Palestinian territories

Empty alleyway and two blue doors

Christmas is canceled in Bethlehem

Every year, thousands of tourists and Christian pilgrims flock to Bethlehem, the biblical birthplace of Jesus, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank. But this year, Christmas celebrations in Bethlehem and across the Middle East will be dramatically toned down.

Christmas is canceled in Bethlehem
people amid explosion

A timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict

A timeline of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Students walk through a gate at Harvard University, Thursday, June 29, 2023, in Cambridge, Mass.

Colleges struggle to balance free speech, international politics and public safety amid Israel-Hamas conflict

Colleges struggle to balance free speech, international politics and public safety amid Israel-Hamas conflict
Palestinians inspect their house which was hit by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City on Aug. 8, 2022. 

As Israel-Palestinian truce holds, Gaza power plant restarts

As Israel-Palestinian truce holds, Gaza power plant restarts
Shawan Jabarin, director of the al-Haq human rights group, at the organization's offices in the West Bank city of Ramallah

Israeli designation of 6 NGOs as terrorist organizations 'criminalizes' civil society work, media consultant says

Israeli designation of 6 NGOs as terrorist organizations 'criminalizes' civil society work, media consultant says
Empty green desks and chairs in a classroom with a chalkboard at the front

Gunmen abduct 150 schoolgirls in Nigeria

Gunmen abduct 150 schoolgirls in Nigeria's Kaduna state. And a Honduras court finds former energy executive Roberto David Castillo guilty of planning the murder of environmental activist Berta Cáceres in 2016. Also, Israel's parliament blocks the extension of a law that bars citizenship or permanent residency for Palestinians who marry Israeli citizens.

Gunmen abduct 150 schoolgirls in Nigeria
Palestinian protesters fly Palestinian flags and flags of the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine, DFLP, during clashes with Israeli soldiers at the entrance the Jewish settlement of Beit El, background near the West Bank city of Ramallah.

The politics of Ireland’s enduring support for Palestinians

Ireland is the first EU country to declare that Israeli settlements in the Palestinian territories amount to de facto annexation.

The politics of Ireland’s enduring support for Palestinians
Woman in orange outfit walks in dry climate with girl in pink dress and boy in beige outfit

NATO agrees to study how climate change impacts global security threats

NATO leaders recently called climate change “one of the defining challenges of our times.”

NATO agrees to study how climate change impacts global security threats
Smoke plumes from airstrikes in Gaza.

Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire

Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire in Gaza after more than a week of fighting.

Israel and Hamas agree to ceasefire

A Gaza mother struggles to protect her kids

A mother of three living in Gaza discussed with The World's host Marco Werman the trauma that her children face while living under airstrikes.

A Gaza mother struggles to protect her kids
In this photo posted on US Secretary of State's Twitter account, Mike Pompeo, center, and the US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, left, meet with the managers of the Psagot winery in the West Bank.  

What does Pompeo's historic West Bank visit mean for US-Israel policy?

America’s top diplomat Mike Pompeo made history Thursday by becoming the first US secretary of state to visit an Israeli settlement in the occupied West Bank, the entirety of which Palestinians claim as a part of their future state.

What does Pompeo's historic West Bank visit mean for US-Israel policy?
The separation wall, Baka al-Gharbiyeh

Israel's Arab citizens contemplate their future under the Trump peace plan

Israel’s Arab citizens living in so-called “Triangle communities” may become citizens of Palestine under redrawn Israeli borders. But not all of them are ready to give up their Israeli citizenship.

Israel's Arab citizens contemplate their future under the Trump peace plan
People in athletic clothes warm up together on a sidewalk.

This Palestinian running group in Jerusalem fights for the ‘right to movement’ 

Palestinians have for decades had their freedom of movement curtailed around Jerusalem, with measures the Israeli authorities say are necessary for security.

This Palestinian running group in Jerusalem fights for the ‘right to movement’ 
Palestinians watch a television broadcasting the announcement of Middle East peace plan by US President Donald Trump, in the southern Gaza Strip on Jan. 28, 2020.

Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan. This Palestinian analyst says it's a 'scam.'

Trump announced the plan, billed as the "deal of the century," in Washington, DC, alongside Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu Tuesday. But missing from the announcement were Palestinians — who preemptively rejected the proposal, citing pro-Israel bias. One Palestinian activist speaking prior to the plan's unveiling called it a "scam."

Trump unveiled his Middle East peace plan. This Palestinian analyst says it's a 'scam.'
Two visitors are shown standing a one taking a cell phone photo of the Church of the Nativity with bright white light shining from the windows above.

Jesus’ Bethlehem birthplace gets a makeover. But will it boost tourism? 

Palestinian officials are hoping that the nearly-completed restoration will boost tourism at a time when the West Bank remains under Israeli occupation, plagued by a political stalemate and hobbled by high unemployment.

Jesus’ Bethlehem birthplace gets a makeover. But will it boost tourism?