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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

August 16, 2026

Ramallah 4:39 pm

28°C

lia YEFIMOVICH / AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Netanyahu rejects Trump’s Gaza plan while quietly implementing it

Even as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says that he rejects US President Donald Trump’s Gaza reconstruction plan, Israel is advancing its implementation.

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

Latest News

Gaza family buries 112 recovered from war rubble after Israeli strike

People attend a mass funeral for members of the Abu Sharia and Al-Hasayna families, whose remains were recently recovered from the rubble of their homes after an attack earlier in the war, on Aug. 4, 2026 in the Sabra neighborhood of Gaza City, Gaza.

Analysis

Netanyahu’s Gaza double game: Back Trump, reassure Israel’s right

Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP via Getty Images

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

Analysis

How Hamas disarmament deal may test Iran's regional strategy

Palestinian Hamas militants arrive to secure the area as Egyptian workers accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages -an Israeli soldier and a Thai national- from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

A correspondent in Tehran

By A correspondent in Tehran

In Tehran, reporting on politics

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

Palestinians Hamas militants march during an anti-Israel rally in Gaza City July 8, 2015. July 8th marks the one-year anniversary of the war between Israel and Hamas in Gaza. The 50-day conflict began after Israel said it was determined to put an end to constant rocket-fire from Gaza, launching an intense air and ground assault to do so. It was the third major conflict between Israel and Hamas militants since the Islamist group seized control of Gaza in 2007. The fighting killed more than 2,100 Palestinians

Israel haunted by its mistakes in Gaza

Today, Israelis admit that the disengagement from Gaza was a mistake and wonder how the move could have gone had it been done in cooperation with the Palestinians.

Palestinians take part in a rally calling for the release of Hamas prisoners from the Palestinian authority (PA) jails in the West Bank city of Hebron July 6, 2012. The writing on the T-shirt reads: "We live in dignity or we die martyrs. No for political arrest." REUTERS/ Mussa Qawasma (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR34NM9

Political arrests threaten to undermine Palestinian reconciliation

The recent arrests of Hamas members by the PA’s security apparatus in the West Bank has raised concerns that the Palestinian reconciliation might fail and internal division will prevail again inside the Palestinian territories.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (L) delivers a statement to the media after visiting the family of Avraham Mengisto, outside their home in the southern city of Ashkelon, Israel July 10, 2015. Two Israeli citizens, one of them Mengisto, are being held by Hamas Netanyahu said on Thursday, a situation that could lead to demands for a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Islamist militant group. Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian coastal enclave in 2007 and fought three wars with Israel

Hamas aims to repeat past successes with prisoner exchange deal

Hamas is making use of lessons learned in current negotiations for another prisoner exchange deal.

Palestinian members of the marine unit of al-Qassam Brigades, the armed wing of the Hamas movement, take part in an anti-Israel parade in Rafah, in the southern Gaza Strip July 13, 2015.
REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa

- RTX1K8PX

Hamas hopes military muscle will be Ramadan must-see TV

Palestinian TV productions have embarked on glorifying armed struggle against the Israelis in an attempt to raise awareness of the importance of carrying out military operations against them.

Palestinians watch the signing ceremony of the reconciliation agreement between rival Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas, at a coffee shop in Gaza City May 4, 2011. President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday Palestinians were turning a "black page" on division at the ceremony in Egypt to heal a four-year rift between his Fatah movement and Islamist group Hamas. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2LZ9F

Why is Israel trying to shut down this Palestinian TV station?

For years, Palestine TV has dedicated some programming to their Palestinian brethren in Israel, and it was well-received.

A view shows the Qatar Petroleum headquarters, which is under construction, in Doha April 8, 2013. Bankers and politicians touting their countries' wares have to work hard to get the attention of Qatar's sovereign wealth fund, such is the range of its interests, from banks to cars to soccer clubs, and its exacting requirement for returns. With estimated assets of about $200 billion, and more than a dozen potential deals on its radar every week, the state-run firm has no time for less than compelling investm

Qatar opens doors to help Palestinians escape 'painful reality' of Gaza

Qatar and Palestine have been working together to bring a larger number of Palestinians to work in Qatar, where the market is in need of skilled labor.

Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Khader Adnan gestures as he speaks during a rally honoring him following his release, near the West Bank city of Jenin July 12, 2015. Israel on Sunday released Adnan from jail following a deal last month in which he agreed to end a 56-day hunger strike, Islamic Jihad sources in the West Bank said. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini - RTX1K3PF

Israel releases Khader Adnan, for now

Palestinian Khader Adnan, released from prison after 54 days of hunger strike, tells Al-Monitor that the Israeli press ignored his latest battle, trying to silence his fight against administrative detention.

Gaza’s drama series hopes to compete in pan-Arab market

During the month of Ramadan, Arab channels screen several TV series, and the Gaza Strip hopes to take part in this regional field by producing comedy and drama shows.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas gestures as he speaks during the opening ceremony of a park in the West Bank city of Ramallah April 5, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman - RTR4W5UM

PA tightens purse strings on Hamas

In a report by the Palestinian Legislative Council’s Oversight and Human Rights Committee, the Palestinian Authority is accused of neglecting Gaza’s financial needs, while it is witnessing the deterioration of its people’s living conditions.

Barbed wire is seen on Zikim beach, Israel near the border with northern Gaza (seen in background) July 9, 2015. Two Israeli citizens are being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Thursday, a situation that could lead to demands for a prisoner exchange between Israel and the Islamist militant group. Hamas, which took control of the Palestinian coastal enclave in 2007 and fought three wars with Israel since then, declined to confirm or deny it had the captives. REUTERS

Israel-Hamas prisoner exchange deal hits snag

Public acknowledgment that an Israeli man is allegedly being held in Gaza has complicated negotiations between Israel and Hamas for his return, along with the remains of two IDF soldiers, in exchange for Hamas prisoners in Israeli jails.

Palestinian Chief Negotiator Saeb Erekat (C) and Maen Rashid Areikat (2nd R), chief of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) delegation in Washington, arrive to meet with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at the State Department in Washington September 3, 2014. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR44TZ1

Palestinian leadership faces foggy future

A lack of progress in the peace talks, the absence of reconciliation and an aging president have once again forced discussion on the future of Palestinian leadership.

A Musaharati, or dawn awakener, strikes his drum to wake observant Muslims for their overnight 'sahur', or last meal, before the day's fast in Sidon's Old City in southern Lebanon just before dawn August 27, 2010. Muslims around the world abstain from eating, drinking and conducting sexual relations from sunrise to sunset during Ramadan, the holiest month in the Islamic calendar. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Tags: RELIGION) - RTR2HLGA

Gaza's Ramadan drummers

The dire economic situation in the Gaza Strip is making the monthlong job of the musaharati, who wakes people before dawn to break the Ramadan fast, one of the most dependable sources of income all year.