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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

July 30, 2026

Ramallah 10:40 am

30°C

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.

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

Latest News

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.

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.

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

Palestinians take refuge at Gaza school

Gaza under fire, testimonies from under the shelling

Gazans find themselves homeless with no safe place to go as Israel continues to pummel the coastal enclave with heavy artillery shells and airstrikes, razing neighborhoods to the ground and destroying the already poor infrastructure.

rocket attack warning

Rockets launched from Syria land in Israel amid Gaza conflict

Three rockets were fired from Syria toward Israel.

Al-Jawhara building hit by airstrike

Press watchdog calls on Israel to avoid harming journalists in Gaza

Israeli airstrikes have reportedly destroyed the offices of more than a dozen news outlets in Gaza.

Netanyahu in Lod

Has war on Hamas given Netanyahu a political lifeline?

Conflict with Gaza proving a political winner, so far, for the embattled Israeli prime minister; Arab states may take center stage in mediation efforts; Al-Monitor’s unmatched reporting from Gaza.

Rockets are seen in the night sky fired toward Israel from Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, May 14, 2021.

Hamas uses large rocket arsenal in latest escalation round with Israel

In its latest confrontation with Israel, Hamas used precision-guided rockets to target Israeli sites for the first time, thus killing Israelis for the first time since 2014.

Riot police officers stand in front of demonstrators during a protest in support of Palestine on Jaarbeursplein in Utrecht, on May 14, 2021.

In pictures: Israel-Gaza conflict sparks pro-Palestinian protests around world

The growing death toll from Israel's offensive against the militant group Hamas has set off pro-Palestinian protests around the world.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses a protest rally in Istanbul on May 18, 2018, against the killings of Palestinian protesters on the Gaza-Israel border and the US Embassy move to Jerusalem.

Can Erdogan seize on Israeli-Palestinian crisis to make diplomatic gains?

The flurry of diplomacy over the Israeli-Palestinian escalation has helped Erdogan break his diplomatic isolation, but he could hardly hope for far-reaching gains to help his bid at fence-mending with Arab heavyweights.

destoryed residential building in Gaza

Gazans recount how they are dealing with death and destruction

The first day of Eid was canceled for Gazans as people try to cope with having lost family, homes and their livelihoods to the wave of attacks between Gaza and Israel.

Rockets launched toward Israel from the northern Gaza Strip and response from the Israeli missile defense system known as the Iron Dome leave streaks through the sky on May 14, 2021, in Gaza City, Gaza.

Hamas scrambles to learn how Israel killed its military leaders hiding in secret locations

After Israel targeted and killed several of Hamas' military leaders, the organization has grown more concerned about Israel succeeding in breaching the movement’s secret communications system.

Smoke billows from an explosion following an Israeli air strike in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on May 13, 2021.

Erdogan: Turkey won't 'remain silent' over Israeli strikes in Gaza

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also called on the UN Security Council to address the worsening bloodshed.

MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images

WATCH: Israeli air force shoots down Hamas drone

Hamas released footage purporting to show new drones that resemble widely exported Iranian models.

Sheikh Jarrah expropriated home

How Sheikh Jarrah became flashpoint in latest Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Critics of Israel say the planned evictions in the East Jerusalem neighborhood discriminate against Palestinians.