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Palestine

May 12, 2026

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Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Feature

Gazans show cautious hope ahead of first local elections in 20 years

The city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza is set to hold municipal elections for the first time in nearly two decades.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Analysis

On eve of Palestinian local elections, competition in short supply

With many races unopposed and rivals excluded, the vote underscores a calibrated effort to contain dissent and prioritize stability.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Former Israeli prime minister

Latest News

Meloni suspends Italy's military cooperation agreement with Israel

Meloni

'Apartheid': Arab countries including UAE, Jordan decry new Israeli law

MOJAHID NAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Settler violence spike exposes Israeli government rift with military

Israeli settler violence graffiti

Wartime closures at Jerusalem holy sites raise fears of lasting shift among Palestinians

Muslim worshippers break their fast outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed.

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

Old fears rise again about Palestinians in Iraq

Sentiment against Palestinians is taking hold in Iraq, where some are being accused of supporting the Islamic State's extreme ideology.

Israel's defense minister in crosshairs

The resignation of Israel’s coordinator on captive and missing soldiers suggests that Israel has stopped negotiating with Hamas for a prisoner exchange deal.

Netanyahu in tight spot amid Hamas prisoner swap debate

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman said that Israel must not “repeat the mistakes made with the Shalit deal," namely releasing hundreds of Hamas operatives in the framework of a prisoner-exchange deal.

New initiative brings Quran to Gaza's hearing-impaired

The Future Society for Deaf Adults in the Gaza Strip is offering religious courses for the deaf and hearing-impaired, teaching them the Quran for the first time.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and U.S. President Donald Trump chat as White House senior advisor Jared Kushner is seen in between them, during their meeting at the King David hotel in Jerusalem May 22, 2017. Kobi Gideon/Courtesy of Government Press Office/Handout via Reuters THIS PICTURE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY. NOT FOR SALE FOR MARKETING OR ADVERTISING CAMPAIGNS. ISRAEL OUT. NO SALES IN ISRAEL - RTX372DP

Trump sends personal message to Abbas via Kushner

The personal message from US President Donald Trump about his commitment to the peace process, delivered by White House senior adviser Jared Kushner, softened the stance of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

JERUSALEM, ISRAEL - JUNE 21: (ISRAEL OUT) In this handout photo provided by the Israel Government Press Office (GPO), Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu meets with Jared Kushner on June 21, 2017 in Jerusalem, Israel. (Photo by Amos Ben Gershom/GPO via Getty Images)

Netanyahu and Kushner's diplomatic masquerade

Neither Israeli media nor the Israeli political class showed any interest in the most recent meeting between White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Jordan's King Abdullah II is hugged by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas upon the king's arrival in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTS1APAM

Will Jordan, Palestinians form confederation?

Palestinian officials are pushing a plan for enhanced cooperation and confederative ties with Jordan.

Heavy machinery work on a field as they begin construction work of Amichai, a new settlement which will house some 300 Jewish settlers evicted in February from the illegal West Bank settlement of Amona, in the West Bank June 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun - RTS17UHK

Israel defends Palestinian land theft in court

Even after Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit said that the Regularization law is unlawful as it steals private Palestinian lands, Israel continues to defend it in court.

Palestinian graduate's thorny business blossoms

Haneen Ghanem's cactus-collecting hobby has flowered into the creation of a cactus nursery on a rooftop in the Jenin refugee camp.

Young Palestinians march during in a military graduation ceremony at a Hamas summer camp in Khan Yunis, in the southern Gaza Strip, on August 18, 2017.
Hamas held a closing ceremony for a batch of the 120,000 boys and girls attending the Islamist movement's controversial summer schools. / AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas mulls proposal for ‘chaos’ in Gaza

In a bid to force change in the long-suffering Gaza Strip, Hamas’ military wing is proposing that it and other Palestinian military factions take control of Gaza security.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas extends his hand to shake hands with U.S. President Donald Trump during a joint news conference at the presidential headquarters in the West Bank town of Bethlehem, May 23, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTX375A1

Palestinians to give Trump team ultimatum on peace plan

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will reportedly present US envoys Jason Greenblatt and Jared Kushner with an ultimatum when they arrive this week: If no real progress is made on their peace plan within 45 days, he will go to the UN instead.

A picture taken from the southern Gaza Strip town of Rafah shows a member of the Egyptian forces standing guard near the border between Gaza and Egypt on August 17, 2017.

A suicide bomber killed a Hamas guard in southern Gaza, officials said, in what was seen as a rare Islamist attack against the Palestinian group that has run the impoverished enclave for a decade. / AFP PHOTO / SAID KHATIB (Photo credit should read SAID KHATIB/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel, Hamas, Egypt indirectly cooperating against IS

While Egypt and Hamas coordinate efforts against the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula, Israel is providing intelligence to Egypt to boost these efforts.