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August 17, 2026

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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

Supporters of the Palestinian Fatah movement talk with a shop keeper at a shop during a visit to convince retailers not to sell Israeli goods on February 24, 2015 in the West Bank city of Ramallah. A Palestinian commission launched a new campaign calling for the boycott of Israeli products in reaction to sanctions imposed by Israel following the recent Palestinian diplomatic offensive at the United Nations, the head of the commission told AFP. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS

West Bank boycotts six Israeli companies

The Palestinian boycott of Israeli products sold in the West Bank might help strengthen the Palestinian economy, and draw the world’s attention to the Israeli occupation.

A conscript displays his identifying dog tag at the Tel Hashomer Israel Defence Forces (IDF) Recruitment Center near Tel Aviv March 14, 2010. About 500 Israeli men were drafted into the armoured corps on Sunday. Under Israeli law, Jewish men at the age of 18 are required to serve in the army for three years and women for two. REUTERS/Gil Cohen Magen (ISRAEL - Tags: MILITARY SOCIETY) - RTR2BN27

Palestinian Christians resist Israeli conscription

Efforts by the Israel Defense Forces to recruit Christian Palestinian youths have raised the ire of Palestinians, who accuse the Orthodox Patriarchate of cooperating with Israel.

Senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh waves after performing Friday prayers at a makeshift tent erected near the remains of a mosque, which witnesses said was hit by an Israeli air strike during a seven-week Israeli offensive, in Gaza City September 5, 2014. An open-ended ceasefire between Israel and Hamas-led Gaza militants, mediated by Egypt, took effect on August 26 after a seven-week conflict. It called for an indefinite halt to hostilities, the immediate opening of Gaza's blockaded crossings with Israel a

Hamas treads carefully with support for Yemen war

Hamas’ stance on the war in Yemen may redraw the map of its political alliances in the region, repositioning itself toward the so-called Sunni axis.

A Palestinian woman stands near furniture removed from her house as it is being demolished in the East Jerusalem neighbourhood of Beit Hanina October 29, 2013. A statement from the Jerusalem Municipality said there was a court order for the demolition of the house, which was built without a permit. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX14SGK

Israeli settlements continue as Palestinians prep ICC submission

Even as Palestinians commemorate the 39th Nakba Day, Israel is still expanding its settlements in a bid to undermine the two-state solution.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas looks on during an opening ceremony of the "Istiqlal" (independence) garden in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April 5, 2015. In his speech Abbas called for "a solution to protect" the 18,000 Palestinian refugees still trapped in the Yarmouk camp, south of Damascus, besieged by the Syrian regime and almost entirely in the hands of jihadists. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas election call could put UN initiative at risk

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas knows that if elections go on as stipulated in the reconciliation agreement, Hamas will become an official part of the Palestinian government, making it hard for him to win international support for his UN bid.

French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius chairs a United Nations Security Council meeting on the crisis in the Middle East in France's role as the current President of Council at U.N headquarters in New York, March 27, 2015. At left is U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. REUTERS/Mike Segar - RTR4V5PR

After Iran milestone, France nudges US on Palestinian UN bid

The French are working on a Security Council resolution to support a two-state solution for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, hoping the Americans will be more favorable to UN mediation on the heels of a framework agreement for an Iran deal.

(L-R) Chinese Ambassador to the United Nations Wu Hailong, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius, European Union High Representative Federica Mogherini and Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarifat arrive to deliver statements following nuclear talks at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Lausanne (Ecole Polytechnique Federale De Lausanne) April 2, 2015. Iran and world powers reached a framework on curbing Iran's nuclear programme at marathon talks in Switzerland on Thursday that will allow further n

Is Netanyahu responsible for Iran deal?

Instead of objecting to progress toward an Iranian nuclear deal, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu should claim partial responsibility for removing or at least postponing the threat to Israel's security.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riad al-Malki (C) leaves the International Criminal Court (ICC) at the Hague August 5, 2014. Al-Malki said on Tuesday after meeting prosecutors at the International Criminal Court that there was "clear evidence" that Israel committed war crimes in Gaza. The visit took place shortly after Israeli and the Islamist Hamas movement entered a 72-hour truce mediated by Egypt in an effort to pave the way for an extended ceasefire. Israel and the Palestinians have traded allegations of w

Palestinians join ICC, but will they file complaints?

While joining the International Criminal Court is indeed a diplomatic achievement for the Palestinians, filing complaints against Israel could bring them countercomplaints and other punitive measures.

Palestinian protesters run from tear gas canisters launched by Israeli troops during clashes following a protest marking the Land Day, in the West Bank village of Nabi Saleh near Ramallah March 28, 2015. Palestinians marks Land Day on March 30, the annual commemoration of protests in 1976 against Israel's appropriation of Arab-owned land in the Galilee. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTR4V9NG

PA official: Problem isn't Netanyahu, it's Israel

With Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's electoral win, the Palestinians fear that they have no option left but a nonviolent intifada under the theme of liberating East Jerusalem.

Palestinian workers clear the rubble of a school that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during the most recent conflict between Israel and Hamas, in the east of Gaza City December 3, 2014. According to housing minister Mufeed al-Hasayna, Gaza needs 8,000 tonnes of cement a day to meet demand. A new system set up with the United Nations to comply with Israeli requirements lets through at most 2,000, he said. At that rate, reconstruction would take more than 30 years, said Hasayna, one of four

Will Qatar-Israel relations threaten PA’s relevance in Gaza?

Qatar’s engagement with Hamas and Israeli officials on Gaza reconstruction projects has provoked fears in the Palestinian Authority of a usurpation of its power.

An Israeli border policeman removes a Palestinian flag and a Fatah flag during a protest against what Palestinians say is land confiscations by Israel for Jewish settlements, near the West Bank town of Abu Dis near Jerusalem March 6, 2015. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTR4SCB7

Will PA focus on settlements at ICC?

Now that the Palestinian Authority is an official member of the International Criminal Court, the safer course for the Palestinian leadership will be to pursue Israel's settlements and not its transgressions in Gaza.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) attends the opening meeting of the Arab Summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, in the South Sinai governorate, south of Cairo, March 28, 2015. Arab League heads of state will hold a two-day summit to discuss a range of conflicts in the region, including Yemen and Libya, as well as the threat posed by Islamic State militants. REUTERS/Stringer - RTR4V98Y

Hamas reacts to Abbas’ call for Arab strike against Gaza

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ call during the Arab Summit for an attack against Hamas in Gaza — similar to the one launched by Saudi Arabia against Yemen — has raised the ire of Hamas figures.