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August 21, 2026

Ramallah 4:05 am

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Zomi Frankcom

Australia summons Israeli ambassador over World Central Kitchen strike: What to know

Australia has summoned Israeli Ambassador Hillel Newman after the Israeli military decided not to open a criminal investigation into the killing of one Australian and six other World Central Kitchen aid workers in Gaza in 2024.

Ohad Zwigenberg / POOL / AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Netanyahu yields to Trump on Gaza, betting Hamas won’t disarm

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu agreed to advance the US administration's Gaza plan in a meeting with envoy Jared Kushner despite his skepticism about Hamas' commitment.

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

Latest News

After meeting Netanyahu, Kushner agrees Hamas disarmament precedes Israel's withdrawal

Jared Kushner

UAE billionaire Habtoor takes aim at Ben Gvir’s Gaza rhetoric

A picture take on Sept. 13, 2017, shows Khalaf Ahmad Al Habtoor, chairman of the Al Habtoor Group, attending the World Premiere of La Perle in Dubai.

United Arab Emirates

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

Sign posts are seen in front of the West Bank Jewish settlement of Maale Adumim near Jerusalem November 13, 2013. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said on Wednesday his peace negotiators had resigned over the lack of progress in U.S.-brokered statehood talks clouded by Israeli settlement building. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX15BNL

Kerry will find pessimism in Palestine

On an upcoming visit to the region, US Secretary of State John Kerry will find that the Palestinians have little faith in the ongoing peace talks

Musicians perform on stage in Manger Square, outside the Church of the Nativity, the site revered as the birthplace of Jesus, in the West Bank town of Bethlehem December 1, 2013. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX1605A

Bethlehem gets assist from UNESCO for Christmas season

UNESCO's recognition of the Church of the Nativity as an Endangered World Heritage site has brought much needed funds to revamp the once-popular tourist destination.

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Hamas summons prominent women's rights activist

Gaza's Interior Ministry summoned Nadia Abu Nahla, a prominent feminist activist, raising concerns among human rights and civil society groups operating in Gaza.

A masked Palestinian protester throws a Molotov cocktail during clashes with Israeli security officers following the funerals of three Palestinians, in West Bank city of Hebron November 27, 2013. Israeli security officials said their forces killed three Palestinian militants on Tuesday who were part of an al Qaeda-linked network in the West Bank. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX15V3A

Armed Salafist movement emerges in West Bank

Israel, the Palestinian Authority and Hamas are all concerned about the changes underway in the West Bank's Salafist movement, which is transforming itself from a welfare organization into an armed terrorist organization.

Public school teachers demonstrate in front of a ministry of education office on the first day of the new academic year in the West Bank city of Hebron September 2, 2006. Tens of thousands of Palestinian government employees went on strike in the West Bank and Gaza on Saturday in protest against unpaid salaries and the perceived failings of the Hamas-led government. REUTERS/Nayef Hashlamoun (WEST BANK) - RTR1GWVF

Palestinian teachers strike over pay dispute

Palestinian teachers in the West Bank have gone on a full strike, demanding a pay increase from the Ramallah government.

U.S. Marine Lt. Gen. John Allen shakes hands with U.S. President Barack Obama at an event in the East Room of the White House in this April 28, 2011 file photo during Obama's announcement that then CIA Director Leon Panetta would be nominated as Secretary of Defense. Former CIA Director David Petraeus will testify November 16, 2012 on Capitol Hill about the recent attack on the U.S. diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, but is also expected to be asked about his resignation last week over an extramarital a

Allen mission key to Israeli-Palestinian security talks

Gen. John Allen, former commander of the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, quietly pursues the security talks required to support an Israeli-Palestinian agreement.

Turkish culture popular among Gaza Palestinians

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's support for Palestine, in particular Gaza, has prompted strong interest in Turkish culture among Gazans.

A Palestinian man dressed as Santa Claus rings a bell as he stands outside a shop in the West Bank city of Bethlehem December 23, 2007. Bethlehem is about to celebrate its most peaceful -- and profitable -- Christmas since 2000. Tourist levels are the best in seven years, with more than 60,000 people visiting last month compared to about 20,000 a year ago. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK) - RTX4Z3F

Palestinians fight Israeli attempts to claim Bethlehem

Palestine is resisting Israeli attempts to appropriate Bethlehem as the peak Christmas tourism season approaches.

Men work on the roof of a house under construction in the unauthorised Jewish settler outpost of Havat Gilad, south of the West Bank city of Nablus November 5, 2013. Israeli and Palestinian officials said on Tuesday the three-month-old peace talks pressed on them by Washington are going nowhere, painting a grim picture for a visit this week by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. Both sides have been airing their frustration over a lack of progress in the U.S.-brokered talks aimed at resolving core issues su

Negotiators must treat Israeli settlements as barriers to peace

David Makovsky, the newest member of the US secretary of state's negotiating team, must realize that the settlement enterprise remains an "intentional, clear and winning" Israeli policy.

Women and girls mourn during the funerals of Palestinian Moussa Makhamra and Khalid al-Najjar in the West Bank village of Yatta, near Hebron November 27, 2013. Israeli security officials said their forces killed three Palestinian militants, including Makhamra and al-Najjar, on Tuesday who were part of an al Qaeda-linked network in the West Bank. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX15UU4

Israeli media miscasts Hebron clashes

The Israeli media has painted a recent confrontation in Hebron as the result of growing radical Islamism in the West Bank despite the lack of evidence for such a cause.

Khader Adnan (C), a member of Islamic Jihad, stands in a vehicle upon his arrival in the West Bank village of Arabe near Jenin after his release from an Israeli prison April 17, 2012. Adnan, a prisoner who refused food for 66 days before agreeing to a deal under which he was released late on Tuesday, was greeted by hundreds of supporters when he reached his hometown in the West Bank. Picture taken April 17, 2012. REUTERS/Abed Omar Qusini (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR30VOO

Islamic Jihad accuses Palestinian Authority of collusion with Israel

In the aftermath of a security sweep, Islamic Jihad leaders in the West Bank say the Palestinian Authority is working with Israel to crack down on its activities in Jenin.

Palestinian workers make clay pots inside a pot factory in Gaza October 19, 2008. The making of clay pots is an ancient and traditional profession in the Gaza Strip. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA) - RTX9PE0

Pottery making an endangered Gaza craft

Gaza's local pottery industry is yet another victim of the Israeli-Egyptian siege, as exportation is all but impossible, and electricity cuts hinder production.