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Palestine

July 31, 2026

Ramallah 12:38 pm

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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

Palestinian protesters lift a banner during a demonstration against the Emirati-Israeli agreement in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank, on August 15, 2020. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian factions unite in protest against UAE-Israel deal

The Palestinian response to the normalization agreement between the United Arab Emirates and Israel is loud but its message is muddled amid divisions at home and in the region.

United Arab Emirates

Mohammed al-Emadi, chairman of Qatar's National Committee for the Reconstruction of Gaza, speaks during a press conference in Gaza City on January 25, 2019. - Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas said on January 25 they would not accept a fresh tranche of Qatari funds, accusing Israel of imposing new conditions on the money entering the blockaded Palestinian territory. The rejection of the expected $15 million (13.2 million euros) raised fears of fresh tensions along the Gaza-Israel border, ahead of weekly Friday p

Will Qatar renew Gaza aid?

There are concerns the Qatari aid to the Gazans will stop as tension escalates on the border between the Gaza Strip and Israel.

Trump administration goes big with UAE-Israel peace deal

Other Gulf states may follow.

Gaza women bodybuilding.jpg

Women in Gaza turn to bodybuilding

Despite the fact that bodybuilding is frowned upon in Palestinian society for women, some girls and women in the Gaza Strip have become interested in this sport.

A picture taken on December 16, 2017 shows a woman standing by an infant with a milk bottle in their mouth as they wait to ride a bus in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza strip, prior to departure for the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. / AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel denies travel to Palestinian newborns

To pressure Palestinians and force them to back down from their decision to stop security coordination, Israel is refusing to recognize more than 24,000 Palestinian newborns while preventing their movement through crossings as well as their travel abroad.

TOPSHOT - Armed members of the Palestinian Fatah movement take part in a march in the Al-Ain camp, west of Nablus in the West Bank, on June 7, 2020, to protest Israel's plan to annex parts of the occupied Palestinian territory and express support for President Mahmoud Abbas. (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

Is PA doing enough to stop arms proliferation in West Bank?

Chaos prevails in the West Bank amid the proliferation of weapons, which embarrasses the Palestinian Authority that seems unable to curb this spread of arms that upped crime rates.

Palestinians express anger at UAE following US-brokered accord with Israel

Palestinians say UAE decision to normalize relations with Israel is a crime.

United Arab Emirates

Fuel tankers arrive at Kerem Shalom crossing in the southern Gaza Strip on August 15, 2018. - Israel reopened its only goods crossing with the Gaza Strip on Wednesday in response to relative calm on the border after months of tensions prompted a blockade on most goods from July 9. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel cuts off fuel to Gaza as balloon attacks continue

Israel’s defense minister has closed off fuel imports to Gaza, adding to the list of goods prohibited from crossing into the Strip in response to the explosive-laden balloons from Gaza.

A masked Palestinian launches a Balloon loaded with flammable materials to be flown toward Israel, at the Israel-Gaza border, in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip on June 17, 2018. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Gaza's balloon bombs spark new cycle of violence

After a period of calm on the Gaza Strip borders with Israel, incendiary and explosive balloons spark another violent exchange.

A ball of fire is seen following an Israel airstrike at Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip early on June 27, 2020. - Two rockets were fired from the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip towards Israeli territory on June 26, the army said. It was the first reported rocket fire from the Gaza Strip since early May. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

Hamas test-fires rockets escalating tensions with Israel

Hamas test-fired missiles toward the sea in the Gaza Strip in a warning to Israel that the calm along the border might not last.

RAFAH, GAZA STRIP NOVEMBER 15: A Palestinian security man checks a passport of a traveller as she comes back from Egypt November 15, 2005 at the border crossing of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip. Palestinian and Egyptian security officials opened the Rafah border as an exception for travel in coordination with the Israeli Army. Palestinians and Israel have reached an agreement today under strong U.S. pressure to open borders of Gaza starting November 25, 2005 as an attempt to turn the economically cripple

Egypt-Gaza border crossing opens for first time in months

The Rafah border crossing has been mostly shut to travelers since March.

A picture taken from the E1 corridor, a super-sensitive area of the occupied West Bank, shows Israeli settlement of Maale Adumim in the background on June 30, 2020. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI / AFP) (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

As annexation stalls, Netanyahu revives plan to expand West Bank settlements

Israel is reviving the E1 plan to build thousands of settlements in East Jerusalem, which would cut off the city from the rest of the West Bank and undermine any prospect for the creation of a contiguous Palestinian state.