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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

November 4, 2026

Ramallah 4:18 am

14°C

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

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.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Hamas-Israeli war are pitched between the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 20, 2026.

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

American freelance photojournalist Heidi Levine lies on a gurney in the emergency room of the government hospital in the Israeli-occupied city of Ramallah, as she is treated after being attacked by Israeli settlers while photographing Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives, in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah on Oct. 16, 2026.

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's Chief of the Mossad David Barnea (R) and Security Agency director Ronen Bar, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

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.

Latest News

Explainer

Israel-UK relations hit new low over settlements, Gaza: What to know

The British Consulate General in east Jerusalem represents the British government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza during a protest against the recently announced British sanctions, aimed at economic activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, on Sept. 14, 2026, in Jerusalem.

West Bank olive harvest begins amid settler attacks on Palestinians, groves

Palestinian men sitting in and by a tractor look on after another man was injured by gunfire whilst being chased away by Israeli forces, in Aqraba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct. 6, 2026.

Analysis

Three years after Oct. 7, Hamas’ grip on Gaza tests Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the state memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of Oct. 7 attack, at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, Oct. 5, 2026.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israel bars UK Greens leader over Zionism-racism resolution: What to know

Green Party leader Zack Polanski delivers his speech during day one of the Green Party annual conference at Brighton Centre on Oct. 2, 2026, in Brighton, England.

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’s ‘shooting routine’ on Gaza border

Israel must re-examine the army’s open-fire orders that result in Palestinians shot to death during Friday protests near the Gaza border; one such gunshot killed Gaza volunteer paramedic Rouzan al-Najjar in 2018.

Will Palestinians get caught in Israeli election cross fire?

Palestinians will be closely following the run-up to Israeli elections in April, as many are already debating the possibility of a politically motivated attack on Gaza to drum up right-wing votes.

US-Palestinian man gets life sentence for selling home to Jews

A Ramallah court has sentenced a Palestinian-American to life in prison for selling East Jerusalem property to Jewish Israelis in what could be a sign that the Palestinians are considering ending security coordination with Israel.

Palestinian oud trio combines poetry with music

Le Trio Joubran puts Palestine's oldest instrument, the oud, and the words of Mahmoud Darwish at the heart of its works.

Hamas-Fatah bitter split plays out in West Bank universities

Tempers flare as the Palestinian Authority pursues Hamas-affiliated university students on campuses.

Gaza’s public servants outraged at Hamas’ recent spending

Recent documents were leaked to the media showing that Hamas spent more than $550,000 for the celebrations of its anniversary, which raised the ire of Gaza government employees who have not received their full salaries since 2013.

Gaza traders face new taxes, import restrictions

In a bid to protect national products, Hamas’ Ministry of National Economy in Gaza imposed new taxes on imported goods and banned traders from importing any goods without its consent.

Israeli factory to be established in Gaza, is this possible?

Israel’s SodaStream announced it will open a manufacturing plant in the Gaza Strip, raising eyebrows since the company was forced to close a factory it previously operated in the West Bank under pressure from the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement.

Why was the Palestinian Legislative Council dismantled?

Palestinians are losing hope in their government and its institutions, especially after the Palestinian Constitutional Court issued a decision to dissolve the democratically elected Palestinian Legislative Council that represented all Palestinian parties.

Netanyahu's pro-settler allies force annexation into campaign agenda

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's announcement that he aspires to maintain his current coalition after the April elections means that Israelis can expect to see ideas like annexation and a binational state increasingly normalized.

Israeli soldiers are seen on their military vehicle as a Palestinian woman walks during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border fence, in the southern Gaza Strip December 21, 2018. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RC1831F545E0

Is this the downfall of Egyptian-brokered truce?

The Egyptian-brokered cease-fire agreement between the Gaza Strip and Israel is now threatened by resistance attacks in the West Bank.

Historic Jerusalem district threatened by settler group

The houses of several Palestinian families in East Jerusalem are threatened with destruction or expropriation by a powerful Israeli organization working to expand the settlements.