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Palestine

March 23, 2026

Ramallah 1:15 pm

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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

MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images

Israel-Gaza border sizzles in wake of West Bank escalation

A rocket fired from Gaza toward Israel during the night and an explosive device that went off early in the morning have interrupted the relative calm in the region.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Israeli troops kill six Palestinians in Jenin as West Bank violence escalates

A few hours only after settlers rioted again in the village of Huwara, Israeli soldiers raided the West Bank city of Jenin, killing six people, including the assailant who murdered a week ago Israeli brothers Halel and Yagel Yaniv.

Israeli military bulldozers demolish a house of a Palestinian family, built without the municipality's permission, in the Jerusalem neighbourhood of Wadi al-Joz on March 6, 2023. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel’s Ben-Gvir orders Arab home demolitions in East Jerusalem during Ramadan

Despite warnings from security agencies of possible flare-up, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir ordered the police to continue the demolition of homes in east Jerusalem, even during the month of Ramadan.

JAAFAR ASHTIYEH/AFP via Getty Images

Israel should 'wipe out' Palestinian village of Huwara, says far-right minister Smotrich

After inflammatory comments by far-right legislator Zvika Fogel last Monday, far-right Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich said he'd like to see the Palestinian village of Huwara "wiped out."

ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images

As Israel's raids grow in West Bank, so does Palestinian support for armed groups

The armed factions in the West Bank are enjoying overwhelming popular support as the cycle of violence intensifies.

An Israeli settler (R) argues with an Israeli soldier along a road in the town of Huwara.

Analysis

US urges Israel to hold settlers accountable for 'vigilante violence'

The State Department condemned the recent shootings of Israelis as well as the deadly rampage carried out by Jewish settlers in the West Bank.

Elizabeth Hagedorn

By Elizabeth Hagedorn

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

A Palestinian man flashes the victory sign as he faces an Israeli military vehicle, during a raid on the occupied-West Bank city of Nablus, on February 22, 2023. - Israeli troops killed at least 10 Palestinians in a raid on Nablus, while more than 80 suffered gunshot wounds, the Palestinian health ministry said. (Photo by ZAIN JAAFAR/AFP via Getty Images)

At least 10 Palestinians killed, dozens injured in Israel West Bank raid

Clashes are occurring regularly in the Palestinian territory as tensions further rise.

"The Last Pill," by Maria Saleh Mahameed, Maya Gallery, Tel Aviv, Israel.

Culture

Palestinian artists win prestigious Israeli art prize for first time

In winning the prestigious 2023 Rappaport award, Hannan Abu-Hussein and Maria Saleh Mahameed mark a breakthrough for Israeli-Arab artists.

A Palestinian clears debris at a petrol station following Israeli strikes in Gaza City, early on February 13, 2023. - Israel hit Gaza with air strikes in response to a rocket fired from the Palestinian enclave at the weekend, the army said, as unrest persisted in the occupied West Bank. (Photo by MOHAMMED ABED/AFP via Getty Images)

Israel strikes Gaza, as unrest grows in West Bank

A Palestinian was killed in an Israeli raid in the West Bank on Monday, hours after Israel carried out strikes in Gaza in response to rocket fire from the territory, its military said

A Palestinian relief team poses for a picture before their departure to Syria and Turkey.

Palestinians join earthquake rescue efforts in Syria, Turkey

The Palestinian Authority joins more than 60 countries sending rescue teams to Turkey and Syria in response to the earthquake.

Palestinian protesters burn tyres to block a road leading into Jericho in the occupied West Bank, on February 6, 2023, following a raid in town by Israeli forces. (Photo by AHMAD GHARABLI/AFP via Getty Images)

Palestinian teen killed in Israeli raid as CIA fears another intifada

US CIA director Bill Burns said Tuesday that the current situation in Israel and the Palestinian Territories has a "very unhappy resemblance" to the second intifada.

Blinken Abbas

The Takeaway: Blinken's call for two-state solution met with Israeli-Palestinian pessimism

Plus, the US denies involvement in the Isfahan drone attack and Jordan's king returns to Washington.