Palestinian reconciliation

An Israeli flag flies along a highway near the settlement of Carmel on Aug. 4, 2025, in the South Hebron Hills of the West Bank.

Analysis

Trump squeezes Palestinian leadership as West Bank teeters

The Trump administration is escalating its pressure campaign against the Palestinian Authority as a wave of countries prepare to recognize a Palestinian state and Israel considers West Bank annexation.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Secretary-General of Fatah’s Central Committee Jibril Rajoub looks on during an interview in Paris on July 27, 2024.

Interview

Senior Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub calls for 'Marshall-like plan' to rebuild Gaza

Potential unity with Hamas represents a key dilemma for the Ramallah-based government, which would lose legitimacy with the Western world but gain legitimacy with the Palestinian people.

Jibril Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub

Fatah Central Committee Secretary-General

In this pool photograph distributed by Russian state owned Sputnik agency Russia's President Vladimir Putin (R) meets Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas in Novo-Ogaryovo, outside Moscow on August 13, 2024.

What PA's Abbas hopes to gain from Russia’s Putin following Moscow visit

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ three-day visit to Moscow this week aimed to shore up Russian support for the Palestinian cause at the United Nations and in post-war international forums.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Palestinian Authority President Mahmud Abbas meets with Turkey's Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

Palestinian President Abbas meets Erdogan ahead of speech to Turkey's parliament

Abbas’ visit to Turkey comes at a critical time as it remains unclear how relations between the Palestinian Authority and its rival, Hamas, will evolve under Yahya Sinwar's leadership.

Latest News

Analysis

With its ally Haniyeh gone, how will Turkey approach Sinwar-led Hamas?

Yahya al-Sinwar (C), Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, shakes hands with a masked fighter of Hamas' Qassam Brigades during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation, in Gaza City on December 14, 2022. Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the militant group's leader in the Gaza Strip said on December 14. Since Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group has held the bodies of Israeli so

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Exclusive

Inside the Palestinian Authority’s day-after plan for Gaza

A view of the destruction by the Israeli military of Beit Lahia, in the northern Gaza Strip on July 29, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian Hamas militant group.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Abbas to visit Turkey mid August as both condemn Haniyeh’s killing

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas listens as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (not pictured) speaks during a meeting in Ankara, on March 5, 2024.

Guarded optimism on Palestinian reconciliation ahead of Fatah-Hamas meeting in China

Palestinians lift flags of the Hamas and Fatah groups as they demonstrate in Ramallah in the occupied West Bank on November 10, 2023, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Hamas movement in the Gaza Strip.

Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas gesticulates during a joint press conference with the German Chancellor at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, on August 16, 2022. (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER / AFP) (Photo by JENS SCHLUETER/AFP via Getty Images)

As Palestinians head to Russia, Abbas ponders least bad option for PM

A large Palestinian delegation will head to Moscow this week to try and reach consensus on a postwar government that could include Hamas representatives in an expanded Palestine Liberation Organization.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammad Shtayyeh chairs a cabinet meeting amid ongoing battles between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip, Ramallah, West Bank, Feb. 20, 2024.

Palestinian PM Shtayyeh resigns, paving way for technocratic government

Arabic media reports said Mohammad Mustafa, chairman of the board of the Palestine Investment Fund, is likely to be appointed by Abbas as the new prime minister.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas speaks during a meeting of the Palestinian leadership at the presidential headquarters, Ramallah, on Dec. 2, 2023.

Abbas urges Hamas to complete Gaza deal with Israel as Palestinian reconciliation looms

President Mahmoud Abbas called on Hamas to speed up its agreement on a hostage deal with Israel to prevent more suffering in Gaza, as mediators scramble to secure a deal.

A Palestinian man walks alongside Israel's separation barrier painted with an image of jailed Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti, in the West Bank town of al-Azariya, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, Nov. 8, 2021.

Hussein, Rajoub or Barghouti: Fatah leadership as key to Palestinian future

While Fatah has lost its liberation role over the past decades, the movement is also struggling with how to prepare for the day after Mahmoud Abbas.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MAY 15: Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends an observation of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba in the General Assembly Hall at the United Nations on May 15, 2023 in New York City. A day of observation of the 75th anniversary of the Nakba was held at the UN with performances by Palestinian singer Sanaa Moussa, Grammy Award-nominee cellist and composer Naseem Alatrash who was accompanied by the New York Arabic Orchestra and directed by Eugene Friesen. Nakba was the displacement o

Palestinians want Abbas to resign, but don't say goodbye yet

Despite his unpopularity at home, President Mahmoud Abbas remains Palestine's primary representative to Western officials and the leadership transition must be slow and cautious.

Yahia al-Sinwar (C), Gaza Strip chief of the Palestinian Islamist Hamas movement, shakes hands with a masked fighter of Hamas' Qassam Brigades during a rally marking the 35th anniversary of the group's foundation, in Gaza City on December 14, 2022. - Hamas will end talks on securing a prisoner exchange with Israel unless there is progress soon, the militant group's leader in the Gaza Strip said on December 14. Since Israel's 2014 invasion of the Gaza Strip, the Islamist group has held the bodies of Israeli

Why Gaza's future will still include Hamas in a larger Palestinian deal

With the day after the war approaching, the Palestinian leadership in the West Bank needs Hamas in Gaza as much as Hamas needs the Palestinian Authority.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) meets with Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East, in the Muqata'a, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on January 10, 2024.

Fatah prepares for Palestinian leadership succession amid focus on 'day after' in Gaza

As President Mahmoud Abbas' approval sags, Fatah leaders have been searching for a formula to break the political impasse within the movement and prepare for potential postwar governance of the Gaza Strip.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) speaks with Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman during a meeting as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 17, 2024.

Davos 2024: Blinken says Palestinian statehood could help isolate Iran

The US secretary of state called former President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal "a big mistake."

A sign is seen at the congress center during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2023.

Davos 2024: Gaza, Red Sea high on World Economic Forum agenda

More than 300 high-profile public figures will gather at the summit in the Swiss Alpine ski resort, including more than 60 heads of state and government, to discuss global security and business challenges.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan welcomes Antony Blinken on Jan 6.Source: Turkish Presidency

What are the three files that Turkey pressed Blinken on during visit?

The Turkey leg of Blinken’s new regional tour landed him a meeting with Erdogan as Washington-Ankara ties see improvement.

Analysis

Can Turkey's Erdogan godfather Palestinian Hamas-Fatah reconciliation?

Uniting the Palestinians is a complicated task that will prove a challenge to the Turkish president's influence.

Fehim Tastekin

By Fehim Tastekin

In Paris, reporting on Turkish politics

Men walk past a section of Israel's separation barrier painted with a portrait of Palestinian Marwan Barghouti, held in an Israel jail, on November 6, 2023 in Bethlehem in the occupied West Bank.

Could Marwan Barghouti lead post-war Palestinian government?

Marwan Barghouti is currently in prison for his role directing attacks against Israelis during the second intifada, but he's also the most popular Palestinian leader by a long shot, fueling news that he could be part of a future prisoner exchange.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics