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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

September 23, 2026

Ramallah 8:36 pm

21°C

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Palestinians hold up the green Hamas flag during a protest by supporters of both the Fatah and Hamas movements, as they rally in support of the Palestinian people following Friday noon prayers in Hebron, occupied West Bank, Nov. 3, 2023.

Majority of Palestinians lose trust in Hamas and Fatah, new poll finds

A recent poll by a Palestinian survey center found that trust in Palestinian factions has declined, amid stalled efforts to implement the Gaza peace plan and escalating settler violence in the West Bank.

Latest News

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

As Israeli settler attacks mount, Trump avoids public pressure on Netanyahu

Israeli soldiers arrive in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has faced escalating Israeli settler violence over the past month, on Aug. 29, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

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

Christian Palestinians leave Erez border crossing in the northern Gaza Strip December 22, 2011, as they make their way to the West Bank town of Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas. The Israeli army on Thursday gave permits to some 500 Christian Palestinians from Gaza to enter Israel as they make their way to Bethlehem to celebrate Christmas. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR2VJLV

Israel Continues to Detain Gazans At Border Crossing

The Israeli authorities continue to detain and interrogate Gazans traveling into Israel via the Erez crossing, including those who are ill and seeking medical treatment.

An Israeli flag is seen as labourers work on a construction site in a Jewish settlement near Jerusalem known to Israelis as Har Homa and to Palestinians as Jabal Abu Ghneim May 7, 2013. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has quietly curbed new building projects in Jewish settlements, an Israeli watchdog group and media reports said on Tuesday, in an apparent bid to help U.S. efforts to revive peace talks with the Palestinians. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION POLITICS) - RTXZDIA

Israeli Outposts Remain Illegal Under International Law

Despite Israel's attempts to "legalize" four outposts in the West Bank within its own judicial system, the legal maneuvering will not change international law.

A boy watches as a crane lowers the belongings of families moving out of the Ulpana neighbourhood of the Beit El settlement June 26, 2012. Settlers on Tuesday began moving out of apartment blocs that Israel's Supreme Court ruled had been built illegally on Palestinian-owned land, after reaching an agreement with the government to go quietly. His T-shirt reads, "Ulpana neighbourhood, will return". REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS RELIGION) - RTR3463H

Controversy Erupts Over Settlement On Eve of Kerry Visit to Israel

A report from the settlement of Beit El, north of Ramallah.

A Palestinian woman holds a banner bearing the colours of the Palestinian flag that reads, "The people want to return to Palestine", during a march to mark the 65th anniversary of Nakba near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in the town of Naqoura, in southern Lebanon near the border between Lebanon and Israel, May 13, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of hundreds of thousands of their brethren from their home

Lebanon Army Prohibits Nakba Demonstration in Maroun al-Ras

To avoid a repeat of last year, when Palestinian demonstrators breached the Israeli border fence, the Lebanese army has prohibited Palestinian demonstrators from going to Maroun al-Ras to commemorate Nabka Day.

A Palestinian girl attends a Nakba rally in Gaza City May 15, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of some 700,000 Palestinians from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZN2A

Turnout Weak for Nakba Day in Gaza

The Gaza Strip's Nakba Day rally suffered low attendance this year as disenchanted youths turned to social media to express their frustration.

A Palestinian woman sits at Saraya prison that had been used by Israeli security services to keep Palestinian prisoners during Israel's occupation of Gaza Strip April 14, 2013. Murals of famous leaders of Palestinian militant groups who were once held in the prison decorated walls at the site, along with a leather banner listing the names of 12 detainees who died in what locals dubbed "the slaughterhouse". Picture taken April 14, 2013. REUTERS/Suhaib Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXYNPC

Women's Prison in Gaza Swells With 'Moral' Criminals

Many of the increasingly numerous prisoners in Gaza's only all-female jail have been convicted of "moral" crimes.

Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh drives a car as the Emir of Qatar Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani sits next to him after a visit at the Islamic University in Gaza City October 23, 2012. The Emir of Qatar embraced the Hamas leadership of Gaza on Tuesday with an official visit that broke the isolation of the Palestinian Islamist movement, to the dismay of Israel and rival, Western-backed Palestinian leaders. REUTERS/Wissam Nassar/Pool (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR39HDC

High-Profile Gaza Visitors Leave Hollow Mark

Leaders from the Islamic world have begun making their way to Gaza, but their visits do little to advance the Palestinian cause.

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas looks on during the opening of the Arab League summit in Doha, Qatar, March 26, 2013. A summit of Arab heads of state opened in the Qatari capital Doha on Tuesday expected to focus on the war in Syria as well as on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (QATAR - Tags: POLITICS) - RTXXXPW

Palestine and Syria Vie For Center Stage in Region

Does the media’s preoccupation with Israeli-Palestinian negotiations overshadow developments in Syria?

Palestinian supporters of leftist parties take part in a protest against Israeli air strikes close to Damascus, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip May 7, 2013. Israel played down weekend air strikes close to Damascus reported to have killed dozens of Syrian soldiers, saying they were not aimed at influencing its neighbour's civil war but only at stopping Iranian missiles reaching Lebanese Hezbollah militants. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) - RTXZDWI

Journalists Slam Hamas Crackdown On PFLP Protest

Hamas police officers violently dispersed a PFLP protest against the Israeli strike on Syria last week, targeting journalists covering the rally.

A Palestinian labourer works on a construction site in the West Bank Jewish settlement of Har Gilo, near Jerusalem March 18, 2013. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new governing coalition prepared to take office after a parliamentary vote on Monday with powerful roles reserved for supporters of settlers in occupied territory. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS CONSTRUCTION) - RTR3F5GB

Land: The Heart of the Conflict Between Palestine and Israel

As Palestinians commemorate 65 years since the Nakba, the issue of land and property is still the defining aspect of the conflict.

A Palestinian boy holds up a symbolic key during a march to mark the 65th anniversary of Nakba near the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) headquarters in the town of Naqoura, in southern Lebanon near the border between Lebanon and Israel, May 13, 2013. Palestinians will mark "Nakba" (Catastrophe) on May 15 to commemorate the expulsion or fleeing of hundreds of thousands of their brethren from their homes in the war that led to the founding of Israel in 1948. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho (LEBANON - Ta

Nakba's Meaning and Memories for Diaspora Palestinians

For a new generation of Palestinian descendants growing up in the diaspora, Nakba Day serves as a crucial connection to their roots.

Palestinians carry a giant Palestinian flag through central Ramallah during a rally to mark Nakba Day in the West Bank city of Ramallah May 15, 2013. Palestinians clashed with Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank and at East Jerusalem on Wednesday during demonstrations to mark 65 years since what they call the Nakba (Catastrophe) when Israel's creation caused many to lose their homes and become refugees. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman (WEST BANK - Tags: CIVIL UNREST POLITICS ANNIVERSARY) - RTXZNF8

Palestinian Reconciliation: Why The Delay?

Fatah and Hamas appear to have reached agreement on their outstanding issues but have postponed implementation, to allow current peace efforts with Israel to move forward.