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Palestine

September 24, 2026

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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

Surrounded by security Deputy Speaker of the Israeli parliament, Danny Danon is taken on a tour of the Temple Mount or Al-Aqsa Mosque Compound the holy site for Judaism and the Islam in Israeli annexed east Jerusalem's old City July 20, 2010, during the 9th of Av day of mourning for the destruction of the First and Second holy temples. AFP PHOTO/AHMAD GHARABLI (Photo credit should read AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP/Getty Images)

Israeli Deputy Defense Minister Wants to Accelerate Settlements

In an interview with Mazal Mualem, Deputy Defense Minister Danny Danon promises to help the settlements in the West Bank and to institute compulsory national service for Israeli-Arabs.

Palestinian students take part in a military-style exercise at the courtyard of a high school in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip March 6, 2013. The military-style exercise in the 138 Hamas-run high schools in Gaza was part of a program sanctioned by the Hamas Islamist government to teach students how to use guns. Education officials in Gaza say some 6,000 students have joined the training initiative where only boys can sign up for the voluntary program in and they need their parents' permission to jo

Hamas Shuts Down Gaza English-Language Club

The Hamas-led government in Gaza has shut down an English-language club amid several recent steps to limit cultural activity within the Strip, writes Khaled Kraizim.

Hamas mediator Ahmed Al-Jaabari (L) escorts Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing in this October 18, 2011 file photo. Israel killed Jaabari, the military commander of the Islamist group Hamas, in a missile strike on the Gaza Strip on November 14, 2012 and launched air raids across the enclave, pushing the two sides to the brink of a new war. REUTERS/Middle East News Agency (MENA)/Khalid Farid/File (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST) FOR EDITORIAL USE ONLY

Is Hamas PlanningTo Kidnap More Israelis?

Hamas seems to be seriously planning to kidnap another Israeli soldier or settler after the success of the Gilad Shalit prisoner exchange, writes Adnan Abu Amer.

A smartphone user logs into his Facebook account in Rio de Janeiro April 15, 2013. As Brazil rushes to introduce a blazing-fast fourth-generation wireless network before the 2014 World Cup, fewer than a dozen compatible smartphones will be available in stores, compared with the hundreds of models on sale worldwide. Picture taken on April 15, 2013. REUTERS/Ricardo Moraes (BRAZIL - Tags: BUSINESS TELECOMS) - RTXYPNE

Hamas Targets Youth Through Social Media

After the Arab revolutions’ success in employing social media in effecting change, Hamas leaders have hastened to join Facebook and Twitter to influence youth, writes Hazem Balousha.

U.S. Senator John Kerry (D-MA) listens to a Palestinian man during his visit to the destroyed American International School in the northern Gaza Strip February 19, 2009. Senator Kerry and two other lawmakers made a rare visit to the Gaza Strip on Thursday but insisted a boycott of its Hamas Islamist rulers remained intact.Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Kerry, who ran an unsuccessful campaign for president in 2004, and two members of the House of Representatives, Brian Baird and Keith Ellison, e

Despite Challenges, Gaza's American School Perseveres

The American School in Gaza, once the target of anti-Western attacks, has persevered in the face of various challenges, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul.

An Israeli soldier stands guard next to an Iron Dome rocket interceptor battery deployed near the northern Israeli city of Haifa January 28, 2013. Any sign that Syria's grip on its chemical weapons is slipping as it battles an armed uprising could trigger Israeli military strikes, Israel's vice premier said on Sunday. A military spokesman confirmed reports that two Iron Dome batteries were moved to the Haifa area but insisted this was part of a routine of rotating these systems. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (ISRAEL -

Hezbollah Denies Ownership Of Downed Drone

Ali Hashem asks, If Hezbollah was not responsible for the drone downed over Israel, who was?

Israel's Finance Minister Yair Lapid gestures as he attends the opening of the summer session of the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem April 22, 2013. Lapid is seeking spending cuts of 18 billion shekels ($5 billion) and tax increases of 5 billion shekels as part of the 2013-2014 budget framework, a spokeswoman for Lapid said on Monday. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS BUSINESS) - RTXYVX6

Israeli Finance Minister Lapid Leaves Out Peace

Akiva Eldar listened to the speech of Finance Minister Yair Lapid at the annual conference of the INSS, and remarked that the word “peace” was missing.

Palestinians look at a burning building at the al-Quds University after it was attacked by gunmen in Gaza February 2, 2007. Fighting between Palestinian factions escalated across Gaza on Friday, killing at least 11 people as Hamas overran compounds used by President Mahmoud Abbas' forces and Fatah set the Islamic University ablaze. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA) - RTR1LWWO

Palestinian Al-Quds University Fights for Israeli Recognition

The Israeli government says that the geographic division of Al-Quds University is at the heart of Israel's refusal to recognize it as an Israeli institution, writes Tali Heruti-Sover.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) speaks with Knesset member Ofir Akonis after a non-confidence vote at the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem June 8, 2009. Netanyahu plans to deliver a major policy speech on Sunday aimed at addressing U.S. demands that he freeze settlement building and agree to negotiations on establishing a Palestinian state. REUTERS/Ronen Zvulun (JERUSALEM POLITICS) - RTR24G6O

Likud Official Calls for Referendum On Agreement With Palestinians

Likud Knesset member Ofir Akunis reaffirms to Mazal Mualem his party's willingness to promote a referendum bill on a future agreement with the Palestinians.

Palestinian Rappers Spark Debate With New Album

Janne Louise Andersen talks to the band about the controversy over a song about honor crimes, their new sound and a decade of "hip hop Arabi.”

Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani (C) Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (L) and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal attend a ceremony in Doha, on February 6, 2012. Abbas will head an interim national consensus government under a deal signed in Qatar between Abbas and Meshaal , ending a long-running disagreement that had stalled Palestinian reconciliation.
AFP PHOTO/STR (Photo credit should read -/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas Ties to Qatar Have Cost

Hamas seeks to maintain its independence but has faced challenges since pivoting from Syria and Iran to Qatar, writes Adnan Abu Amer.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel (L) and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army General Martin Dempsey (R) testify before the House Appropriations Defense Subcommittee in Washington April 16, 2013. REUTERS/Gary Cameron (UNITED STATES - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTXYNPQ

US Not Considering Arms To Syrian Rebels

The Obama administration resists congressional pressure for military aid to the Syrian rebels; Al-Monitor writers take on the case of Fazil Say and the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.