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Palestine

September 20, 2026

Ramallah 7:05 am

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and French President Emmanuel Macron arrive to hold a joint press conference in Jerusalem, Oct. 24, 2023.

Analysis

After France's settlement ban, Israel sees no warming of ties with Macron government

Israeli diplomats say France’s decision to ban imports from West Bank settlements has brought bilateral relations to an unprecedented low point.

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Jewish settlement of Kedumim, in the West Bank

Analysis

Europe’s West Bank trade ban fires warning shot at Israel’s economy

Weeks before key Israeli elections, a dozen nations announced new trade restrictions targeting settlements in the West Bank, delivering a sharp rebuke to Israel's government that could presage additional international pressure.

Samuel Wendel

By Samuel Wendel

In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech

Chaim Goldberg / AFP via Getty Images

Netanyahu threatens to sue Haaretz for reporting UAE warned Israel of Oct. 7 attack

The Emirati president reportedly warned that a planned attack could cause bloodshed, destabilize the region and threaten the Abraham Accords.

Palestinians hold up the green Hamas flag during a protest by supporters of both the Fatah and Hamas movements, as they rally in support of the Palestinian people following Friday noon prayers in Hebron, occupied West Bank, Nov. 3, 2023.

Majority of Palestinians lose trust in Hamas and Fatah, new poll finds

A recent poll by a Palestinian survey center found that trust in Palestinian factions has declined, amid stalled efforts to implement the Gaza peace plan and escalating settler violence in the West Bank.

Latest News

12 countries including France, UK, Canada end trade with West Bank settlements

West Bank settlements

Katz warns PA against 'Oct. 7-style' attack as West Bank violence rises

Israeli soldiers take positions during a military operation in the town of Qalqiya, in the occupied West Bank, Dec. 4, 2025.

Analysis

LORA missile test reveals limits of Germany’s Gaza criticism of Israel

A woman walks past a model of a Lora missile, Israel's long range artillery missile at the Israel defence stall at the international DefExpo 2008 defence fair, in New Delhi on February 16, 2008. India kicked off South Asia's largest defence fair, with hundreds of global weapons firms offering their latest hardware to the country's technology-hungry military. About 450 weapons companies from 30 countries are present at the four-day "DefExpo" in New Delhi, with several big-ticket announcements expected. AFP P

Rina Bassist

By Rina Bassist

In Paris, reporting on Israeli politics and European affairs

Analysis

As Israeli settler attacks mount, Trump avoids public pressure on Netanyahu

Israeli soldiers arrive in the village of Qusra, south of Nablus in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, which has faced escalating Israeli settler violence over the past month, on Aug. 29, 2026.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

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

Suhad al-Katib, a Palestinian woman patient who suffers cancer sits inside her house after she was not allowed to enter Israel, in Gaza City February 12, 2014. Israel has denied entry permits to some 50 Palestinian medical patients from the Gaza Strip because the words "State of Palestine" appears on the letterhead of their application, officials said on Wednesday. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST HEALTH) - RTX18O7O

Gaza's cancer patients suffer due to siege, division

The political division between Gaza and Ramallah, in addition to the Israeli-Egyptian blockade, is leaving cancer patients in the Gaza Strip without adequate medical care.

President of the Palestinian Football Federation, Major General Jibril Rajoub speaks during a press conference in Ramallah on February 12, 2014. Rajoub, said that the Palestinian Federation began a campaign to boycott Israeli athletes at the international level, in protest against the obstacles set by Israel against Palestinian sportsmen. AFP PHOTO / ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Rajoub: an agreement with Israel is within reach

In an interview with Al-Monitor, Fatah senior official Jibril Rajoub is optimistic on peace talks: "If the Israelis are willing, creative solutions can be found for everything.”

Ultra-Orthodox Jewish men take part in the Tashlich ritual near the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in the southern city of Ashdod September 12, 2013, ahead of Yom Kippur, the Jewish Day of Atonement, which starts at sundown Friday. Tashlich is a ritual of casting away sins of the past year into the water. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL - Tags: RELIGION) - RTX13J3K

Israel’s ultra-Orthodox key to peace

In an interview with Al-Monitor, ultra-Orthodox strategic expert Itzik Sudri claims that the ultra-Orthodox should be integrated as more active partners to the diplomatic process, considering their politically moderate worldview.

Exiled Palestinian Islamic Jihad leader Ramadan Shallah delivers a speech during a conference in support of Palestinians in Tehran on February 28, 2010. Israel has lost its "raison d'etre" and its presence in the region causes instability, Iranian media quoted Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad as saying at the conference attended by top Palestinian militant leaders. AFP PHOTO/ATTA KENARE (Photo credit should read ATTA KENARE/AFP/Getty Images)

Hamas isolated as Iran boosts ties with Islamic Jihad, Fatah

A high-level Islamic Jihad delegation visited Iran one week after a senior Fatah official made a similar trip, leaving Hamas isolated.

Israeli MP Labour Party members Isaac Herzog (L) and Hilik Bar (C) shake hands with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas as they attend a meeting with Knesset members (Israel's Parliament) in the West Bank city of Ramallah on October 7, 2013. The Palestinians must "recognise Israel as the state of the Jewish people" in order to achieve real peace, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on October 6, 2013. AFP PHOTO/ABBAS MOMANI (Photo credit should read ABBAS MOMANI/AFP/Getty Images)

Labor's Herzog demands Palestinian recognition of Israel as Jewish state

Statements by opposition leader Isaac Herzog supporting the demand that the Palestinians recognize Israel as a Jewish state might pave his way into Benjamin Netanyahu's government, but be detrimental to negotiations.

A Russian woman married to a Palestinian speaks to the media at the Erez border crossing after leaving the Gaza Strip January 2, 2009. Israel allowed 443 foreigners living in the Gaza Strip to leave on Friday, a defence official said on Thursday as Israeli forces attacked the Hamas-controlled territory for a sixth day. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL) - RTR22ZOO

Russian wives in Gaza long for home

Integration is difficult for the many women from the former Soviet republics who have settled in Gaza with their Palestinian husbands.

Israel's Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman (R) greets his Canadian counterpart John Baird before their dinner in Jerusalem January 19, 2013. Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper is on a four-day visit to Israel and the Palestinian Territories. REUTERS/Darren Whiteside (JERUSALEM - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX17LHJ

Israeli foreign minister shifts to center

With perhaps an eye on a future run for prime minister, Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman is establishing himself as a key player in US-Iran relations and in any eventual agreement with the Palestinians.

Palestinians are seen through a damaged car window as they look at the scene of an Israeli air strike in the centre of the Gaza Strip February 9, 2014. An Israeli air strike on the Gaza Strip on Sunday critically wounded a Palestinian whom the military said was responsible for launching rockets at southern Israel. REUTERS/Ibraheem Abu Mustafa (GAZA - Tags: POLITICS CIVIL UNREST TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY) - RTX18GBQ

Hamas deploys border patrol to prevent rocket attacks on Israel

A recent round of rocket fire from Gaza and IDF air strikes was followed by an exchange of messages between the two sides and reaffirmation of a commitment by Hamas to try to prevent future rocket fire.

Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki attends a meeting with Arab foreign ministers at Arab League headquarters in Cairo September 12, 2011. Arab League ministers agree to submit a Palestinian bid for statehood to the United Nations, while the EU earlier said it has still not decided on a united position regarding a Palestinian bid. REUTERS/Mohamed Abd El-Ghany (EGYPT - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR2R7MQ

Palestinian foreign minister open to Iran visit

In an exclusive interview, Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad al-Malki said he would accept an official invitation to visit Tehran if such an offer were made.

The beginnings of an Israel-Iran reset?

Israel may be reassessing the Iranian threat, as Iran shows its reach in Palestinian politics.

Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni (3rd R) and Minister of Internal Security Avi Dichter (4th R) speak to the media during a visit to an observation point that overlooks Gaza, near Kibbutz Zikim just outside the Gaza Strip, December 9, 2008. REUTERS/Amir Cohen (ISRAEL) - RTR22EZN

Former Shin Bet chief says Bibi needs back channel to Abbas

Avi Dichter, former Shin Bet chief and minister, tells Al-Monitor that although Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has solid standing, he is not the last Palestinian leader who will be able to sign an agreement with Israel.

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry waves while boarding his plane at Franz-Josef-Strauss Airport in Munich, southern Germany, February 2, 2014. Kerry was in the Bavarian capital to attend the Munich Security Conference. REUTERS/Brendan Smialowski/Pool (GERMANY - Tags: POLITICS) - RTX184TL

Kerry lets Europe play the boycott card with Israel

The United States and Europe are playing good cop-bad cop in the negotiations with Israel.