The Panama Papers and Middle East Leaders’ Secret Bank Accounts
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - An anonymous source has handed over to…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - An anonymous source has handed over to…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The London pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reports that…
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman announced…
Foreign Policy
Autopsy confirms bullet fired by Israeli Soldier at point-blank range killed al-Sharif
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM- (Ma’an) – The autopsy conducted on the body Abd al-Fatah al-Sharif on Sunday confirmed that the 21-year-old Palestinian was still alive before a bullet fired…Israel’s “chained women” fight for right to divorce
By Michael Blum | ( Your Middle East | - - Israel's "chained women" fight for right to divorce. She is one of Israel's "chained women" -- the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of…After the Youth Revolts: Can the Arab Thug-ocracies ever be Reformed?
By Yezid Sayigh | (Project Syndicate) | - - WASHINGTON, DC – Experience across the Arab world demonstrates that when it comes to security-sector reform, technocratic approaches are inadequate. Simply put, a…Why ISIL/ Daesh attracts Convicts and Felons, not the Pious
By Anne Aly | (The Conversation) | - - Media outlets were quick to note the criminal backgrounds of the perpetrators of last week’s Brussels terror attacks. Drawing comparisons with those who…Syrian Ceasefire in Tatters as al-Qaeda & allies attack in South Aleppo
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The London pan-Arab daily Al-Hayat reports that the rebel opposition allied with al-Qaeda broke the ceasefire Saturday morning, taking several villages and towns…3 Surprising reasons Saudi Arabia may be getting out of the Oil Business
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Saudi crown prince Muhammad bin Salman announced Friday that Saudi Arabia would use its oil assets to back a $2 trillion sovereign wealth…Palestinian rights group submits Israeli war crimes report to Int’l Criminal Court
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) -- In ongoing efforts to hold Israel accountable for gross violations of international law, Palestinian legal rights group Badil has published key findings on…Turkey’s Erdogan exports Press crackdown to US as his guards manhandle Journalists in DC
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - Turkish President Erdogan visited Washington DC this week to participate in the deliberations on nuclear weapons. He brought with him some bad habits…Iraq: Shiite Militias issue threats against US Troops going to Iraq to fight Salafi ISIL
By Mustafa Habib | Baghdad | (Niqash.org) | - - Recently US troops started fighting the [so-called] Islamic State in Iraq [ISIL], with ‘boots on the ground’. But is keeping a distance…Palestine: It’s not the Economy, Stupid
By Yossi Alpher | ( OpenDemocracy) | - - By all means, give the Palestinians development aid. But let us not delude ourselves that this will facilitate a two-state solution anytime soon.…Americans Must Challenge Congress on its Knee-Jerk Support for Israeli Expansionism
By Thomas Buonomo | (Informed Comment) | - - With recent reports of a potential last-year attempt by the Obama administration to set the parameters of a resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict--which…Syria Endgame: Are Russia and US Planning overthrow of ISIL in al-Raqqa?
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - The Russian press had been complaining that the West was ignoring its defeat of terrorism in Syria. But now the Russian press is…On Palestinian Land Day, Israel has usurped 90% of Jordan Valley in W. Bank
By Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics IMEMC | - - The following is a press release by the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistic (PCBS), marking the fortieth anniversary of the Palestinian Land…Are Belgian Nuclear Plants vulnerable to Terrorism?
By Robert J Downes and Daniel Salisbury | (The Conversation) | - - Belgium’s counter-terrorism efforts are once again being called into question following the recent tragedies in Brussels. The attacks were…“Investigate Israel’s Extrajudicial Killings:” Sen Leahy, 10 other Congressmen
Ma'an News Agency | - - BETHLEHEM -- US Senator Patrick Leahy along with 10 other Democratic congressmen have called on the US to investigate the possibility of "gross violations of human…Under Israeli Siege, Gaza running out of Clean Water
AJ+ | - - "According to the United Nations, 90 percent of the water in Gaza is undrinkable, and the population relies heavily on a coastal aquifer that could become unusable in…After Palmyra, the last days of the phony Caliphate?
TeleSur The loss of the historic city amounts to one of the biggest setbacks for the extremist group since it declared a caliphate in 2014. Syrian government forces backed by Russian airstrikes…Basques, N. Ireland, Muslims: Belgium’s Problems rooted in Europe’s long History of Exclusion
By Martin Conway | (The Conversation) | - - “What we feared has happened,” remarked Charles Michel, the prime minister of Belgium, in the immediate aftermath of the horrible and violent attacks…After Brussels, the Strategy of ISIL/ Daesh
By Paul Rogers | (OpenDemocracy) | - - Tunisia, Paris, and now Brussels: escalating attacks on western targets reflect a shift of focus by ISIL. The security consultancy IHS Jane’s has just…Fall of Palmyra: Syrian regime races to take ISIL’s ‘Berlin’ and forestall ‘Partition’
By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | - - That massive Russian air strikes and a determined infantry and armor assault by the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) on the ancient city of…