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Palestine

July 31, 2026

Ramallah 10:34 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

Qatari official details mediation between Israel, Hamas

The chairman of the Qatar Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, Mohammed al-Emadi, says mediation "helped to deescalate the conflict and spare innocent Palestinian civilians."

Israeli children play with the flag of the United Arab Emirates during an anti-government rally in front of the Prime Minister's residence in Jerusalem, on August 29, 2020. (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND / AFP) (Photo by EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Israeli-Arabs split over agreement with the Emirates

Some Israeli-Arabs reject the deal with the UAE, while others cheer the opening to the Arab world.

United Arab Emirates

President Mahmoud Abbas (C) wears a protective mask as he attends a meeting of the Palestinian leadership to discuss the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalise relations, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on August 18, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMAD TOROKMAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian leaders grasp for unity in Ramallah-Beirut meeting

While the Sept. 3 meeting between major Palestinian faction leaders in Ramallah and Beirut was an unusual accomplishment in itself, many observers are cautious about crucial obstacles to change.

Yasser Arafat’s widow lashes out at PA over criticism of UAE-Israel deal

The widow of late Palestinian President Yasser Aafat lashed out at the Palestinian Authority, accusing it of threatening her because of her position on the UAE-Israel normalization deal.

United Arab Emirates

An impoverished area in the southern Gaza Strip refugee camp of Khan Yunis is pictured on May 13, 2019. - Qatar began distributing millions of dollars in aid in the Gaza Strip today in a fresh bid to restore calm after a flareup with Israel, a Qatari official said. Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas, along with an allied militant group, fired hundreds of rockets at Israel on May 4 and 5, saying they were frustrated by the slow implementation of a previous ceasefire deal. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED / AFP) (Ph

Qatar brokers Israel-Hamas cease-fire

Hamas says it has reached understandings with Qatar and Israel to contain the escalation in Gaza, but details of the agreement are murky.

A Palestinian family whose house located in area C of the Israeli-occupied West Bank and was demolished by the military last month, is pictured at the ruins of their home, near the village of Yatta, south of Hebron, on August 10, 2020. - "Area C" is a stretch of land accounting for 60 percent of the West Bank over which Israel has control under the terms of the Oslo Accords signed between Israel and the Palestinians in the 1990s. It is extremely difficult for Palestinians to receive building permits from Is

Palestinians say not even caves safe from Israeli bulldozers

Residents of the West Bank village of Farasin are living in fear of displacement after receiving demolition notices for their houses, tents and even caves.

The Gaza Strip's Hamas Prime minister Ismail Haniyeh (L) and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan shake hands in front of the lawmakers of Erdogan's Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party at the Parliament in Ankara on January 3, 2012. Haniyeh's visit was a show of solidarity with the Islamic aid group IHH, which had planned to send the Mavi Marmara vessel with another Gaza flotilla last year but then dropped the plan. AFP PHOTO/ADEM ALTAN (Photo credit should read ADEM ALTAN/AFP via Getty

Turkey courts Hamas despite US pressure

Despite US and Israeli criticism of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with the Hamas leadership, the relationship between Turkey and Hamas remains strong.

Congressman beats challenger who wants to condition US aid to Israel

Rep. Richard Neal's victory over progressive Alex Morse came after pro-Palestine Democrats won primaries earlier in the election year. Neal was endorsed by a large pro-Israel group.

Governor of Jerusalem for the Palestinian Authority Adnan Ghaith poses for a photograph in his office at the Palestinian Ministry of Jerusalem affairs' headquarters in the occupied West Bank town of al-Ram, near Jerusalem, on November 4, 2018. - Israeli forces raided the offices of the Palestinian governor of Jerusalem on November 4, authorities said, after reports of an investigation related to a land sale. Israeli authorities confirmed the raid in Al-Ram, just on the other side of Israel's separation wall

Palestinian governor of Jerusalem boxed in by Israeli authorities

Since assuming his post, Palestinian Governor of Jerusalem Adnan Ghaith has been subjected to a harassment campaign by the Israeli authorities who have restricted his movement within the city.

An Israeli farmer uses a tractor in an attempt to extinguish a fire in a wheat field near the Kibbutz Nahal Oz, along the border with the Gaza Strip, on May 15, 2019 after it was caused by inflammable material attached to helium balloon flown by Palestinian protesters from across the border. - Palestinians are marking the 1948 Nakba, or "catastrophe", which left hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by the war accompanying the birth of the Jewish state. (Photo by Menahem KAHANA / AFP) (Phot

After understandings with Hamas, Israel pushes for comprehensive cease-fire

Israel warns Hamas that in order for the temporary cease-fire to be implemented, balloon terror from the Gaza Strip must stop.

Palestinians cover their ears as a masked man fires a volley from his rifle, during the funeral of Dalia Ahmed Suleiman Samudi, 23, in Jenin city in the occupied West Bank on August 7, 2020, who was killed by Israeli fire during clashes. - Samudi died of a gunshot wound after being shot near the site of clashes between Palestinian youths and Israeli troops in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian officials said. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Private gun ownership soars in West Bank

Crime rates are rising in the West Bank, where illegal weapons are turning family feuds deadly.

Hamas announces deal to end Gaza flare-up with Israel

Under the Qatari-brokered agreement, the militants will cease their attacks in return for Israel lifting restrictions at the border.