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Palestine

May 12, 2026

Ramallah 10:57 am

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Two men stand next to the burned remains of a Palestinian vehicle in the Wadi al-Rakhim area of Susya village in Masafer Yatta, south of Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on May 1, 2026.

EU ministers agree to sanction violent West Bank settlers: What to know

European foreign ministers have agreed to sanction extremist West Bank settlers, but are still discussing the list of names.

An elections employee tapes a poster with instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Feature

Gazans show cautious hope ahead of first local elections in 20 years

The city of Deir al-Balah in central Gaza is set to hold municipal elections for the first time in nearly two decades.

Rasha Abou Jalal

By Rasha Abou Jalal

In Gaza City, reporting on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

Women read instructions to voters ahead of the upcoming municipal elections in Deir el-Balah in the central Gaza Strip on April 21, 2026.

Analysis

On eve of Palestinian local elections, competition in short supply

With many races unopposed and rivals excluded, the vote underscores a calibrated effort to contain dissent and prioritize stability.

Daoud Kuttab

By Daoud Kuttab

In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics

Olmert

Interview

Olmert: Only Israel-Lebanon deal can curb Hezbollah, occupation 'unviable'

Former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Al-Monitor that Israel will only be able to defang Hezbollah if it reaches an agreement with the Lebanese government.

Ehud Olmert

Ehud Olmert

Former Israeli prime minister

Latest News

Meloni suspends Italy's military cooperation agreement with Israel

Meloni

'Apartheid': Arab countries including UAE, Jordan decry new Israeli law

MOJAHID NAW/Middle East Images/AFP via Getty Images

Settler violence spike exposes Israeli government rift with military

Israeli settler violence graffiti

Wartime closures at Jerusalem holy sites raise fears of lasting shift among Palestinians

Muslim worshippers break their fast outside the old city walls of Jerusalem on March 17, 2026, as the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound remains closed.

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

Palestinian Hamas militants take part in a military show against Israel's newly-installed security measures at the entrance to the al-Aqsa mosque compound, in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip July 20, 2017. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa - RTX3C9YK

Hamas, Iran plot closer path forward amid Qatar crisis

The normalization of ties between Iran and the Palestinian Hamas movement appears to be accelerating amid the crisis among Gulf states.

Jordan's King Abdullah II and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wave during a reception ceremony in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Mohamad Torokman TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY - RTS1ARSU

Jordanian king’s Ramallah visit more than morale booster

Jordanian King Abdullah's two-hour visit to Ramallah was meant to send a number of signals to multiple parties.

Employees work inside the office of the Qatar-based Al-Jazeera network in Jerusalem August 7, 2017. REUTERS/Ammar Awad - RTS1APS5

Al Jazeera gains from Israel’s attempts to close it

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has warned that Al Jazeera's Jerusalem office will be closed, but this is unlikely to affect the network's work or coverage of the Palestinian-Israeli situation.

An Israeli F-15 fighter jet takes off during an exercise dubbed " Juniper Falcon", held between crews from the U.S and Israeli air forces, at Ovda Military Airbase, in southern Israel May 16. Picture taken May 16, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTX36T2T

Hamas convinced Israel will launch an attack

Hamas leaders believe that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is preparing for a military operation in the Gaza Strip to distract attention from police investigations against him.

From L: Abed al-Hafeez Nofal, the Palestinian ambassador to Moscow, and exiled Hamas deputy leader Mussa Abu Marzuq give a press conference along with other representatives of Palestinian political parties and movements in Moscow on January 17, 2017. / AFP / Alexander NEMENOV (Photo credit should read ALEXANDER NEMENOV/AFP/Getty Images)

What Russia has to gain from relations with Hamas

Russia's recent steps to further its rapprochement with Hamas are connected to its existing alliance with Iran and the overall situation in the region.

Director of Palestinian General Intelligence in the West Bank Majid Faraj (L) whispers to President Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas during a meeting where he requested to join 15 United Nations agencies, abandoning pledges to refrain from doing so during nine months of talks that were to end April 29, at his headquarters in the West Bank city of Ramallah on April 1, 2014. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Israel, Palestinians anticipate return of the generals

The Israeli and the Palestinian political systems are preparing for the post-Netanyahu and post-Abbas periods, when security challenges will only increase.

Israeli Prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during an event by his Likud Party to show support for its leader in Tel Aviv, Israel August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Amir Cohen - RTS1B3GU

Netanyahu's legacy will haunt Israel

In his many years as Israel's prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu has managed to destroy relations between Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs, and the right and left.

Israeli security forces stand at the compound known to Muslims as Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as Temple Mount, after Israel removed all security measures it had installed at the compound, and Palestinians entered the compound in Jerusalem's Old City July 27, 2017. REUTERS/Muammar Awad - RTX3D5M4

Israel, PA discreetly resume security coordination

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas declared at the height of the Temple Mount crisis that he was halting security coordination with Israel; now it seems that contacts between the security services of both sides have been resumed.

Gaza’s little chefs have big dreams

Zad Al Khair, a local restaurant in Gaza City, launches a culinary arts program for children.

Young photographers celebrate love, hope in Gaza 'Alleys' exhibit

A group of young Palestinian photographers held up a mirror to life in Gaza with an exhibition in the Jabalia refugee camp.

A Palestinian woman carries bread to be baked, near the wreckage of her house that witnesses said was destroyed by Israeli shelling during a 50-day war last summer, in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip June 22, 2015. Israel disputed on Monday the findings of a U.N. report that it may have committed war crimes in the 2014 Gaza conflict, saying its forces acted "according to the highest international standards". There was no immediate comment from Hamas, the dominant Palestinian movement in the Gaza Stri

Gaza civil society organizations aim to empower women

The 2017 Women's Leadership Incubator project will empower a team of civil society organizations in the Gaza Strip to strengthen their staff’s sensitivity and response to the needs and rights of marginalized women.

African migrants take part in a protest opposite the Knesset, the Israeli parliament, in Jerusalem January 8, 2014. Over ten thousand migrants gathered on Wednesday for a fourth day of protests against Israel's detention policy toward migrants it sees as illegal job-seekers. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS SOCIETY IMMIGRATION) - RTX176BI

Jerusalem's African community stands with Al-Aqsa

Jerusalem's African community, with its deep roots in the city, was active in the recent protests at Al-Aqsa Mosque.