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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

October 30, 2026

Ramallah 10:02 am

18°C

Tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Hamas-Israeli war are pitched between the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 20, 2026.

Analysis

What Israel's election could mean for Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank

The ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could provide Palestinians some relief, but is unlikely to improve their prospects for statehood.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

American freelance photojournalist Heidi Levine lies on a gurney in the emergency room of the government hospital in the Israeli-occupied city of Ramallah, as she is treated after being attacked by Israeli settlers while photographing Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives, in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah on Oct. 16, 2026.

Washington Post journalist hospitalized after Israeli settler attack in West Bank

The assault was one of several attacks on Friday as Palestinians gathered to harvest olives across the West Bank.

Israel's Chief of the Mossad David Barnea (R) and Security Agency director Ronen Bar, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sues Netanyahu for nearly $1M over Oct. 7 claims

Bar is suing for 3 million shekels ($970,000) over a Sept. 28 post on X in which Netanyahu blamed the former Shin Bet chief for Oct. 7 intelligence failures and accused him of withholding warnings.

The British Consulate General in east Jerusalem represents the British government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza during a protest against the recently announced British sanctions, aimed at economic activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, on Sept. 14, 2026, in Jerusalem.

Explainer

Israel-UK relations hit new low over settlements, Gaza: What to know

Despite Britain’s ban on goods from Israeli settlements and Israel’s closure of the British Consulate in East Jerusalem, both countries are seeking to keep communication channels open.

Latest News

West Bank olive harvest begins amid settler attacks on Palestinians, groves

Palestinian men sitting in and by a tractor look on after another man was injured by gunfire whilst being chased away by Israeli forces, in Aqraba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct. 6, 2026.

Analysis

Three years after Oct. 7, Hamas’ grip on Gaza tests Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the state memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of Oct. 7 attack, at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, Oct. 5, 2026.

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

Israel bars UK Greens leader over Zionism-racism resolution: What to know

Green Party leader Zack Polanski delivers his speech during day one of the Green Party annual conference at Brighton Centre on Oct. 2, 2026, in Brighton, England.

West Bank settlers attack Israeli activists as Netanyahu claims 'hoax'

Erik Marmor/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

Arab Israeli protesters lift Palestinian flags and spoons, reportedly the digging tool used by six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel's Gilboa prison, as they demonstrate in the mostly Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel, on Sept. 10, 2021, to denounce punitive measures taken by the Israel Prison Service against Palestinian prisoners following the jailbreak.

Jailbreak unites Palestinians, confounds Israelis

And: required reading to understand the last two decades in the Middle East: the 'Axis of Evil' speech

Supporters of Islamic Jihad distribute sweets to celebrate the escape of six Palestinians from an Israeli prison, Rafah, Gaza Strip, Sept. 6, 2021.

Gaza factions suspend popular activities to advance mediation efforts

Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip agreed to suspend popular activities until mid-September, to allow the mediators’ efforts for the reconstruction process to succeed.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Israel warns Gaza citizens living next door to Hamas members

Israel reportedly sent text messages to citizens in Gaza warning them that they are living in the same buildings as Hamas members and they may become targets in future fighting.

A relative of Mahmud al-Ardeh, one of six Palestinian prisoners who escaped from Israel's Gilboa prison, stands next to a banner showing him (L) and another prisoner, Raddad al-Ardeh, by his home in the village of Arabah, south of Jenin in the occupied West Bank on Sept. 8, 2021.

Jailbreak from Israeli prison shakes up Palestinian public

The escape of six Palestinians from a maximum security Israeli prison jolted observers.

Police and journalists gather around a hole used by six Palestinians to escape from the Gilboa Prison after they dug a tunnel beneath a sink, in northern Israel on Sept. 6, 2021.

Palestinian media alleges rights abuses during Israeli search for escaped prisoners

The Palestinian Authority is demanding the release of more prisoners following an escape at a high-security Israeli prison.

A volunteer member of Hamas directs traffic in a street in Gaza City, Gaza Strip, Aug. 21, 2007.

Road accidents increasingly common in Gaza Strip

Two young women were killed and another injured in a car accident in the Gaza Strip, which sparked a wave of angry reactions among citizens toward reckless drivers and laxity in applying laws and punishing lawbreakers.

Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett looks on during a plenum session on the state budget on Sept. 2, 2021.

Boxed in: Bennett, Abbas can’t win despite ‘goodwill gestures’

Domestic politics are complicating any moves toward better ties, and Hamas is seeking an advantage by stoking resistance.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

Israel allows construction materials into Gaza without prisoner exchange

Israel seems to have let go of its demand for a prisoner release in exchange for reconstruction, allowing the entry of some building materials into the Gaza Strip.

A picture taken on October 18, 2018 shows the US consulate in Jerusalem.

Palestinians welcome US plan to reopen Jerusalem consulate

Palestinians reacted positively to the US plan to fulfill one of President Joe Biden’s promises of reopening the US mission in Jerusalem, which will be providing services and a liaison to the people of Palestine.

Palestinians gather on Aug. 30, 2021 during a protest along the border fence with Israel, east of Gaza City in the central Gaza Strip, demanding an end to Israel's blockade and the right of Palestinians to return to lands they fled or were expelled from when the Jewish state was founded.

Will popular pressure in Gaza lead to new clashes with Israel?

Palestinian youth are carrying out non-military activities, backed by military factions in Gaza, to pressure Israel to lift the siege, among other demands.

Palestinians fill bottles of water for home consumption at the Rafah refugee camp, southern Gaza Strip, April 8, 2021.

Gazans fear worst after Hamas bans water wells

The Hamas-affiliated Water and Environmental Quality Authority to ban the digging of wells without a license, as many Gazans suffer from a lack of potable water.

ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images

Abbas' meeting with Gantz unlikely to soothe Palestinians

The Palestinian president's meeting with the Israeli defense minister comes at a time of frustration among Palestinians with Abbas.