a protest by supporters of both the Fatah and Hamas movements, as they rally in support of the Palestinian people following Friday noon prayers in Hebron, occupied West Bank, Nov. 3, 2023.

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

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

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) holds the hand of Egyptian Cleric and chairman of the International Union of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi (R) upon al-Qaradawi's arrival at Rafah Crossing in the southern Gaza Strip May 8, 2013. Al-Qaradawi arrived on Wednesday for a three-day visit to Gaza Strip with a delegation of Muslim scholars. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTXZFCT

Visit by Egyptian Cleric to Gaza Divides Palestinian Leaders

The visit to Gaza of Yusuf al-Qaradawi, head of the International Union of Muslim Scholars, won praise from Hamas, but received strong criticism from Fatah, which accused the cleric of undermining Palestinian unity.

Turkey's Prime Minister and leader of ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Tayyip Erdogan (R) welcomes his guest Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal during the AKP congress in Ankara September 30, 2012. Erdogan trumpeted Turkey's credentials as a rising democratic power on Sunday, saying his Islamist-rooted ruling party had become an example to the Muslim world after a decade in charge. Addressing thousands of party members and regional leaders at a congress of his Justice and Development (AK) Party, Erdogan

Turkey on a Tightrope Between Hamas And Fatah

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s planned visit to Gaza has the potential to complicate both Hamas-Fatah reconciliation and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process, writes Semih Idiz.

Palestinians take part in a protest calling for the release of what they say are jailed Salafist relatives from Hamas prisons, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip April 6, 2013. The flag reads, "There is no God but Allah, Mohammed is the messenger of Allah." REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) - RTXYAQR

Gaza Salafists Accuse Hamas Of Harassment, Torture

Salafist prisoners in Gaza have reportedly begun a hunger strike in protest against their detention and continued harassment by Hamas authorities, Mohammed Suliman reports.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives to his annual meeting with European Union member state ambassadors on October 16, 2012 in Jerusalem. AFP PHOTO/GALI TIBBON (Photo credit should read GALI TIBBON/AFP/Getty Images)

Report Calls for New EU ApproachTo Israel, Peace Process

A new European report urges the EU to toughen its stance on Israel and push it toward a two-state solution, reports Daoud Kuttab.

Freed Palestinian prisoner Ibrahim Baroud waves upon his arrival in Gaza City April 8, 2013. Baroud, who was convicted of his affiliation with the armed group of Islamic Jihad and for carrying out armed attacks against Israel, was released on Monday after serving 27 years in an Israeli jail, according to media reports. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXYD5M

Exclusive: Islamic Jihad Rethinks Role In Palestinian Politics

In the second of four exclusive reports from Gaza on the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, Asmaa al-Ghoul reports on the movement's greater involvement in Palestinian civic and political life, including municipal elections.

Members of Hamas police take part in a graduation ceremony in Gaza City December 17, 2012. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3BO8S

Gazans Alarmed by Draft Law Including Islamic Punishments

A hard-line draft penal code that calls for Islamic punishments including flogging and amputation has sparked fierce debates in Gaza, writes Hazem Balousha.

Israelis carry flags as they celebrate in Jerusalem's Old City during a parade marking Jerusalem Day May 8, 2013. Jerusalem Day marks the anniversary of Israel's capture of the Eastern part of the city during the 1967 Middle East War. In 1980, Israel's parliament passed a law declaring united Jerusalem as the national capital, a move never recognised internationally. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTXZF8V

Jerusalem Day Needs a Makeover

On the occasion of Jerusalem Day, which is not celebrated by 67% of residents, Akiva Eldar wonders what could happen if the so-called “united city” combined to vote for a Palestinian Jerusalemite candidate.

Palestinian protesters wave Palestinian flags as Israelis carrying Israeli flags walk past in front of the Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City during a parade marking Jerusalem Day May 8, 2013. Jerusalem Day marks the anniversary of Israel's capture of the Eastern part of the city during the 1967 Middle East War. In 1980, Israel's parliament passed a law declaring united Jerusalem as the national capital, a move never recognised internationally. There were confrontations on Wednesday between Muslims

Holy City Divided on Jerusalem Day

The annual march of nationalist Israelis through east Jerusalem on Jerusalem Day on May 8 contributes to divisions and resentment in the Holy City, reports Jillian Kestler-D’Amours.

Israeli border police officers guard the front of Damascus Gate outside Jerusalem's Old City during a parade marking Jerusalem Day May 8, 2013. Jerusalem Day marks the anniversary of Israel's capture of the Eastern part of the city during the 1967 Middle East War. In 1980, Israel's parliament passed a law declaring united Jerusalem as the national capital, a move never recognised internationally. There were confrontations on Wednesday between Muslims and Jews outside Jerusalem's walled Old City, where al-Aq

Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound UnrestThreatens Israel-Jordan Diplomacy

Jordan has decided to withdraw its ambassador from Tel Aviv, and its parliament has voted unanimously to expel the Israeli ambassador in reaction to the latest Israeli incursion into Al-Aqsa mosque, reports Daoud Kuttab.

Palestinian supporters of leftist parties take part in a protest against Israeli air strikes close to Damascus, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZDWI

Palestinian Groups in Gaza Condemn Israeli Strikes on Syria

Palestinian factions in Gaza urge Arab states to prevent Israel from taking advantage of the Syrian crisis, reports Mohammed Suliman.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry (L) shakes hands with Qatar's Prime Minister Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim al-Thani as they meet with members of the Arab League at Blair House in Washington April 29, 2013. REUTERS/Jason Reed (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXZ41T

How the Arab League Can Help Israel, Palestine Negotiate

Nassif Hitti writes on the John Kerry–Arab League meeting and how to resume negotiations for a peaceful Israeli-Palestinian resolution.

Palestinian students wearing Hamas hats pray at al-Najah University campus in the West Bank city of Nablus, on the day of the student council elections, April 23, 2013. While Palestianian politics may be in a moribund condition at the national level, the paralysis has not stifled youthful debate. The main university of Nablus was a riot of yellow and green flags, the colours of Fatah and Hamas, on the day of the elections. Picture taken April 23, 2013. To match ISRAEL-PALESTINIANS/YOUTH REUTERS/Abed Omar Q

West Bank Student Elections Reveal Hamas’ Influence

While university student council elections in the West Bank were purely “theoretical” elections, they revealed the influence of Islamist factions among youth, writes Dalal Bajes.