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The Palestinian Authority (PA)

Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (January 6-13, 2026)

IDF forces continued operating within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip, locating and destroying facilities and weapons, and eliminating terrorists who attempted to attack the soldiers. Following a failed rocket launch and other violations by Hamas, the IDF attacked terrorist facilities throughout the Strip and eliminated operatives from Hamas and other terrorist organizations. The Hamas military wing renewed its searches for the last murdered Israeli hostage in the Strip; There was anger among Palestinians over UNRWA's decision to fire hundreds of employees who were forced to leave the Gaza Strip during the war. The agency was accused of "supporting the occupation's plans"; An anti-Hamas militia operating within the Yellow Line claimed responsibility for killing a Khan Yunis police official and threatened to continue attacking Hamas operatives; Reportedly, elections for head of the Hamas political bureau were postponed because of the focus on negotiations for the second phase of the ceasefire agreement and in light of disagreements within the movement's leadership in the Gaza Strip; In preparation for announcing the members of the Peace Council and the technocrat committee which will manage the Gaza Strip, Hamas reiterated that it would dismantle its governing bodies. Fatah warned Hamas against attempting to prevent Palestinian Authority representation on the new administrative committee; Israeli security forces continued extensive counterterrorism activity in Judea and Samaria; an IDF soldier was wounded by gunfire in Nablus; Palestinian Authority chairman Mahmoud Abbas said the current year would be "the year of Palestinian democracy," with local and general elections and strengthening the rule of law.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 30, 2025 – January 6, 2026)

IDF forces continued to operate within the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip, eliminating terrorist operatives who posed a threat and exposing rocket launchers ready for firing at Israeli territory; Hamas condemned Israel's decision to halt the activity in the Gaza Strip of more than 30 international aid organizations; The consolidation of Hamas' civilian and security governance continued, opening schools and hospitals with assistance from Qatar and Turkey; Internal tensions were reported within the Hamas leadership following the formation of a new leadership in the Gaza Strip led by Ali al-Amoudi, one of Yahya al-Sinwar's close associates; Hamas continued to defy the Israeli and American demand that the movement disarm, claiming it was a ploy to prevent the transition to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement; The deputy chairman of the Palestinian Authority held talks in Egypt and Saudi Arabia for implementing the second phase of the agreement in the Strip. According to reports, the Authority's role at the beginning of the phase would be limited to managing the Rafah Crossing; Hamas in Judea and Samaria accused Israel of attempting to impose a new situation on the ground and called on all "factions" to formulate a "joint line of resistance."
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Spotlight on Terrorism: Hezbollah and Lebanon (December 29, 2025 – January 5, 2026)

The IDF continued attacking Hezbollah targets to enforce the November 2024 ceasefire agreement and to prevent the organization's renewed military buildup. The forces attacked a Radwan Force training compound and eliminated two Hezbollah operatives; Hezbollah's secretary general called for arming the Lebanese army so it could confront "enemies" and expressed pride in the organization's ties with Iran; The president of Lebanon expressed cautious optimism about preventing renewed escalation, reportedly stemming from his understanding that for the time being, the American president and the Israeli prime minister had agreed not to carry out large-scale attacks in Lebanon because they were focused on the possibility of taking action against Iran; The Lebanese prime minister said the weapons Hezbollah would hand over to the state would not be thrown into the sea or transferred to Israel. According to reports, the commander of the Lebanese army is expected to announce the completion of the first phase of disarmament south of the Litani River at a cabinet meeting on January 8, 2026, although "Lebanese military sources" admitted that Hezbollah had not fully withdrawn from the area; Iran has reportedly increased oversight of the transfer of funds to Hezbollah and is setting priorities for resource allocation; Criticism was voiced in Lebanon over Hamas' refusal to hand over its medium and heavy weapons to the Lebanese army, after Fatah handed over large quantities of weapons in the Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 23-30, 2025)

IDF forces continued operating within the area of the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip and eliminated terrorists who posed a threat; an IDF officer was wounded by an explosive device. Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad claimed they did not know the exact location of the body of the last murdered Israeli hostage; Hamas officially reported the deaths of the former head of its military wing, Muhammad al-Sinwar; the former military wing spokesperson, Abu Obeida; and three others, and announced the appointment of a new spokesperson; Hamas continues governing areas under its control in the Gaza Strip: its security forces said they were pursuing Israel's "mercenaries," and the police spokesperson claimed police forces had returned to full activity; According to reports, Hamas will choose a new political bureau head, with Khalil al-Hayya and Khaled Mashal as the leading candidates. Members of the new leadership in the Gaza Strip have reportedly been elected but their identities have not been disclosed; Hamas continued to accuse Israel of delaying the transition to the second phase of the ceasefire agreement and reiterated that the "resistance" would not disarm. Hamas called on the Palestinian Authority to take responsibility for the Gaza Strip; Hamas issued a document to "justify" the October 7, 2023 attack and massacre as part of its propaganda to promote the narrative of the "achievements" of "al-Aqsa Flood."; The authorities in Italy arrested nine Hamas operatives who were engaged in fundraising for Hamas through fictitious associations, including one considered the most senior Hamas operative in the country.
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The Doctrine of Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, Hamas’ “Expert on Jewish Affairs”

Antisemitism has been at the core of Hamas' ideology since its establishment in 1988, reflected both in the Hamas Charter (1988) and in the movement's education system; One of the leading representatives of Hamas' antisemitism is Dr. Mahmoud al-Zahar, one of the movement's founders and its senior spokesmen, who is Hamas' self-styled "expert on Jewish affairs." Over the years, he has referred to the Jews in his writings and statements using antisemitic motifs to justify the need to expel the Jews from "Palestine."; The book Hatred of the Jews – A Historical Legacy, which al-Zahar published in 2020 and copies of which were found by IDF forces during the war in the Gaza Strip, summarizes the core elements of his antisemitic doctrine. He described the Jews as a base, greedy, immoral, cruel, corrupt and treacherous, using blood libels and conspiracies based on The Protocols of the Elders of Zion; Al-Zahar also justified the Holocaust, while claiming that close ties existed between Nazi Germany and the "Zionists," stemming from their "identical interests."; Since Hamas is aware that making antisemitic remarks harms it in the international arena, the movement seeks to downplay its views when dealing with foreigners, especially Western foreigners. A document the IDF brought back from the Gaza Strip had instructions for the "Palestinian spokesperson in the world," one of which was a prohibition against the use of anti-Jewish expressions and an emphasis on the struggle against the "Zionist occupier" and not against Judaism or the Jews; Despite the attempt to market a different face to the international community, the doctrine presented by Mahmoud al-Zahar over the years, and published only in Arabic, is evidence of the Hamas leadership's antisemitism. It dehumanizes Jews and provided inspiration for the atrocities committed during the Hamas terrorist attack and massacre on October 7, 2023.
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Spotlight on Terrorism and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict (December 16-23, 2025)

IDF forces continued operating in the areas of the Yellow Line in the Gaza Strip and eliminated militants who posed a threat. An IDF soldier was wounded by a stray bullet; An initiative of experts on hunger determined that no area in the Gaza Strip was "famine-stricken," but warned that 77% of the population was suffering from food insecurity. The Israeli Coordinator of Government Activities in the Territories accused the report of being biased and based on partial data; Hamas security forces announced the closing of the window for "collaborators" to surrender and threatened to use force against networks of collaborators with Israel; The organizers of the Global Sumud Flotilla announced that they would launch a new and larger flotilla to the Gaza Strip in the spring of 2026; A Hamas delegation met with the head of Turkish intelligence to discuss the continuation of negotiations on the ceasefire agreement in the Gaza Strip. Representatives of the mediating countries called on all parties to meet their commitments and expressed support for the establishment of a Peace Council; The Palestinian terrorist organizations and the Fatah movement expressed anger with the Palestinian Authority over its suspension of the payments to the families of the shaheeds, the wounded and the prisoners.
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The Palestinian Authority (PA)

The Palestinian Authority is a semi-autonomous entity which controls most of the Palestinian population in Judea and Samaria. The Palestinian Authority was established in 1994 by virtue of agreements signed as part of the Oslo process between Israel and the PLO. Formally, the Palestinian Authority also controls the Gaza Strip, but in reality it lost control of the Gaza Strip in June 2007 when Hamas violently took control. Since Yasser Arafat’s death, Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) has headed the Palestinian Authority.

The Palestinian Authority’s status under Yasser Arafat was severely damaged by the Palestinian terrorist campaign (the Al-Aqsa, or Second Intifada, 2000 until 2005). Israel asserted that it failed to function since it did not fight against terrorism and even played an active role in organizing and funding terrorist attacks against Israelis. Israel ended cooperation with it and most Palestinian Authority activities came to a standstill.

After the end of the Second Intifada, Arafat’s death and his succession by Abu Mazen, Israel changed its policy towards the Palestinian Authority and the relations between them improved. Today, the Palestinian Authority controls area A in Judea and Samaria and enjoys partial cooperation with Israel, mainly in terms of security and administration. In the territories under its control, the Palestinian Authority operates through its security services, in coordination with Israel, to maintain internal order and prevent terrorist attacks. At the same time, the Palestinian Authority supports “popular resistance” (popular terrorism), providing political and even practical backing to acts of violence taking place as part of this kind of terrorism.

Many countries around the world give the Palestinian Authority some sort of recognition as a political entity, although most of them do not recognize it as a sovereign state. Some of them formalized their diplomatic relations with the Palestinian Authority and promoted their representatives to the status of ambassadors. On November 29, 2012, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 67/19 by a large majority. The resolution granted the Palestinian Authority a status of an observer state, which is not a full member.