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Palestine

July 31, 2026

Ramallah 9:36 am

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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

Israel installs more loudspeakers at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Israel expands its surveillance of Al-Aqsa Mosque. This is in defiance of the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, which claims the surveillance is a violation of sovereignty.

Gaza factions respond with rockets to UAE, Bahrain normalization with Israel

Israel retaliates with airstrikes as Palestinian armed groups in Gaza reject normalization and weigh their next moves.

Demonstrators, mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, attend a protest against the United Arab Emirates' and Bahrain's decisions to normalise relations with Israel, in Gaza City on September 15, 2020. - Palestinian leaders had earlier called for demonstrations against the "shameful" deals the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain are set to sign with Israel. Officials from both Gulf states are due to attend a ceremony at the White House on September 15 to formalise ties with Israel, prompting Palest

Jordan clings to two-state solution in wake of normalization deals

With normalization deals being signed and regional dynamics in flux, Jordan is trying to adapt to what it fears is faltering Arab support for the Palestinian issue and a two-state solution.

DUMA,WEST BANK - JULY 31: Family members and relatives of 18 month old baby, Ali Saad-Dawabsheh, view the remains of their house after a fire which was suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists on July 31, 2015 in the Palestinian village of Duma, West Bank. A house fire in the Palestinian village of Duma, West Bank, suspected to have been set by Jewish extremists, killed an 18-month-old Palestinian child, injured both parents and a four year old brother. (Photo by Oren Ziv/Getty Images)

Family of Palestinian boy disfigured in 2015 firebomb attack still seeking justice

An Israeli court sentenced to life imprisonment the Jewish settler behind the 2015 arson attack in the village of Duma in the northern West Bank, which killed three members of the Dawabsha family, but the family says the court’s decision is not enough.

The Iron Dome anti-missile system fires interception missiles in the sky early morning on August 21, 2020 as rockets are launched against Israel. - Israeli planes launched raids against Gaza late on August 20 in response to rocket fire, security sources in the Palestinian enclave said, as mediators sought to broker an end to the latest flare-up. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP) (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)

Rockets rain from Gaza as Netanyahu speaks in Washington

Militants in Gaza fired a barrage of rockets at Israel’s southern towns while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was speaking at the White House signing ceremony with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Hamas opens up on arms, missile supplies from Iran

Hamas surprisingly revealed the secrets of weapons smuggling through Sudan, Syria, Iran and Sinai, which led to questions about the reasons behind such disclosure at this time.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas (C), mask-clad due to the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic, recites a prayer as he arrives for a meeting in the West Bank's Ramallah on September 3, 2020, with representatives of Palestinian factions there and with others by video conference gathered at the Palestinian embassy in Beirut in rare talks on how to respond to such accords and to a Middle East peace plan announced by Washington this year. (Photo by Alaa BADARNEH / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALAA BADARNEH/POOL/AFP via Ge

Ramallah meeting produces new Palestinian unity committee

The various Palestinian factions that took part in the unity meeting in Ramallah agreed to establish yet another body in the name of unified national leadership.

Israel expands campaign to seize West Bank archaeological sites

Israel gave notice of seizure of two new archaeological sites in the West Bank, in an endless series of targeting such sites in Palestinian areas.

A Jewish couple stand together overlooking the Western wall and the Dome of the Rock mosque next to wedding floral decorations in Jerusalem's Old City on August 25, 2020. (Photo by Emmanuel DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Second wave of virus ravages Israel's Arab population

According to health experts, weddings and conspiracy theories are behind the high number of new infections in Arab-Israeli society.

Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh greets supporters during a visit to the Ain el-Helweh camp, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon on September 6, 2020. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Haniyeh’s visit to Lebanon further deepens Palestinian rift

Fatah has criticized the recent visit of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, where he received a strong welcome.

Arab Foreign Ministers take part in their 153rd annual session at the Arab League headquarters in the Egyptian capital Cairo, on March 4, 2020. (Photo by Mohamed el-Shahed / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMED EL-SHAHED/AFP via Getty Images)

Arab League refuses to back Palestinians in rebuke of Israel-UAE deal

The pan-Arab body dropped a resolution that would have condemned the recent normalization deal between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

TOPSHOT - Members of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad militant group take part in a military parade during a condolences ceremony for the movement's former leader Ramadan Shalah in Gaza city, on June 8, 2020, two days after his death in neighbouring Lebanon. - The 62-year-old was buried in Syria on June 7, a day following his death after a long illness. (Photo by Mohammed ABED / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza factions say Hamas cut them out of deal with Israel

Hamas’ abrupt announcement of a Qatari-brokered deal with Israel to contain the escalation in Gaza was met with doubts as some parties complained of being left out of the talks.