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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

April 21, 2025

Ramallah 12:40 am

14°C

Ami Ayalon, a candidate for the Israeli Labor Party leadership, arrives to vote in the second and decisive round of party primaries on June 12, 2007, in Geva Carmel, northern Israel.

Interview

Ayalon: Netanyahu firing Shin Bet chief to shield inner circle from Qatar probe

Former Shin Bet chief Ami Ayalon accuses Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of endangering Israel’s democracy by going after the country’s gatekeepers, such as current Shin Bet chief Ronen Bar.

An Israeli military vehicle moves through a street in Balata refugee camp, east of Nablus, West Bank, Oct. 1, 2024.

Israel arrests 6 over Turkey money transfer scheme: What we know

The announcement of the indictments comes as Israel over the past week has expanded its operations in the West Bank.

Palestinians gather for a communal iftar.

Israel expands Gaza buffer zone to 20% as humanitarian situation deteriorates

Israel’s expanded buffer zone will cut off Gaza from Egypt and further partition the Strip, as the humanitarian crisis in the territory deepens.

Latest News

UK lawyers accuse 10 nationals of war crimes in Gaza: What to know

London Gaza protest

Analysis

Can Saudi Arabia use investment flattery to woo Trump during visit?

trump shows mbs a chart

In Bristol, reporting on regional business, climate change, AI, tech

Analysis

Postwar Gaza plans stall over challenge of disarming Hamas

Palestinians chant slogans during an anti-Hamas protest, calling for an end to the war with Israel, in Beit Lahia in the northern Gaza Strip on March 26, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Germany's plan to deport 4 residents over pro-Palestine protests 'unlawful': Lawyer

A protestor shouts during a gathering to commemorate Land Day on March 29, 2025 in Berlin, Germany.

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

OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Pessimism prevails as Gaza cease-fire talks resume in Doha

Negotiators are meeting in Doha for what the Biden administration has described as “final stage” Gaza cease-fire talks. But with Hamas refusing to participate and Israel driving a hard bargain, is there any reason for optimism?

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

Amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, displaced Palestinians return to Bani Suhayla and neighboring towns east of Khan Younis following reports of Israeli forces withdrawing from the area in the southern Gaza, July 30, 2024.

Gaza cease-fire talks begin in Doha without Hamas

Israeli, American, Egyptian and Qatari representatives are meeting Thursday for another push to finalize a deal to halt the Hamas-Israel war.

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

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

Abbas’ visit to Turkey comes at a critical time as it remains unclear how relations between the Palestinian Authority and its rival, Hamas, will evolve under Yahya Sinwar's leadership.

Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

Qatar to host Gaza cease-fire talks amid Iran-Israel tension: What we know

Hamas says it will not attend the talks, which will take place in Doha.

Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

US delegations head to Middle East in bid to head off major escalation

Iran's diplomatic mission to the UN denied reports that Tehran is seeking a seat at the table for last-ditch Gaza cease-fire talks planned for Thursday.

rocket fire

Analysis

Iran, Israel in 'war of nerves' as US applies pressure to reach Gaza deal

The Biden administration is working both fronts simultaneously by pressuring the sides to reach a cease-fire deal in Gaza and limiting the expected attack on Israel by Iran and Hezbollah.

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

Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the Sixth Summit of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence Building Measures in Asia, Astana, Kazakhstan, Oct. 13, 2022.

Putin hosts Abbas as Russia looks for role in ending Gaza war

Russia’s President Vladimir Putin and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas held talks in Moscow on first such visit for the Palestinian leader since 2021.

Palestinian children passing by on the street look at the makeshift gravesite of Khaled Abu Obeid at his family's home in Gaza City's Sheikh Radwan neighbourhood on August 7, 2024. Khaled was feeding pigeons on their rooftop when he was killed by a sniper on December 21 amid an Israeli siege of the area, forcing the family and neighbours to dig his grave at home, where it remains, the family said. (Photo by Omar AL-QATTAA / AFP) (Photo by OMAR AL-QATTAA/AFP via Getty Images)

UK, France, Germany leaders urge restart of Gaza cease-fire talks as Hamas reconsiders

European leaders, including UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz called on Monday for the truce talks to resume, after the mediators did last week.

Palestinians flee the Hamad residential district and its surroundings in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip after receiving a warning from the Israeli army to evacuate the area on August 11, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Hamas militant group. (Photo by Bashar TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel expands evacuation order in Gaza’s Khan Younis, more than 75,000 flee

The Israeli military escalation comes only days before proposed cease-fire talks on Thursday, brokered by the US, Qatar and Egypt.

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

Analysis

With its ally Haniyeh gone, how will Turkey approach Sinwar-led Hamas?

Hamas’ new political chief, Yahya Sinwar, is seen as hard-line and pro-Iran, which unsettles Turkey, but he is unlikely to turn the armed Palestinian group into a mere instrument of Tehran.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

School shelters across Gaza have been hit at least 14 times since July 6

Israel faces anger over Gaza school strike rescuers say killed 93

Agence France-Presse

US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris speaks during a campaign event at Desert Diamond Arena in Glendale, Arizona, on Aug. 9, 2024.

Interview

Harris replacing Biden on ticket gave Democrats expected bump from Arab Americans

Abed Ayoub, Arab American ADC grassroots leader, discusses why the Harris bump was expected, whether Jill Stein could be a spoiler in Michigan, why Tim Walz was a positive VP pick, and more.

Abed Ayoub

Abed Ayoub

National Executive Director of the American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee