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Palestine

March 21, 2026

Ramallah 3:28 am

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

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

Palestinians say sweeping restrictions during Ramadan and ahead of Eid reflect security concerns, but there is concern they could ultimately reshape access to worship in the Old City.

Displaced Palestinians gather for a fast-breaking Iftar meal amid the rubble of destroyed buildings at the Jabalia refugee camp, in the northern Gaza Strip, during the Muslim holy fasting month of Ramadan, Feb. 23, 2026.

Analysis

Hamas sits out Iran war as Gaza, Gulf interests take priority

Hamas has so far stayed out of the escalating Iran war, despite its longstanding alliance with Tehran, reflecting a cautious strategic calculation.

Abeer Ayyoub

By Abeer Ayyoub

In Istanbul, reporting on Palestine

Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks during a United Nations Summit on Palestinians at UN headquarters during the United Nations General Assembly, New York, Sept. 22, 2025.

Spain recalls Israel ambassador, calls Iran war 'flagrant illegality': What to know

Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez called the US-Israel war in Iran a "flagrant illegality.”

People walk through a heavily damaged street in Khan Younis, southern Gaza Strip, on Oct. 12, 2025.

'No meaningful protection': Israel’s new Gaza aid rules raise data, security risks

The guidelines expand Israeli authority to deny NGO registration in the Palestinian territories and visas for foreign aid workers as Gaza continues to reel from two years of war.

Latest News

Analysis

Why Turkey’s exclusion from Gaza force may be a strategic blessing

ANKARA, TURKEY - JANUARY 21: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to MPs at his party's group meeting in the Turkish parliament on January 21, 2026 in Ankara, Turkey. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is among world leaders that have been invited by United States President Donald Trump, to join the Gaza Board of Peace, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan was also included as an appointed member. (Photo by Serdar Ozsoy/Getty Images)

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

How did FIFA become part of Trump’s Gaza reconstruction effort?

Brendan SMIALOWSKI / AFP via Getty Images

Billions pledged, but Hamas' grip clouds Trump’s Gaza plan

US President Donald Trump (C), flanked by US Vice President JD Vance (L) and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio (R), joins leaders for a group photo during the inaugural meeting of the Board of Peace at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, on Feb. 19, 2026.

Trump touts pledges of troops, billions for Gaza at Board of Peace summit

US President Donald Trump attends the inaugural meeting of the "Board of Peace" at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, on Feb. 19, 2026.

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

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian listens to a question during a press conference with his Saudi counterpart (not pictured) in Tehran, on June 17, 2023.

Interview

Iran sent US back-channel messages on risk of wider regional war, FM says

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian said Tehran is not seeking a wider regional conflict, even as his country's network of militias across the Middle East are stepping up attacks on US bases and ships.

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Hossein Amir-Abdollahian

Foreign Minister of Iran

Saudi FM

Saudi FM: No Israel normalization without ‘irreversible path’ to Palestinian state

Saudi Prince Faisal bin Farhan said the kingdom would not finance the rebuilding of the enclave unless there is a viable path to a two-state solution.

An Israeli soldier stops a driver at a checkpoint at the entrance of the Palestinian village of Orif, south of Nablus in the northern West Bank, on June 22, 2023, following an incursion by Israeli forces into the village. (Photo by Jaafar ASHTIYEH / AFP) (Photo by JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images)

In West Bank, Israeli army ramps ups WhatsApp surveillance of Palestinians

No sense of privacy remains in Israel's checkpoints in the West Bank, where civilians face increasing intrusions into their digital lives and social media apps.

A Palestinian woman embraces a lightly injured boy as they check the rubble of a building following Israeli bombardment, on January 18, 2024 in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip, amid ongoing battles between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

With no sign of war ending, Gazans increasingly disenchanted with Hamas

While support for Hamas has spiked in the West Bank since Oct. 7, there remains significant frustration with the group in Gaza, where even some former supporters view their strategy as misguided.

Members of the radical Islamist movement "Hizb ut-Tahrir" protest in the northern Lebanese port city of Tripoli, on April 28, 2023, against the deportation of Syrian refugees.

What is Hizb ut-Tahrir, anti-Israel Islamist group banned in the UK?

The international Islamist group has been banned across the Middle East and is known for espousing antisemitism.

NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA/AFP via Getty Images

Hamas delegation in Russia, talks Gaza cease-fire, Israeli hostages

The trip was the second by senior Hamas officials to Russia since the Oct. 7 attack and Gaza war began with Israel, and comes amid continued fighting and captivity of hostages, including Russian citizens.

ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

West Bank violence peaks with 344 killed, nearly 6,000 arrested amid Gaza war

Hundreds have been killed in the West Bank since Israel stepped up its raids and arrests in the territory in conjunction with the war in Gaza.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken (L) speaks with Foreign Affairs columnist Thomas Friedman during a meeting as part of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos on January 17, 2024.

Davos 2024: Blinken says Palestinian statehood could help isolate Iran

The US secretary of state called former President Donald Trump's withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal "a big mistake."

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken addresses a press conference in Tel Aviv on Jan. 9, 2024, during his week-long trip aimed at calming tensions across the Middle East.

Blinken says stay on the job as federal employees protest Gaza

The organizers behind Tuesday’s “Day of Mourning” said federal employees at more than two dozen agencies planned to take off work to protest the administration's handling of the Gaza war.

This handout screen grab captured from a video shows Yemen's Houthi fighters' takeover of the Galaxy Leader Cargo in the Red Sea coast off Hudaydah, on Nov. 20, 2023.

Davos 2024: Red Sea attacks ‘a crisis whole world needs to respond to,’ says US

US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said that since mid-November, 50 nations have been impacted by nearly 30 attacks on vessels in the Red Sea by the Iran-aligned Houthi militants.

This picture taken from the Israeli border with the Gaza Strip shows smoke billowing over Gaza City following Israeli strikes on Jan. 1, 2024, amid the ongoing battles between Israel and the militant Hamas group.

Breaking | Last Updated: January 16, 2024, 10:31 am

Live Updates: Attacks in Red Sea, Israel as Gaza death toll passes 24,000

Gaza City was hit with more airstrikes on Monday as Gaza authorities say the death toll has passed 24,000.

A sign is seen at the congress center during the World Economic Forum annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 18, 2023.

Davos 2024: Gaza, Red Sea high on World Economic Forum agenda

More than 300 high-profile public figures will gather at the summit in the Swiss Alpine ski resort, including more than 60 heads of state and government, to discuss global security and business challenges.