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

Palestine cover image

Palestine

August 5, 2025

Ramallah 7:50 am

19°C

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 07: U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a dinner in the Blue Room of the White House on July 07, 2025 in Washington, DC. Trump is hosting Netanyahu for a dinner as the two discuss a potential ceasefire agreement to end the fighting in Gaza. (Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

Over 600 former Israeli security officials call on Trump to end Gaza war

Former Israeli security officials, including former heads of the Mossad, the Shin Bet internal security agency, the Israeli military, Israel police and ambassadors are pleading with Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end the war.

Meeting of the Association Council between the European Union and Israel in the presence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Hebrew State Gideon Saar and the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the EU countries at the European Council in Brussels in Belgium, on Feb. 24, 2025.

Analysis

'Diplomatic tsunami': Israel grapples with isolation from Europe, Palestine's recognition

Israel is being ostracized not only by European states that have long criticized its policies but also by some of its traditional allies such as Germany and Italy as the hunger crisis in Gaza deepens.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Palestinians shove to receive a hot meal at a charity kitchen in the Mawasi area of Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on July 22, 2025.

'A complete farce': Gaza residents say Israel's aid policy shift has done little as hunger grows

While global media outlets continue to show images of humanitarian aid trucks entering the Gaza Strip, we — residents of this besieged coastal enclave — have yet to feel the tangible affect of these convoys as our children’s stomachs remain empty.

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - APRIL 29: Riyad Mansour, Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, speaks during a United Nations Security Council meeting on the conflict in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question at the United Nations headquarters on April 29, 2025 in New York City. The Security Council held a meeting on the ongoing Israel-Hamas war as the International Court of Justice (ICJ) holds its second day of hearings into Israel’s humanitarian obligations to Palestinians after more than 50 days of Israel’

Interview

Palestinian UN envoy: Saudi-France summit was 'historic' milestone, builds on France recognition

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN Riyad Mansour told Al-Monitor in an interview that the the summit created fresh momentum for Palestinian statehood in line with recent recognition moves by countries such as France and the UK.

Riyad Mansour

Riyad Mansour

Palestinian Ambassador to the UN

Latest News

Analysis

As US envoys head to Gaza, details scant on Trump's 'food centers'

People carrying aid parcels walk along the Salah al-Din road near the Nusseirat refugee camp in the central Gaza Strip, used by food-seeking Palestinians to reach an aid distribution point set up by the privately run Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF, on June 25, 2025.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

US hits Palestine officials with visa bans amid growing statehood recognition

Protesters hold Palestinian flags during a demonstration organized by several peace organizations in support of Palestinians amid the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, at Dam Square in Amsterdam, on Oct. 13, 2024.

AIPAC denies pulling Randy Fine endorsement after derogatory comments on Gaza starvation

Florida's Republican state senator, Randy Fine, speaks with the media on April 1, 2025, in Ormond Beach, Florida.

Analysis

Annexation, siege or transfers: Netanyahu's 3 options as Israel's Gaza quagmire deepens

TOPSHOT - People walk with sacks of flour delivered after trucks carrying humanitarian aid entered northern Gaza on July 27, 2025 coming from the Zikim border crossing. (Photo by BASHAR TALEB / AFP) (Photo by BASHAR TALEB/AFP via Getty Images)

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

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

A menu hangs on the wall at a Ben & Jerry's ice cream store, Miami, Florida, on Sept. 23, 2021.

Ben & Jerry's sues Unilever, accuses parent of muzzling views on Gaza war

It is not the first time tensions have been frosty between Ben & Jerry's and its parent company over the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Secretary-General of Fatah’s Central Committee Jibril Rajoub looks on during an interview in Paris on July 27, 2024.

Interview

Senior Palestinian official Jibril Rajoub calls for 'Marshall-like plan' to rebuild Gaza

Potential unity with Hamas represents a key dilemma for the Ramallah-based government, which would lose legitimacy with the Western world but gain legitimacy with the Palestinian people.

Jibril Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub

Fatah Central Committee Secretary-General

Trucks loaded with humanitarian aid delivered from Jordan cross into Gaza.

Despite missed deadline to boost Gaza aid, US says Israel arms flows to continue

The Biden administration will not follow through with threatened consequences after Israel missed a deadline to surge humanitarian assistance to Gaza.

Israel's Finance Minister and leader of the Religious Zionist Party Bezalel Smotrich attends a meeting at the parliament, Knesset, in Jerusalem, on March 20, 2023.

Israel's Smotrich calls for annexation of occupied West Bank: What we know

Israeli far-right minister and long-time supporter of Israeli settlements Bezalel Smotrich said on Monday that he had ordered preparations for an Israeli annexation of the occupied West Bank.

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives to attend a EU - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Brussels on October 16, 2024. Avoiding a "general conflagration" in the Middle East will be top of the agenda when European Union and leaders of countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, meet in Brussels on October 16, 2024. (Photo by JOHANNA GERON / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Get

MBS condemns Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza as Saudi frustrations mount

Saudi Arabia's de facto ruler has called for the establishment of a Palestinian state following phone calls with US President-elect Donald Trump and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian last week.

People check the destruction at the site of an Israeli airstrike that targeted the eastern village of Bazzaliyeh in the Hermel district of Lebanon's Bekaa Valley, near the border with Syria, Nov. 1, 2024.

Israel steps up strikes in Lebanon, Syria, Gaza despite diplomatic push

Lebanon, Syria and the Gaza Strip have witnessed heavy airstrikes in the past days, amid renewed efforts to appease the situation in the region.

People wave Palestinian and Jordanian flags and chant slogans as they march during a demonstration near the US embassy in the capital Amman in solidarity with the people of Gaza on December 15, 2023, amid the continuing battles between Israel and the militant group Hamas. (Photo by Khalil MAZRAAWI / AFP) (Photo by KHALIL MAZRAAWI/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

Despite Israel's war in Gaza, Jordan stability holds & security forces' grip firm

Not a single Jordanian has died in anti-Israel protests, and the Hashemite Kingdom’s security forces have remained loyal to King Abdullah II.

Aaron Magid

A Palestinian man carries away an injured child from a home that was hit in an Israeli strike on the Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, on November 7, 2024. Israel's military has been conducting a sweeping air and ground assault in northern Gaza since October 6, 2024, particularly around Jabalia, Beit Lahia and Beit Hanoun, saying it aims to prevent Hamas regrouping. (Photo by AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)

Feature

Uncertain future: Gaza’s hopes and fears as Trump wins presidency

Palestinians hope for a sign that the US president-elect might shift American policy toward halting the Gaza conflict and addressing their humanitarian crisis, but they are not optimistic.

Abeer Ayyoub

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Mourners offer their condolences to senior member of Hamas' political bureau Musa Abu Marzuk (C) during the funeral of the slain Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh, in Doha on August 2, 2024.

Qatar tells Hamas leaders to leave as Gaza cease-fire talks deadlocked

The Biden administration sees the militant group's presence in Qatar as "no longer viable or acceptable" given its repeated refusal to release even a small number of the remaining hostages.

US President Donald Trump arrives at a Make America Great rally in Mesa, Arizona, Oct. 19, 2018.

How pro-Iran armed groups reacted to Trump's victory

Representatives from Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis doubt that the US president-elect will fulfill his campaign promise to end the ongoing wars in the region.

AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images

Analysis

Gaza and Lebanon for Iran: Inside Netanyahu’s gamble on Donald Trump

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu clearly has high hopes for President-elect Donald Trump, but is nervously watching the new administration take shape.

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

US President Joe Biden (L) sits with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, at the start of the Israeli war cabinet meeting, in Tel Aviv on Oct. 18, 2023.

As leverage wanes, what can lame-duck Biden accomplish in Middle East?

As it seeks end-of-term wins in the Gaza Strip and Lebanon, the Biden administration must contend with an Israeli leader accused of waiting out the clock.