Samah Watad

Samah Watad

Samah Watad is a Palestinian journalist and investigative researcher based in Israel, covering politics and social issues.

Recent Articles
Members of Knesset Mansour Abbas and Ahmad Tibi walking outside the office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the Knesset, in Jerusalem, June 3, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Palestinians could decide Israel’s election. But their parties are at a stalemate
Core disputes over how to utilize political power may not be resolved in time to form a new Joint List — and competing parties are ready to capitalize.
By Samah Watad July 24, 2026
The People's Peace Summit in Tel Aviv, April 30, 2026. (Ofer Amram, Sal Productions)
The Israeli left is speaking only to itself
Another peace conference at a time of genocide and ethnic cleansing exposes this shrinking movement’s inability to influence our reality.
By Samah Watad May 8, 2026
Police officers at the scene where a Palestinian man was killed in a car bomb in Lod, central Israel, February 15, 2023. (Jonathan Shaul/Flash90)
On TikTok, Palestinians in Israel are a scroll away from organized crime
Videos of luxury cars, cash, masked motorcyclists, and veiled threats have drawn over 100 million views, amplifying criminal power far beyond the street.
By Samah Watad April 7, 2026
A Palestinian man inspects the damage after a missile fired from Iran struck the Palestinian town of Zarzir, northern Israel, March 13, 2026. (Michael Giladi/Flash90)
Exposed from above, silenced from within: Palestinians in wartime Israel
Decades of neglect have left Palestinian citizens unprotected from missile fire, while police are carrying out arrests for expressions of dissent.
By Samah Watad and Baker Zoubi March 19, 2026
Palestinian and Jewish citizens of Israel attend a protest against rising violent crime in Palestinian society, in Tel Aviv, January 31, 2026. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)
Why a Palestinian protest in Tel Aviv exposed the limits of Israeli solidarity
A mass demonstration against organized crime showed that Palestinian suffering can be acknowledged — so long as it is stripped of any political meaning.
By Samah Watad February 4, 2026
People gather near the entrance to the the church at the Christmas market in Bir'im, Dec. 13, 2025. (Anna Maria Hawa)
In the Galilee hills, Christmas celebrations revive a depopulated Palestinian village
After a two-year absence, displaced residents and their descendants returned to Bir'im — part of efforts since 1948 to keep the community alive.
By Samah Watad December 24, 2025
Activists from Standing Together protest against the Gaza war, in Tel Aviv, January 16, 2025. (Yahel Gazit)
Can Standing Together bear the weight of its contradictions?
The Jewish-Arab movement is celebrating its 10th anniversary after a period of rapid expansion. But as it grows, so do questions about its political stances, its electoral ambitions, and the limits of binational organizing.
By Samah Watad December 19, 2025
Most Read
  1. The myth of Israel's Arab doctors
  2. Netanyahu's ‘total victory’ vow kept him in power. Now it may be his undoing
  3. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  4. PODCAST: What happens to Palestinians in Israeli prisons?
  5. Under Israel’s watch, Palestinian gangs are sowing chaos in the West Bank
  1. Netanyahu's ‘total victory’ vow kept him in power. Now it may be his undoing
  2. Under Israel’s watch, Palestinian gangs are sowing chaos in the West Bank
  3. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  4. The myth of Israel's Arab doctors
  5. Farewell to the artist who connected Palestinians to themselves
  1. ‘Lavender’: The AI machine directing Israel’s bombing spree in Gaza
  2. As Israel sabotages Gaza talks, Hamas’ new ‘warrior leader’ faces his first challenge
  3. Arms sales to Israel are slowing. But that's only half the story
  4. Qusra is where Israel’s lies about settler violence hit a wall
  5. Life in a laboratory of Israeli ethnic cleansing