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Palestine

December 5, 2025

Ramallah 5:25 pm

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A boy sits outside the entrance to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) building complex in Gaza City, on Sept. 6, 2025.

Interview

UNRWA plans Turkey office to boost Gaza, Syria aid as pledges dip

Speaking exclusively to Al-Monitor, UNRWA’s Tamara Alrifai said the upcoming Turkey office would help the agency to expand its operations not only in Gaza but also in Syria.

JERUSALEM - OCTOBER 13: U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands and speaks with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on the day of Trump's address on October 13, 2025 in Jerusalem. President Trump is visiting the country hours after Hamas released the remaining Israeli hostages captured on Oct. 7, 2023, part of a US-brokered ceasefire deal to end the war in Gaza. (Photo by Evelyn Hockstein - Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

As he stalls Gaza plan, will Netanyahu pick his far-right coalition over Trump?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu won’t publicly go against the Gaza plan of President Donald Trump, but he keeps stalling on discussing the parameters for the implementation of the plan’s second phase.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images

Turkey’s spy chief holds talks in Egypt over trapped Hamas militants

Turkey’s spy chief met with Qatari, Egyptian officials as the Gaza ceasefire process stalls over Hamas fighters trapped in tunnels.

Latest News

UN Security Council endorses US plan for Gaza security force

UN Security Council votes for US resolution on the Gaza peace plan

Germany lifts Israel arms embargo: What changed in Berlin?

(COMBO) This combination created on February 24, 2025 of file pictures shows the leader and top candidate for Chancellor of Germany's Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party Friedrich Merz (L, on February 24, 2025 in Berlin) and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (on December 9, 2024 in Jerusalem.. Friedrich Merz, who is expected to be Germany's next chancellor after his conservative CDU/CSU bloc won national elections, said on February 24, 2025 that he would make sure Benjamin Netanyahu "can visit" G

Analysis

Ahead of MBS visit, Saudis link Israel normalization to 3 asks from Trump

US President Donald J. Trump leaves the Saudi Royal Court with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman on May 13, 2025, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

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

After 13 hours, 150 Gazans allowed to enter South Africa: What to know

A South African Airways (SAA) flight is seen on the tarmac before departing from the O.R. Tambo International Airport in Johannesburg on Sept. 23, 2021.

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

Women and children extend their arms with empty pots in Jabalia Refugee Camp, Gaza City, Gaza, on May 19, 2025.

UN decries ‘astonishing’ Gaza hunger crisis as truce talks stall

As aid groups sound the alarm on Gaza's hunger crisis, President Donald Trump said Hamas “didn’t want to make a deal" to end the war.

BERLIN, GERMANY - JULY 23: French President Emmanuel Macron talks to media prior to talks with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz at Villa Borsig on July 23, 2025 in Berlin, Germany. The two leaders are meeting as Germany, France and the United Kingdom forge a stronger European alliance following U.S. President Donald Trump's disruption of transatlantic ties. (Photo by Christian Mang/Getty Images)

Macron: France to recognize Palestine as a state

French President Emmanuel Macron said he will formalize the decision at the United Nations General Assembly in September.

BERTRAND GUAY/AFP via Getty Images)

US to withdraw from UNESCO over 'anti-Israel rhetoric'

The State Department slammed the UN organization's “globalist, ideological agenda."

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar (L) addresses a press conference with European Commission Vice-President and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Kaja Kallas and EU Commissioner for Mediterranean Dubravka Suica and after a meeting at the EU headquarters on the sidelines of the EU's foreign affairs council, in Brussels on February 24, 2025. (Photo by JOHN THYS / AFP) (Photo by JOHN THYS/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Israel races to avert EU sanctions by expanding Gaza aid: What to know

Facing mounting pressure over Gaza war conduct, Israel expands aid access in bid to sway EU ministers ahead of critical sanctions debate.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Israel's (L to R) Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, Justice Minister Yariv Levin, and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu applaud during the address of Argentina's President to a session of the Israeli parliament (Knesset) at its headquarters in Jerusalem on June 11, 2025. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Photo by MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Can Netanyahu thread needle on Gaza ceasefire without losing coalition?

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu continues to make statements about advancing a Gaza ceasefire deal, but that does not necessarily mean he will commit to ending the war.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

A Palestinian man searches for things to rescue at a garbage waste dump in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 7, 2025.

Analysis

Trump pushes for Gaza ceasefire, but can he guarantee end of war?

Of the remaining hurdles to achieving a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, the most difficult to overcome may be the militants’ demand for a guaranteed end to the war.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Bibi

Netanyahu ends US visit with no Gaza deal but progress on reconstruction

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has departed Washington with little to show for his meetings with President Donald Trump.

United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the Rights Situation in the Palestinian Territories Francesca Albanese (L).

US sanctions UN official overseeing Palestinian rights

The sanctions come on the heels of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting with President Donald Trump.

Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Varsen Aghabekian speaks during a UN Security Council meeting on Gaza in light of ceasefire and hostage release at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City on Jan. 20, 2025.

Exclusive

Palestinian FM: Ready to work with Trump; Saudi payments to PA resumed

Foreign Minister Varsen Aghabekian told Al-Monitor in first such interview since taking the position that Palestinian officials are ready to "work closely" with President Donald Trump for a negotiated settlement.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

A Palestinian boy searches for things to rescue at a garbage waste dump in the Al-Bureij camp in the central Gaza Strip on July 7, 2025.

White House upbeat about Gaza deal as Hamas signals impasse

US envoy Steve Witkoff said Israel and Hamas could agree to a 60-day truce and the release of 10 living hostages by the end of the week.