Palestinian reconciliation

ANKARA, TURKEY - JANUARY 21: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on January 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among world leaders that have been invited by United States President Donald Trump, to join the Gaza Board of Peace, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also included as an appointed member. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

Analysis

Why Turkey’s exclusion from Gaza force may be a strategic blessing

Despite being excluded from Gaza’s international stabilization force, Ankara will likely leverage its ties with Hamas to maintain influence within the Trump administration’s Board of Peace.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Basem Naim, member of Hamaspolitical bureau speaks during an interview with AFP in Istanbul on February 8, 2025. Hamas has no desire to return to war with Israel, a senior official with the Palestinian group told AFP on February 8, 2025, nearly three weeks into a fragile ceasefire that halted fighting in Gaza. "Returning to war is certainly not our wish nor our decision," Basem Naim said in an interview. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Exclusive

Hamas official says group needs guarantees on war's end and statehood to disarm

Senior Hamas official Basem Naim stopped short of pledging that Hamas would not fire on international troops, but said the militant group has "no problem” with the stabilization force.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Abbas at UN

PA’s Abbas jostles for seat at the table as Gaza ceasefire progresses

The Palestinian government in Ramallah is hoping to cement its influence in Gaza’s postwar governance as ceasefire talks advance.

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

Latest News

Interview

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

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

Jibril Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub

Fatah Central Committee Secretary-General

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

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.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

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

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

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

Russian interactions with Palestinians seen as all talk, no action

Russia is showing its reach with Palestinian factions in advance of elections, but there is still no sign that Moscow is having an impact.

Palestinian skeptics not yet sold on elections

As the prospect of Palestinian general elections draws near, Palestinians are skeptical about their success as divisions remain between the rival Fatah and Hamas movements.

Palestinians wave national flags as they march in the streets of the occupied West Bank city of Ramallah, calling for the cessation of divisions between Fatah and Hamas and the unification of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, on January 12, 2019. (Photo by ABBAS MOMANI / AFP) (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP via Getty Images)

Will latest effort to mend Fatah-Hamas ties succeed?

Palestinian reconciliation takes another step forward with an exchange of letters.

PA restoring ties with Israel undermines reconciliation, Hamas says

The reconciliation efforts between Hamas and Fatah are likely to go down the drain now that the PA announced that ties and security coordination with Israel have been restored.

Egyptian media dismisses Turkish mediation on Palestinian file

Although no Egyptian official commented on the recent Hamas-Fatah talks hosted by Turkey, the media was quick to denounce the meeting, accusing Hamas of getting cozy with Turkey to implement its regional ambitions.

A demonstrator waves a Turkish and Palestinian flags during a rally at Yenikap? Square, in Istanbul, to protest against the US-made peace plan, also known as the Agreement of the Century,on Februay 9, 2020. (Photo by Ozan KOSE / AFP) (Photo by OZAN KOSE/AFP via Getty Images)

Can Turkey replace Egypt in Palestinian unity process?

The Fatah-Hamas reconciliation talks in Istanbul have fueled debate on whether Turkey could increase its influence over the Palestinians, who are desperate for regional support amid normalization deals between Arab countries and Israel.

Hamas, Fatah agree to hold Palestinian elections within six months

The deal comes after reconciliation talks in Turkey this week aimed at resolving the differences between the two main Palestinian factions.

In Turkey, Palestinian leaders announce breakthrough on unity, elections

Fatah and Hamas appear to have deals on a unified approach and elections, following Israel's normalization agreements with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain.

Hamas members see 'false unity' with Palestinian Authority

Although leading Hamas and Fatah members have repeatedly met in the past few days, the mid-level leading members have been skeptical, as they believe that Fatah and the Palestinian Authority are not committed to reconciliation.

Hamas' political bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh greets supporters during a visit to the Ain el-Helweh camp, Lebanon's largest Palestinian refugee camp, near the southern coastal city of Sidon on September 6, 2020. (Photo by Mahmoud ZAYYAT / AFP) (Photo by MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images)

Haniyeh’s visit to Lebanon further deepens Palestinian rift

Fatah has criticized the recent visit of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh to a Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon, where he received a strong welcome.

President Mahmoud Abbas (C) wears a protective mask as he attends a meeting of the Palestinian leadership to discuss the United Arab Emirates' deal with Israel to normalise relations, in Ramallah in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on August 18, 2020. (Photo by MOHAMAD TOROKMAN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MOHAMAD TOROKMAN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian leaders grasp for unity in Ramallah-Beirut meeting

While the Sept. 3 meeting between major Palestinian faction leaders in Ramallah and Beirut was an unusual accomplishment in itself, many observers are cautious about crucial obstacles to change.

Is Hamas becoming second power in ruling Palestinians?

Hamas is destroying houses in the Gaza Strip, as it considers them illegally built on government territories, while its understandings with Israel are ongoing despite Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas’ announcement about halting all agreements with Israel.