Australia/Israel & Jewish Affairs Council

The security cabinet of 1967 appears in these never-published transcripts as a group of serious, professional and responsible decision-makers. While the ministers brought their worldviews to the table, they often didn't vote on party lines, often did listen to one another, and generally managed to m

The mortar shells came early in the morning. At about five. At regular intervals. Solemn and sinister. They were a reminder of how close it all was. We were in the Damascus Old City. There was still fighting in Jobar, about two kilometres away. The rebels had also counter-attacked from the east... T

In the wake of the April 4 chemical weapons attack on the Syrian rebel held town of Khan Sheikhoun, the former head of chemical warfare in the 5th Division of the Syrian army, Brigadier-General Zaher al-Sakat, who in 2013 defected from the regime, has stated that the regime has large amounts of chem

On the level of the world powers, the US attack demonstrated Trump's willingness to employ military force independently for the purpose of upholding international norms and enforcing previous resolutions, even after Russia and China vetoed a resolution in the Security Council in this regard.

After threatening Australia with a nuclear strike last week, North Korea has added yet another country to its target list – Israel.

This Update features material about recent developments in Israel's anti-missile defences - including both the implementation of "David's Sling", the third and final layer to Israel's missile defence system, and the first operational use of the Arrow long-range defence system a couple of weeks ago.

Once again, the world has woken up to another chemical weapons atrocity in Syria, with numerous heart-rending videos showing children gasping and struggling to breathe, if not killed outright. Early indications suggest that the attack likely involved sarin nerve gas.

Since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, Israel has maintained that it is not looking to intervene in favour of either side of the conflict.

The Nigerian Government this month declared the Iranian-sponsored Islamic Movement of Nigeria (IMN) a security threat. The Nigerian network is similar to other welfare systems established by Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups. It boasts more than 300 schools, Islamic centres, a newspaper, gua

Forging a coherent policy on Syria would tax any administration. One critical priority is defeating ISIS in a way that neither leaves a vacuum nor fosters deeper sectarian differences after liberating Raqqa.

On the surface, the wars in Syria and Iraq are continuing at full intensity. The fight between Iraqi government forces and Islamic State in western Mosul is proving a slow, hard slog... But while the tactical contests are continuing, the general direction of events in both the war against Islamic S

The civil war in Syria entered its seventh year on March 15. After six years that UN human rights chief Zeid Ra'ad al-Hussein described to the UN Human Rights Council as "the worst man-made disaster since World War II," encouraging news came from Astana, Kazakhstan, in mid-March.

Having reached the six-year anniversary, the death toll is now counted by the hundreds of thousands with a refugee crisis tallied in the millions. The catastrophe in Syria remains a dark stain on the soul of humanity that challenges previously held norms and assumptions.

On Feb. 17, Hamas elected Yahya Sinwar, a former Israeli prisoner who was released in the Gilad Shalit deal, as its new leader in Gaza. While largely unknown to the outside world due to his preference to shun the media, Sinwar, a senior member of Hamas' military wing, is considered one of the most

On Jan. 8, a Palestinian drove his truck into a group of Israeli soldiers getting off a bus on the Armon Hanatziv Boulevard in Jerusalem and then backed over them. He killed four soldiers and injured 15 others, some critically. The attacker was shot dead at the scene and the Palestinian Authority su

The direction of events in Syria raises a number of questions about the current diplomacy of the Syrian war which have potential implications far beyond Syria itself. These relate primarily to the intentions of Russia in the Syrian conflict, and also to the stance that the new US Administration will

Terrorism took a new twist in Israel last month with a number of the many bushfires that devastated areas of the country, including Haifa, allegedly having been started deliberately as terrorist acts - while Hamas and other Palestinian and Arab groups and individuals celebrated the effects online. A

Putin will use Aleppo's capture to damage US foreign policy. His intentions are already clear. After all, in English-news propaganda outlets such as RT, the Russians are proudly rejecting American demands that Sunni rebels be given safe passage out of Aleppo. It's Obama vs. Putin 101. Unwilling to p

With the Assad regime, and its Russian, Iranian and Hezbollah allies, making major in-roads into the rebel-head eastern district of Aleppo, it now looks like only a matter of time until the city falls to the regime. With US President-elect Trump having pledged to ignore the Syrian conflict and to se

With Ismail Haniyeh set to replace Khaled Mashaal as head of Hamas' political bureau in Qatar, reclusive Hamas official Imad al-Alami has reportedly been temporarily appointed to take over from Haniyeh in leading the terror group in Gaza. Born in Gaza, al-Alami lived for several years in Teheran an