+972 Magazine - Independent commentary and news from Israel & Palestine

Egyptian fans wave a Palestinian flag while watching their team play against Argentina at the 2026 World Cup, Luxor, Egypt, July 7, 2026. (Essam El-Amari)

The World Cup tested the limits of Egypt’s pro-Palestine solidarity

Coach Hossam Hassan and his team have become a vehicle for expressing a popular sentiment that is either repressed or carefully contained at home.

By Shaimaa Ahmed

MEP Rima Hassan during the European Parliament Plenary, September 2024. (The Left/CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Rima Hassan is breaking Europe’s Palestine taboos. France put her on trial

Prosecuted for defending Palestinian resistance, the MEP says Gaza has exposed a ‘complete divorce’ between governments and their publics.

Palestinian bodies in a shipping container, near the Karem Abu Salem/Kerem Shalom Crossing in Gaza, January 20, 2024. (Courtesy of Ariel, a UN worker)

Calculated chaos: Inside Israel’s transfer of Palestinian bodies to Gaza

Humanitarian workers describe a haphazard system for returning dead and living Gazans during the first months of the genocide.

By Frances Brogan

Israeli soldiers patrolling through the Old City of Hebron, in the occupied West Bank, 4 July 2026. (Mosab Shawer/Activestills)

‘Like walking into a cage’: Israel tightens its grip on Hebron

Erecting checkpoints and unilaterally modifying religious sites with new planning powers, Israel is accelerating its annexation of the Old City.

Rashid Khalidi. (Alex Levac)

PODCAST

Israel stole Rashid Khalidi’s land. The U.S. is building an embassy on it

The Palestinian-American historian recounts the 30-year fight against the plan, and reflects on the generational shifts transforming U.S.-Israel ties.

By +972 Magazine

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Screenshots from the websites of Jusoor News and the Center for Peace Communications. Background image shows the ruins of Rafah, southern Gaza Strip. (Doaa Albaz/Activestills)

The viral Arabic media outlet hiding its ties to Israel

Jusoor News says it reflects the pulse of the Arab street. But leaked files suggest links to Israeli intelligence and a pro-Israel agenda with deep roots.

By Yossi Bartal and Amin Al Magrebi July 13, 2026

Pope Leo XIV during his inauguration, in Vatican City, the Holy See, May 18, 2025. (Mazur/cbcew.org.uk)

What Pope Leo won’t say about Gaza is testing the Catholic Church

Leo XIV has embraced his predecessor’s ethic of empathy. But across the Church, many are demanding he speak out more clearly against Israel's crimes.

By Paola Caridi July 10, 2026

A pamphlet from students at the University of Applied Arts Vienna calling to boycott Bezalel Academy of Arts and Design, which forms part of the exhibition "The Splinter" at Bezalel, Jerusalem. (Hadas Hay)

Can an exhibition be ‘explicitly political’ at Israel’s preeminent art school?

‘The Splinter’ at Bezalel Academy was born out of calls to boycott the institution. The result was a fraught collaboration between student unions.

By Dikla Taylor-Sheinman July 9, 2026

Palestinian football fans in Gaza City gather in the Al-Rimal area to watch the match between Egypt and Australia for a place in the round of 16 in the 2026 World Football Cup, 3 July 2026. (Omar Al-Qataa/Activestills)

‘They celebrate goals, we count martyrs’: Watching the World Cup in Gaza

Palestinians are defying Israeli bombings and power outages to follow soccer’s biggest tournament. But many fear the world has abandoned them.

By Ibtisam Mahdi July 8, 2026

Sheikh Raed Salah, leader of the Northern Branch of the islamic Movement, and Mohammad Barakeh, chairman of High Follow Up Committee, arrive for a visit at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem's Old City, April 19, 2022. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

First Israel silenced Palestinian citizens. Now it turns to their leaders

Recent cases involving prominent Arab officials reveal the state's strategy: digging up old statements and seeking severe punishment in Israeli courts.

By Baker Zoubi July 6, 2026

Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at the Jewish News Syndicate conference in Jerusalem, June 21, 2026. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

As Iran and the U.S. talk, Israel chooses eternal war

Sidelined from discussions over the region’s future, Netanyahu is telling Israelis they’ll have to go it alone — and they all nod in agreement.

By Ori Goldberg July 3, 2026

New immigrants to Israel living in the southern town of Dimona study Hebrew at a state-sponsored ulpan, January 12, 1955. (Moshe Pridan/GPO)

Can Hebrew be decolonized?

For many, the language is indelibly linked to Zionism and now forever tainted by genocide. But it was not always so — and a growing movement of Palestinians and anti-Zionist Jews are attempting to reclaim it.

By Raphael Mimoun July 2, 2026

Israeli and Lebanese flags at the South Lebanon Army (SLA) Memorial near Metula, following the signing of an agreement between Israel and Lebanon, June 28, 2026. (Ayal Margolin/Flash90)

Lebanon walks into Israel’s trap

The latest agreement only confirms what Hezbollah has warned: Negotiations that fail to secure Israel’s full military withdrawal will prove a fatal mistake.

By Elia Ayoub July 1, 2026

Activists from Jewish Voice for Peace hold a rally for divestment from Israel Bonds. (Jewish Voice for Peace)

The divestment drive that could shake Israel’s economic foundations

To fund perpetual war, Israel has grown ever more reliant on issuing bonds. Relinquishing these holdings, often invested passively, disrupts that equation.

By Aharon Porath June 30, 2026

Students at a makeshift university in the Al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, March 30, 2026. (Doaa Albaz/Activestills)

High school final exam season is stressful. In Gaza, it’s nearly impossible

With the Tawjihi moved online, students are struggling with unstable internet and constant distraction — all while Israeli attacks threaten their lives.

By Ruwaida Amer June 29, 2026