Analysis Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government Ankara sees room for limited improvement in ties if Israel’s next government eases Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and reduces military pressure on Syria. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
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
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
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. Israel
Analysis Three years after Oct. 7, Hamas’ grip on Gaza tests Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’ By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Can Qatar help Hamas without embarrassing Netanyahu? The Qatari emissary asked the Hamas leadership to give him and Israel time to come up with creative ways to transfer the Gaza aid money without causing public opinion in Israel to explode. Qatar
Israel anti-boycott bill becomes partisan casualty in first vote of new Senate Senate Republicans’ first bill in the new Congress draws AIPAC into a partisan political squabble while forcing a Democratic reckoning over the Israel boycott movement. Palestine
Iran ups rhetoric with talk of training Palestinian fighters Iran has been supporting and instructing Palestinian resistance factions for years on the down low, but now it's bragging about it. Palestine
Kuwait breaks from GCC on warming up to Israel While Kuwait is joining its fellow GCC nations in terms of supporting Syria's return to the Arab League, Kuwaiti officials want nothing to do with Israel. Legacy: Gulf
Netanyahu’s Golan statement ignores new Syria reality For Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu partnering with the far-right and proclaiming sovereignty over the Golan Heights is more important than aspiring to regional alliances with Muslim and Arab countries. United Arab Emirates
Israeli politicians cower before Jewish terror The political outcry over settler youths arrested for causing the death of a Palestinian woman reflects the Israeli leadership's fear of the settlers’ political power. Palestine
The Palestinians' new third-party option Leftist Palestinian political factions have joined forces with civil society groups to form a third stream in Palestinian politics as an alternative to the Fatah-Hamas duopoly. Palestine
Will Abbas go through with legislative elections without Hamas? Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas plans to hold legislative elections within six months, the first since the last Palestinian parliamentary elections in 2006, to the dismay of Hamas. Palestine
Hebron's only Orthodox church quiet on Christmas Hebron's once vibrant Russian Orthodox Monastery of the Holy Trinity and Holy Forefathers Church will host few visitors this Orthodox Christmas Eve on Jan. 6. Palestine
Abbas attacks Netanyahu for letting Qatari funds into Gaza Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas says Israel is aiding attacks on its own people by acting as a conduit for money to reach Hamas. Qatar
Israel’s dangerous game on conditions of Palestinian prisoners The declaration by Public Security Minister Gilad Erdan about worsening Palestinian prisoners’ conditions would only generate unrest in prisons and on the Palestinian street. Palestine