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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

November 3, 2026

Ramallah 12:16 pm

24°C

Demonstrators hold a banner reading "Free Gaza, free world"

Analysis

Gaza progress, Syria pullback: What Turkey wants from Israel’s next government

Ankara sees room for limited improvement in ties if Israel’s next government eases Gaza’s humanitarian crisis and reduces military pressure on Syria.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

Tents sheltering Palestinians displaced by the Hamas-Israeli war are pitched between the rubble of destroyed buildings in the Jabalia camp, northern Gaza Strip, Oct. 20, 2026.

Analysis

What Israel's election could mean for Palestinians in Gaza, West Bank

The ouster of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could provide Palestinians some relief, but is unlikely to improve their prospects for statehood.

By Rosaleen Carroll

In Washington, DC, US, reporting on the Middle East

American freelance photojournalist Heidi Levine lies on a gurney in the emergency room of the government hospital in the Israeli-occupied city of Ramallah, as she is treated after being attacked by Israeli settlers while photographing Palestinian farmers harvesting their olives, in the Palestinian village of Abu Falah on Oct. 16, 2026.

Washington Post journalist hospitalized after Israeli settler attack in West Bank

The assault was one of several attacks on Friday as Palestinians gathered to harvest olives across the West Bank.

Israel's Chief of the Mossad David Barnea (R) and Security Agency director Ronen Bar, attend a ceremony marking the Hebrew calendar anniversary of the Hamas attack on October 7 last year that sparked the ongoing war in Gaza, at the Mount Herzl military cemetery in Jerusalem on October 27, 2024. (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN / POOL / AFP) (Photo by GIL COHEN-MAGEN/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Former Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar sues Netanyahu for nearly $1M over Oct. 7 claims

Bar is suing for 3 million shekels ($970,000) over a Sept. 28 post on X in which Netanyahu blamed the former Shin Bet chief for Oct. 7 intelligence failures and accused him of withholding warnings.

Latest News

Explainer

Israel-UK relations hit new low over settlements, Gaza: What to know

The British Consulate General in east Jerusalem represents the British government in Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza during a protest against the recently announced British sanctions, aimed at economic activity in Israeli settlements in the West Bank, on Sept. 14, 2026, in Jerusalem.

West Bank olive harvest begins amid settler attacks on Palestinians, groves

Palestinian men sitting in and by a tractor look on after another man was injured by gunfire whilst being chased away by Israeli forces, in Aqraba in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on Oct. 6, 2026.

Analysis

Three years after Oct. 7, Hamas’ grip on Gaza tests Netanyahu’s ‘total victory’

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during the state memorial ceremony for the third anniversary of Oct. 7 attack, at Mount Herzl military cemetery, Jerusalem, Oct. 5, 2026.

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

Israel bars UK Greens leader over Zionism-racism resolution: What to know

Green Party leader Zack Polanski delivers his speech during day one of the Green Party annual conference at Brighton Centre on Oct. 2, 2026, in Brighton, England.

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

Can Turkey's Erdogan help push for Palestinian Hamas-Fatah reconciliation?

Turkey is pursuing an initiative to gather senior members of Fatah and Hamas at a conference.

Starbucks demonstration

How Starbucks fell from favor with pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian activists

The coffee giant is no stranger to frothy accusations of being pro-Israel, and now a pro-Palestinian post on one of its union's social media accounts has sparked a boycott.

Smoke billowing following Israeli bombardment in southern Gaza amid ongoing battles with the Palestinian Hamas militant group, Dec. 21, 2023.

Day 76 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Thursday, Dec. 21

Gaza 1

Gaza death toll hits 20,000 as UN scrambles to pass humanitarian aid resolution

Diplomats in New York are intensely negotiating to find compromise language on a resolution calling for a Hamas-Israel cease-fire acceptable to the United States.

US Deputy Ambassador to the UN Robert Wood (2nd R) raises his hand during a United Nations Security Council after the vote about a ceasefire in Gaza at UN headquarters in New York on Dec. 8, 2023.

UN push for Gaza aid stalls amid US objections

The United States is weighing whether to use its UN Security Council veto for a third time since the Gaza war began.

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visits the USS Gerald Ford in the eastern Mediterranean on Dec. 20, 2023.

Pentagon chief visits aircraft carrier based off Israel amid Gaza war

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said during a visit to the USS Gerald R. Ford that if Israel were to shift to more precise tactics in Gaza, it would reduce the threat of attack by Iran's proxies in the region.

Members of the UN Security Council hold sideline meetings as they take a break at the United Nations headquarters on Dec. 19, 2023, in New York City.

Day 75 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Wednesday, Dec. 20

Jared and Joyce webinar

The Israel-Hamas war: Live Q&A with Pentagon Correspondent Jared Szuba

Become a Pro member today to attend this webinar on Thursday, Dec. 21 at 12 pm ET.

MAHMOUD ZAYYAT/AFP via Getty Images

Why is Hamas chief Haniyeh visiting Egypt after Iran meeting in Qatar?

Pressure is building on Israel to halt the fighting to allow access to humanitarian aid and the release of hostages.

Egyptian school children stand on a pier in the port town of Ismalia, 120 kilometers northeast of Cairo, as the US guided-missile destroyer USS Mahan transits the Suez from the Red Sea towards the Mediterranean on its way back home after a six-month counter-piracy operation around the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Red Sea.

Day 74 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Tuesday, Dec. 19

Smoke rises above buildings during an Israeli strike on Rafah near the border with Egypt, in the southern Gaza Strip on December 1, 2023, after battles resumed between Israel and the Hamas movement. A temporary truce between Israel and Hamas expired on December 1, with the Israeli army saying combat operations had resumed, accusing Hamas of violating the operational pause. (Photo by SAID KHATIB / AFP) (Photo by SAID KHATIB/AFP via Getty Images)

What does Israel's killing of Hamas financier Subhi Ferwana mean?

The Israeli military said Subhi Ferwana transferred millions of dollars to Hamas.

Ariel Hermoni/Israel's Defense Ministry

Day 73 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Monday, Dec. 18