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July 7, 2026

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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

Michael Ciaglo/Getty Images

Who is Melat Kiros, the pro-Palestinian who unseated a longtime Democrat?

Kiros has taken a hard stance against Israel and opposes all aid to the country as pro-Palestinian candidates make further inroads in the party.

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.

Amnesty International accuses Israel of state-led ethnic cleansing in West Bank

In a new report, Amnesty International said that the escalating forced displacement and settlement expansion in the occupied West Bank is part of a state-led campaign to control the Palestinian territory.

Latest News

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.

With Hungary’s ICC U-turn, Israel loses a key European ally

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, (R) shakes hands with Viktor Orban, Hungary's prime minister, during a news conference on April 3, 2025 in Budapest, Hungary.

Who was Mohammed Odeh, Hamas military commander killed by Israel in Gaza?

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

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 protesters run for cover as Israeli forces fire teargas during clashes following a protest against a march by Israeli settlers to the wildcat settlement outpost of Homesh, in the village of Burqa, West Bank, April 19, 2022.

Israeli settler kills Palestinian in Burqa, seven arrested

After arresting two settlers over the fatal incident at the West Bank town of Burqa, where a young Palestinian was killed, police have detained five Palestinians on suspicion of riots and attacks.

Members of a police academy run by the Palestinian Hamas movement, take part in a training session in the town of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on August 2, 2023. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Despite Hamas' crackdown, Gaza protests continue in rare defiance

The deteriorating situation in Gaza has led to rare anti-Hamas protests amid growing frustration over the poor conditions in the besieged enclave.

Israeli policemen detain a Palestinian man at the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound following clashes that erupted during the Islamic holy fasting month of Ramadan in Jerusalem on April 5, 2023.

Israel holds over 1,200 mostly Palestinian detainees without charge, highest in 3 decades

A report published on Wednesday by a nongovernmental group says the number of people in Israeli administrative detention is the highest in the last three decades.

Smoke rises during clashes in Ain al-Hilweh camp, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon, Feb. 28, 2017.

What’s behind Palestinian violence in Lebanon’s Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp?

Lebanon’s largest refugee camp, Ain al-Hilweh, is no stranger to violence between rival Palestinian factions.

A young boy carries home a battery-powered fan amid a heatwave and electricity shortage in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, July 19, 2023.

In Gaza, pressure builds on Hamas to solve power crisis amid heat wave

Palestinian activists in the Gaza Strip are launching campaigns to pressure Hamas into resolving the power crisis, which has worsened this past month due to a severe heat wave.

Itamar Ben-Gvir, Israel's new Minister of National Security and leader of the far-right Jewish Power party, greets supporters during a visit to Mahane Yehuda market, Jerusalem, Dec. 30, 2022.

Jordan, Palestinians condemn visit by Israel’s Ben-Gvir to Temple Mount

After two largely-criticized visits since the beginning of the year to the site, Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir visited the Temple Mount compound again, on the Jewish holy day of Tisha B’Av.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) meet with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara, Turkey, July 25, 2023.

Erdogan hosts Abbas, stresses Palestinian unity ahead of Cairo meeting

The Abbas-Erdogan meeting in Turkey indicates increasing regional efforts aiming to convince rival Palestinian groups to advance their dialogue.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas made a landmark visit to the Jenin camp, in the north of the occupied West Bank, a week after the largest Israeli raid there in years

Abbas vows to rebuild Jenin camp after deadly Israeli raid

Agence France-Presse

A bulldozer clears the rubble along a street in the occupied West Bank Jenin refugee camp on July 6, 2023, following a large-scale Israeli military operation that lasted for two days.

UAE pledges $15 million to rebuild Palestinian city of Jenin after Israeli raid

The UAE has criticized the Israeli government several times this year, including over its raids in the West Bank, though cooperation between the two countries is continuing.

The Israeli army Wednesday declared the end of a two-day military operation in the Jenin area

Broken walls, crushed cars: Jenin assesses damage of Israeli raid

Agence France-Presse

An Israeli armoured vehicle is stationed at the end of a blocked-off street during an ongoing military operation in the Jenin refugee camp in the occupied West Bank on July 4, 2023.

Palestine Briefing: Why Israel's Jenin raid will not bring about results

In this except from Al-Monitor's weekly Palestine Briefing newsletter, Daoud Kuttab writes that Palestinians need new thinking, new direction and an agreed-upon strategy for ending the decades-long occupation.

Israeli military armored vehicles advance on a road during an operation in Jenin city in the occupied West Bank, on July 3, 2023.

Analysis

Can Israel’s operation in Jenin restore IDF deterrence in West Bank?

Israel’s security system knows that even a large military operation cannot completely erase militant activity from the West Bank city of Jenin, but it does hope to shift the balance of power in its favor.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense