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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

February 21, 2026

Ramallah 4:01 am

13°C

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

How did FIFA become part of Trump’s Gaza reconstruction effort?

FIFA signed a deal on Thursday that marks the global soccer association's most significant postwar intervention in the Middle East yet.

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Billions pledged, but Hamas' grip clouds Trump’s Gaza plan

The Board of Peace is touting new aid and military commitments, but will they make a difference if Hamas still holds the guns in Gaza?

US President Donald Trump attends the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace" at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Trump touts pledges of troops, billions for Gaza at Board of Peace summit

As the board meets for the first time, questions hang over Gaza’s ceasefire, which calls for the disarmament of Hamas and the withdrawal of Israeli troops.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, US President Donald Trump's nominee to be ambassador to Israel, testifies during his Senate Foreign Relations Committee confirmation hearing at the Dirksen Senate Office Building, Washington, March 25, 2025.

Interview

Huckabee confirms US-Israel alignment on Iran, says Hamas will disarm 'sooner or later'

US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee told Al-Monitor in an interview that the 2025 strike on Iranian nuclear sites was only a preview of what the US military is capable of.

Latest News

Fidan heads to US as Turkey eyes Gaza troop role: What to know

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan speaks during a press statement with his French counterpart in Ankara, on Jan. 27, 2026.

As Israel advances West Bank land registration, Palestinians see de facto annexation

Excavators move along a street as Israeli forces are deployed during the demolition of the home of Palestinian Tariq al-Masalmeh in the village of Beit Awa, southwest of Hebron in the occupied West Bank, on Feb. 11, 2026.

Saudi-UAE rift complicates Israel's counter-Iran efforts, normalization

This photograph taken on Jan. 20, 2026, organized by the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, shows Saudi-backed Yemeni forces in the city of Mukalla in Yemen's coastal southern Hadhramaut province.

Analysis

Palestinians, Arab states sound alarm as Israel eases West Bank land rules

The Israeli built controversial separation barrier is seen passing through fields near the Palestinian village of Beit Aawa, west the Israeli-occupied West Bank city of Hebron on Feb. 5, 2026.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian 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

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Will 2026 be year of electoral change in Palestine?

A crowded 2026 election calendar announced by President Mahmoud Abbas — spanning municipal, PNC and Fatah votes — is billed as a long-delayed reform push but leaves unresolved whether Palestinians will see genuine political renewal or a managed process that entrenches existing power structures.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Turkish Presidential spokesperson Ibrahim Kalin gives a press conference following talks with Sweden and Finland over their bids to join NATO at the Presidential Complex in Ankara, on May 25, 2022. - Turkey on May 25 said the NATO accession process for Sweden and Finland would not move forward unless they addressed Ankara's security concerns, in talks with delegations from both Nordic states. NATO member Turkey has opposed the applications of Sweden and neighbouring Finland over what it considers leniency t

Turkey arrests two over alleged Mossad espionage ties: What to know

Turkish authorities accuse the suspects of providing intelligence for more than a decade, including technical data on communications equipment and attempting to infiltrate technological supply chains.

Palestinians sit amid destroyed buildings by the Israeli military in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 27, 2026.

Feature

Excludes Palestinians, eyes profit: Gazans view Trump’s Board of Peace with deep distrust

Many Palestinians in Gaza view President Donald Trump’s proposed Board of Peace with deep suspicion, citing the complete exclusion of Palestinian representation and the bypassing of existing international organizations.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

As phase 2 looms, Netanyahu insists no Turkish or Qatari troops in Gaza

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a Tuesday address that his country would not completely withdraw from the Gaza Strip under the next phase of the ceasefire, which the Trump administration is pushing to advance.

Truck carrying aid enters Gaza through the border crossing on Oct. 12, 2025, in Rafah, Egypt.

Israel recovers final Gaza hostage, Rafah crossing set to reopen: What to know

The Rafah crossing is expected to allow Palestinians to exit and reenter the Gaza Strip, primarily for those seeking medical treatment.

An Oscar statue at the red carpet at the 96th Annual Academy Awards, Dolby Theatre, Hollywood, California, March 9, 2024.

Culture

'Gesture of resistance': Gaza war and Iran repression in Oscars spotlight

This year’s Oscars nominations include Middle Eastern films whose themes of war, government violence and protest have shone a spotlight on politics at home.

Joe Raedle/Getty Images

Analysis

Under fire at home over Board of Peace, Netanyahu hints Trump could OK Gaza war restart

According to diplomatic sources, Netanyahu believes that at some point Israel will receive a green light from the Trump administration to resume fighting in Gaza, though his coalition partners do not seem reassured.

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

Ships sail along Egypt's Suez Canal near Ismailia on April 16, 2025.

Egypt's economy can weather more Red Sea attacks, says finance minister

Egypt lost some $13 billion worth of Suez Canal fees over two years due to Houthi attacks in the Red Sea, according to estimates from Egyptian officials.

Palestinian Hamas militants secure the area as Egyptian workers, accompanied by members of the International Committee of the Red Cross, search for the last two remaining bodies of hostages from under the rubble of the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern of Gaza Strip on Dec. 1, 2025.

Analysis

Trump's Board of Peace faces first test: Disarming Hamas

President Donald Trump’s plan for a Gaza Strip lined with beachfront resorts and glitzy high-rises hinges on Hamas' disarmament.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

In Washington, DC, reporting on diplomacy, regional politics, human rights

Ramil Sitdikov / AFP via Getty Images

Putin offers $1B in frozen assets for Gaza Board of Peace — will US unfreeze them?

It remains unclear how such an arrangement could be implemented, since any contribution from frozen assets would require formal unblocking by the US government.

Israel's President Isaac Herzog gestures as he speaks during the World Economic Forum annual meeting, Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 22, 2026.

Herzog: Saudi normalization talks could resume as Gaza ceasefire enters next phase

The Israeli president said the rapprochement between Israel and Saudi Arabia “should be the future vision of the Middle East.”

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Trump launches Board of Peace: We can do 'whatever we want'

President Donald Trump pledged Gaza will be "beautifully rebuilt” as his son-in-law, Jared Kushner, laid out a multi-year redevelopment and demilitarization plan.