Informed Comment Homepage

Thoughts on the Middle East, History and Religion

Header Right

  • Featured
  • US politics
  • Middle East
  • Environment
  • US Foreign Policy
  • Energy
  • Economy
  • Politics
  • About
  • Archives
  • Submissions

© 2025 Informed Comment

  • Skip to content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Month
  • 2025
    • May 2025 (42)
    • April 2025 (91)
    • March 2025 (96)
    • February 2025 (86)
    • January 2025 (93)
  • 2024
    • December 2024 (93)
    • November 2024 (91)
    • October 2024 (94)
    • September 2024 (89)
    • August 2024 (94)
    • July 2024 (93)
    • June 2024 (90)
    • May 2024 (93)
    • April 2024 (90)
    • March 2024 (96)
    • February 2024 (90)
    • January 2024 (96)
  • 2023
    • December 2023 (95)
    • November 2023 (96)
    • October 2023 (96)
    • September 2023 (92)
    • August 2023 (113)
    • July 2023 (124)
    • June 2023 (121)
    • May 2023 (124)
    • April 2023 (122)
    • March 2023 (124)
    • February 2023 (112)
    • January 2023 (124)
  • 2022
    • December 2022 (124)
    • November 2022 (120)
    • October 2022 (123)
    • September 2022 (121)
    • August 2022 (124)
    • July 2022 (124)
    • June 2022 (119)
    • May 2022 (124)
    • April 2022 (120)
    • March 2022 (124)
    • February 2022 (112)
    • January 2022 (125)
  • 2021
    • December 2021 (120)
    • November 2021 (119)
    • October 2021 (124)
    • September 2021 (121)
    • August 2021 (126)
    • July 2021 (126)
    • June 2021 (121)
    • May 2021 (128)
    • April 2021 (121)
    • March 2021 (128)
    • February 2021 (112)
    • January 2021 (128)
  • 2020
    • December 2020 (125)
    • November 2020 (122)
    • October 2020 (128)
    • September 2020 (122)
    • August 2020 (125)
    • July 2020 (122)
    • June 2020 (124)
    • May 2020 (131)
    • April 2020 (126)
    • March 2020 (133)
    • February 2020 (120)
    • January 2020 (130)
  • 2019
    • December 2019 (122)
    • November 2019 (113)
    • October 2019 (119)
    • September 2019 (117)
    • August 2019 (101)
    • July 2019 (126)
    • June 2019 (122)
    • May 2019 (130)
    • April 2019 (118)
    • March 2019 (143)
    • February 2019 (130)
    • January 2019 (152)
  • 2018
    • December 2018 (160)
    • November 2018 (137)
    • October 2018 (154)
    • September 2018 (142)
    • August 2018 (147)
    • July 2018 (137)
    • June 2018 (132)
    • May 2018 (136)
    • April 2018 (133)
    • March 2018 (126)
    • February 2018 (116)
    • January 2018 (131)
  • 2017
    • December 2017 (132)
    • November 2017 (135)
    • October 2017 (146)
    • September 2017 (127)
    • August 2017 (130)
    • July 2017 (121)
    • June 2017 (125)
    • May 2017 (126)
    • April 2017 (127)
    • March 2017 (139)
    • February 2017 (135)
    • January 2017 (127)
  • 2016
    • December 2016 (124)
    • November 2016 (116)
    • October 2016 (115)
    • September 2016 (95)
    • August 2016 (66)
    • July 2016 (109)
    • June 2016 (114)
    • May 2016 (128)
    • April 2016 (157)
    • March 2016 (156)
    • February 2016 (162)
    • January 2016 (149)
  • 2015
    • December 2015 (153)
    • November 2015 (155)
    • October 2015 (147)
    • September 2015 (149)
    • August 2015 (153)
    • July 2015 (151)
    • June 2015 (152)
    • May 2015 (145)
    • April 2015 (148)
    • March 2015 (147)
    • February 2015 (136)
    • January 2015 (155)
  • 2014
    • December 2014 (157)
    • November 2014 (150)
    • October 2014 (138)
    • September 2014 (139)
    • August 2014 (151)
    • July 2014 (156)
    • June 2014 (146)
    • May 2014 (160)
    • April 2014 (146)
    • March 2014 (143)
    • February 2014 (122)
    • January 2014 (181)
  • 2013
    • December 2013 (166)
    • November 2013 (62)
    • October 2013 (62)
    • September 2013 (69)
    • August 2013 (76)
    • July 2013 (118)
    • June 2013 (109)
    • May 2013 (109)
    • April 2013 (85)
    • March 2013 (89)
    • February 2013 (70)
    • January 2013 (73)
  • 2012
    • December 2012 (96)
    • November 2012 (76)
    • October 2012 (92)
    • September 2012 (74)
    • August 2012 (66)
    • July 2012 (99)
    • June 2012 (77)
    • May 2012 (76)
    • April 2012 (98)
    • March 2012 (107)
    • February 2012 (93)
    • January 2012 (64)
  • 2011
    • December 2011 (60)
    • November 2011 (51)
    • October 2011 (41)
    • September 2011 (39)
    • August 2011 (42)
    • July 2011 (36)
    • June 2011 (49)
    • May 2011 (64)
    • April 2011 (62)
    • March 2011 (54)
    • February 2011 (52)
    • January 2011 (74)
  • 2010
    • December 2010 (79)
    • November 2010 (57)
    • October 2010 (65)
    • September 2010 (58)
    • August 2010 (56)
    • July 2010 (51)
    • June 2010 (59)
    • May 2010 (41)
    • April 2010 (48)
    • March 2010 (52)
    • February 2010 (51)
    • January 2010 (73)
  • 2009
    • December 2009 (65)
    • November 2009 (70)
    • October 2009 (49)
    • September 2009 (53)
    • August 2009 (60)
    • July 2009 (65)
    • June 2009 (78)
    • May 2009 (56)
    • April 2009 (52)
    • March 2009 (78)
    • February 2009 (46)
    • January 2009 (94)
  • 2008
    • December 2008 (84)
    • November 2008 (105)
    • October 2008 (75)
    • September 2008 (84)
    • August 2008 (84)
    • July 2008 (66)
    • June 2008 (62)
    • May 2008 (66)
    • April 2008 (47)
    • March 2008 (49)
    • February 2008 (43)
    • January 2008 (61)
  • 2007
    • December 2007 (63)
    • November 2007 (69)
    • October 2007 (67)
    • September 2007 (68)
    • August 2007 (95)
    • July 2007 (74)
    • June 2007 (59)
    • May 2007 (82)
    • April 2007 (56)
    • March 2007 (51)
    • February 2007 (50)
    • January 2007 (61)
  • 2006
    • December 2006 (49)
    • November 2006 (45)
    • October 2006 (55)
    • September 2006 (63)
    • August 2006 (94)
    • July 2006 (91)
    • June 2006 (72)
    • May 2006 (85)
    • April 2006 (69)
    • March 2006 (66)
    • February 2006 (53)
    • January 2006 (62)
  • 2005
    • December 2005 (60)
    • November 2005 (77)
    • October 2005 (76)
    • September 2005 (77)
    • August 2005 (86)
    • July 2005 (95)
    • June 2005 (85)
    • May 2005 (79)
    • April 2005 (76)
    • March 2005 (81)
    • February 2005 (69)
    • January 2005 (63)
  • 2004
    • December 2004 (80)
    • November 2004 (86)
    • October 2004 (77)
    • September 2004 (67)
    • August 2004 (99)
    • July 2004 (98)
    • June 2004 (102)
    • May 2004 (172)
    • April 2004 (114)
    • March 2004 (130)
    • February 2004 (131)
    • January 2004 (118)
  • 2003
    • December 2003 (128)
    • November 2003 (139)
    • October 2003 (166)
    • September 2003 (134)
    • August 2003 (36)
    • July 2003 (33)
    • June 2003 (29)
    • May 2003 (34)
    • April 2003 (31)
    • March 2003 (25)
    • February 2003 (25)
    • January 2003 (32)
  • 2002
    • December 2002 (16)
    • November 2002 (19)
    • October 2002 (30)
    • September 2002 (29)
    • August 2002 (17)
    • July 2002 (15)
    • June 2002 (4)
    • May 2002 (3)
    • April 2002 (8)
Category
  • Africa (253)
    • Cameroon (3)
    • Djibouti (4)
    • Eritrea (5)
    • Ethiopia (19)
    • Kenya (8)
    • Namibia (2)
    • Niger (1)
    • Nigeria (19)
    • Senegal (2)
    • Somalia (17)
    • South Africa (32)
    • South Sudan (8)
    • Sudan (73)
    • Tanzania (4)
    • Uganda (1)
    • Zimbabwe (1)
  • Asia (1,256)
    • Central Asia (15)
      • Kazakhstan (1)
    • East Asia (343)
      • China (299)
        • Hong Kong (2)
      • Japan (28)
      • North Korea (24)
      • South Korea (10)
      • Taiwan (10)
    • South Asia (871)
      • Afghanistan (595)
        • Taliban (294)
      • Bangladesh (22)
      • India (113)
      • Nepal (3)
      • Pakistan (222)
        • Bilawal Bhutto Zardari (1)
        • FATA (31)
        • Haqqani Network (14)
        • Nawaz Sharif (8)
        • Pakistan People's Party (3)
        • Zardari (2)
    • Southeast Asia (59)
      • Cambodia (1)
      • Indonesia (4)
      • Malaysia (1)
      • Myanmar (40)
      • Philippines (2)
      • Singapore (1)
      • Thailand (3)
      • Vietnam (6)
  • Australasia (36)
    • Australia (28)
    • First Nations (2)
    • New Zealand (4)
    • South Pacific (2)
  • Authoritarianism (391)
  • Canada (8)
  • Culture (566)
    • art and photography (74)
    • Books (73)
      • Short Stories (1)
      • The New Arabs (4)
    • Dance (3)
    • Entertainment (95)
      • Humor (48)
        • Cartoon (7)
      • Sports (20)
        • Golf (2)
      • Video Games (1)
    • Fiction (2)
    • fiction (7)
      • Comic Books (1)
      • Fall of the New Year Throne (1)
      • Flash Fiction (1)
    • film (65)
    • Graphic Novel (17)
      • Shamash (5)
    • Languages (2)
    • leisure (22)
      • Intoxicants (3)
      • Sports (3)
    • Modernism (3)
    • Music (56)
      • Hip-Hop (3)
    • Philosophy (7)
    • poetry (184)
      • Omar Khayyam (154)
    • Popular Culture (17)
      • Comic Books (2)
    • Popular Culture (24)
      • Comic Books (1)
      • Zombies (4)
    • Science Fiction (14)
    • Television (7)
  • Economy (1,070)
    • Agriculture (3)
    • Banking (67)
    • Boycotts (1)
    • Carbon Footprint (6)
    • Corporations (55)
    • Cryptocurrency (2)
    • Debt (21)
    • Degrowth (1)
    • Democratic Socialism (20)
    • Demographic Decline (1)
    • Development (26)
    • Downward Mobility (1)
    • Employment (118)
    • Food Insecurity (21)
    • Homelessness (16)
    • Industry (5)
    • Inequality (426)
    • Inflation (5)
    • infrastructure (10)
    • Insurance (1)
    • Investment (93)
    • Market Crash (12)
    • Middle Class (61)
    • Monopolies (8)
    • Neoliberalism (204)
    • Plutocracy (632)
    • Poverty (209)
    • Poverty (16)
    • Regulation (3)
    • Retirement (1)
    • Sanctions (5)
    • Tariffs (4)
    • Taxes (37)
    • Technology (3)
      • Artificial Intelligence (2)
      • Autonomous Weapons (2)
    • Trade (118)
    • Weapons sales (7)
  • Education (190)
    • Academic Freedom (12)
    • Anti-intellectualism (34)
    • Universities (130)
      • Students (36)
  • Energy (1,756)
    • Batteries (53)
    • Coal (140)
    • Electricity Cost (2)
    • Fossil Fuels (329)
    • Fracking (50)
    • Geothermal (7)
    • Green ammonia (5)
    • Green Energy (423)
    • Green Hydrogen (8)
    • Heat Pumps (6)
    • Hydroelectric (1)
    • Hydroelectric (15)
    • Mining (1)
    • Natural Gas (107)
    • Nuclear Energy (160)
    • Petroleum (303)
    • Power Grid (12)
    • Pumped Hydro (6)
    • Solar Energy (422)
    • Tar Sands (13)
    • Wave Energy (9)
    • wind energy (347)
  • Environment (2,722)
    • Climate Change (1,666)
      • Acidification of Oceans (54)
      • Agriculture (26)
      • Biodiversity (14)
      • Climate Refugees (4)
      • CO2 (128)
      • Dehydration (5)
      • Denialism (149)
      • Desalinization (4)
      • Desertification (161)
      • Divestment (2)
      • Dust Storms (6)
      • Environmental Investment (1)
      • Extreme Heat (398)
      • Extreme Weather (298)
      • Flooding (138)
      • Food Supply (3)
      • Forests (18)
      • Green New Deal (41)
      • Green Recycling (2)
      • Greenwashing (3)
      • Mass Extinction (62)
      • Methane (20)
      • Net Carbon Zerio (8)
      • Nitrous Oxide (2)
      • Rainforests (19)
      • Rivers (12)
      • Sea Level (338)
      • Soil Carbon Release (14)
      • Super Storms (265)
      • wildfires (241)
      • Wood Buildings (1)
    • Climate Crisis (1,354)
      • Green Steel (2)
      • Seas (1)
    • Drought (296)
    • Ecology (2)
    • Ecology (12)
    • Environmentalism (393)
    • Green Transportation (256)
    • Ice Melt (139)
      • Antarctica (18)
      • Arctic (23)
    • Invasive Species (2)
    • Islands (1)
    • Oceans (103)
    • Oil Spills (8)
    • Pollution (234)
      • plastic (31)
    • Water (97)
    • wildlife (22)
  • Europe (1,386)
    • Eastern Europe (766)
      • Balkans (8)
      • Hungary (4)
      • Russia (736)
        • Chechnya (5)
      • Ukraine (343)
    • Eurasia (35)
      • Armenia (12)
      • Azerbaijan (9)
      • Shanghai Cooperation Council (11)
      • Shanhai Cooperation Council (1)
      • Tajikistan (3)
    • European Union (558)
      • Austria (2)
      • Belgium (12)
      • Denmark (4)
      • France (112)
      • Germany (186)
      • Greece (14)
      • Ireland (18)
        • Celtic Religion (1)
      • Italy (11)
      • Netherlands (12)
      • Poland (4)
      • Portugal (3)
      • Scotland (8)
      • Spain (25)
      • Sweden (13)
    • Norway (9)
    • United Kingdom (137)
      • Scotland (5)
  • Featured (4,262)
  • Haiti (1)
  • Health (710)
    • Addiction (7)
    • Anti-Vaccination (11)
    • Dehydration (1)
    • Disabilities (1)
    • Drugs (8)
    • Elderly (4)
    • Elderly (8)
    • Epidemics (394)
    • Food (14)
    • Food Security (67)
    • Health Care (447)
      • Heath Research (1)
    • Maternal Health (5)
    • Mental Health (69)
    • Pharmaceuticals (17)
    • Psychology (11)
    • Social Safety Net (56)
    • Well-being (2)
  • History (363)
    • Archaeology (51)
    • Cold War (23)
    • Colonialism (132)
    • Ottoman Empire (23)
    • slavery (16)
  • Human Rights (1,633)
    • Apartheid (263)
    • censorship (323)
    • Death Penalty (30)
    • Disappeared (4)
    • Displaced and Refugees (581)
    • Food Insecurity (30)
    • Gay rights (29)
    • Genocide (66)
    • Human Rights Watch (91)
    • Indigenous Rights (1)
    • Migrants (4)
    • privacy (21)
    • Rights (90)
      • Gay Rights (3)
      • Privacy (14)
      • Torturers (30)
    • Slavery and Trafficking (16)
    • Starvation (4)
    • Torture (102)
    • Trans Rights (3)
    • Transgender Rights (4)
    • Unlawful Imprisonment (109)
    • Unlwful Killing (81)
    • War Crimes (423)
    • War Rape (9)
  • International Politics and Economy (2,126)
    • Arms Sales (73)
    • BRICS (3)
    • Corruption (268)
    • Crime (132)
      • Cybercrime (5)
      • Drugs (13)
      • Piracy (2)
      • Rape (8)
      • Sexual Assault (2)
    • Democracy (336)
      • Elections (190)
    • Dissent (449)
    • Domestic Terrorism (15)
    • Drones (113)
    • G20 (1)
    • Guns (9)
    • Hacking (8)
    • Immigration (21)
    • Immigration (4)
    • Islamophobia (383)
    • Migrants (2)
    • military (125)
    • nationalism (117)
    • NATO (37)
    • Neocolonialism (1)
    • Peace (144)
      • Nonviolence (70)
    • Policing (2)
    • Politics (309)
      • Far Right (154)
      • Left Politics (83)
    • Politics&Culture (21)
    • Propaganda (13)
    • Smuggling (1)
  • Juan Cole (270)
  • Latin America (102)
    • Bolivia (1)
    • Brazil (22)
    • Caribbean (3)
    • Central America (3)
    • Costa Rica (1)
    • Cuba (5)
    • Mexico (10)
    • Nicaragua (1)
    • Venezuela (9)
  • media (487)
    • Internet (190)
      • social media (147)
    • journalism (292)
      • Political Cartoons (2)
    • television (45)
  • Middle East (10,043)
    • Arab World (5,311)
      • Algeria (19)
      • Arab League (2)
      • Arab Spring (97)
      • Bahrain (63)
      • Egypt (509)
      • GCC (65)
      • Gulf (44)
      • Iraq (1,927)
        • Iraq War (308)
      • Jordan (32)
      • Kuwait (26)
      • Lebanon (182)
        • Hizbullah (73)
      • Libya (226)
        • Gaddafi (2)
      • Morocco (24)
      • Palestine (490)
        • Hamas (13)
      • Qatar (87)
      • Saudi Arabia (693)
      • Sudan (14)
      • Syria (1,206)
        • Bashar al-Assad (167)
        • Free Syrian Army (104)
        • Hayat Tahrir (5)
      • Tunisia (121)
      • UAE (151)
      • Yemen (455)
        • Houthi (139)
        • Saleh (41)
    • Iran (1,359)
      • Persian mythology (1)
    • Israel (956)
      • Haredim (83)
      • Israel Lobby (95)
      • Kahanists (15)
      • Mizrahim (23)
      • Palestinian-Israelis (71)
    • Israel/ Palestine (3,666)
      • BDS (23)
      • BDS Occupied Territories (42)
      • Gaza (5)
    • Israel/Palestine (9)
    • Kurds (294)
    • Red Sea (1)
    • Turkey (601)
    • Turkiye (128)
  • Patriarchy (10)
  • racism (473)
  • religion (1,520)
    • Ancient Greek Religion (1)
    • Buddhism (25)
    • Christianity (223)
      • Assyrians (13)
      • Chaldeans (12)
      • Copts (11)
      • Dominionism (4)
      • Evangelicals (31)
      • Papacy (31)
      • Protestants (13)
      • Roman Catholicism (30)
    • Cults (7)
    • Eastern Orthodox (13)
    • Fundamentalism (33)
    • Hindu Nationalism (7)
    • Hinduism (5)
      • Hindu Nationalism (2)
    • Islam (793)
      • Fundamentalism (2)
      • Islamic History (70)
        • Inscriptions (7)
      • Nation of Islam (1)
      • political Islam (268)
        • Muslim Brotherhood (29)
      • Qur'an (99)
      • Shiites (276)
        • Alawites (8)
        • Alevis (2)
        • Druze (6)
        • Ismailis (3)
        • Zaidis (20)
      • Sufism (26)
      • Sunnis (202)
        • Salafis (72)
      • Wahhabis (35)
    • Jewish History (81)
      • Holocaust (22)
    • Judaism (164)
      • Anti-Zionism (11)
      • Antisemitism (52)
    • Millenarianism (4)
    • Sikhism (1)
    • Western Religion (452)
      • American Jews (21)
      • Christan Nationalists (3)
      • Christians (75)
        • Fundamentalists (55)
      • Islam-hatred (230)
      • Muslim-Americans (242)
      • Roman Catholics (7)
      • US Buddhism (2)
      • Western Jews (53)
        • Antisemitism (23)
        • Zionism (25)
      • Western Muslims (79)
    • Yezidis (18)
    • Zoroastrianism (3)
  • robots (3)
  • Romance (1)
  • science (176)
    • Animals (3)
      • Cats (1)
    • anti-science (1)
    • Artificial Intelligence (16)
      • Robots (4)
    • astronomy and outer space (32)
    • Autonomous Weapons (5)
    • Evolution (9)
    • Mass Extinction (3)
    • Mathematics (1)
    • Natural Disasters (13)
    • Nature (2)
    • Planetary Exploration (2)
    • Space Flight (5)
    • Technology (30)
      • Domestic drones (3)
  • Secular (West) (9)
  • Secularism (30)
  • Spirituality (22)
    • Meditation (1)
    • Sufism (9)
  • Statelessness (15)
  • Stranded Assets (1)
  • Surveillance (280)
    • Corporate Surveillance (20)
    • Domestic Surveillance (174)
    • Government surveillance (239)
  • Terrorism (1,096)
    • al Qaeda in the Arabian Penisula (40)
    • al-Qaeda (197)
    • Al-Shabab (2)
    • Boko Haram (10)
    • Counter-Terrorism (79)
    • Far Right (32)
    • Irgun (2)
    • Islamic Jihad (2)
    • Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (630)
    • Israeli Squatters (34)
    • Jabhat al-Nusra (92)
    • osama bin laden (1)
    • Pakistan Taliban (52)
    • PKK (3)
  • Tolerance (6)
  • Uncategorized (8,082)
  • United Nations (178)
    • International Court of Justice (28)
    • International Criminal Court (44)
    • UNRWA (4)
    • World Bank (1)
  • Urbanization (4)
  • US Foreign Policy (1,381)
  • US politics (5,499)
    • Anti-War Movement (13)
    • Campaign Finance (31)
    • Censors (22)
    • Central Intelligence Agency (63)
    • Charity (1)
    • Civil Rights (96)
    • Congress (80)
    • Conspiracy Theories (24)
    • Constitution (412)
      • Bill of Rights (227)
    • Courts (15)
    • crime (12)
      • rape (4)
    • Democratic Party (976)
      • Barack Obama (229)
      • Bernie Sanders (111)
      • Elizabeth Warren (11)
      • Hillary Clinton (78)
      • Jennifer Granholm (1)
      • Joe Biden (431)
      • John Kerry (4)
      • Kamala Harris (23)
      • Obama (4)
      • Pete Buttigieg (1)
    • Democratic Socialists of America (22)
    • Domestic Terrorism (20)
    • Drone Warfare (27)
    • Espionage (124)
      • CIA (52)
      • National Security Agency (62)
      • ODNI (1)
    • Ethnicities (393)
      • African-Americans (247)
      • Arab Americans (98)
      • Asian-Americans (26)
      • Iranian-Americans (19)
      • Latinos (4)
      • Latinos (81)
    • Far Right (399)
      • Steve Bannon (59)
    • FBI (48)
    • Federal Government (1)
    • Foreign Policy (204)
    • Gay Rights (17)
    • Guns (97)
    • Immigration (253)
    • Israel Lobbies (130)
    • Marijuana (4)
    • Militarization (274)
    • National Security State (477)
    • Native Americans (41)
    • Nuclear arsenal (7)
    • penitentiaries (6)
    • Pentagon (577)
    • Police (43)
    • prison reform (10)
    • Private Prisons (3)
    • Progressive Politics (13)
    • Puerto Rico (30)
    • Religious Right (15)
    • Reproductive Choice (69)
    • Republican Party (3,094)
      • Bush (101)
        • Richard Bruce Cheney (54)
      • Donald Trump (2,221)
        • QAnon (15)
      • Neoconservatives (13)
      • Ron DeSantis (11)
    • Supreme Court (133)
    • Voter suppression (36)
    • Whistleblowers (7)
    • Xenophobia (9)
  • Veterans (35)
  • Voting Rights (16)
  • War (622)
    • Chemical Weapons (13)
    • Cyber Warfare (1)
    • Nuclear weapons (22)
    • nuclear weapons (106)
  • White Supremacists (238)
  • wikileaks (8)
  • women (568)
    • Feminism (220)
    • Sexual Abuse (15)
  • workers (234)
    • unions (27)
  • Writing (5)
  • Youth (217)
    • Children (83)
      • child labor (2)

International Politics and Economy

Apartheid
Security Zones Being Used to Further Expand West Bank Settlements

Security Zones Being Used to Further Expand West Bank Settlements

contributors

By IMEMC | – – “Land confiscated from Palestinians for the purpose of security buffer zones around illegal Israeli settlements in the West Bank is actually being utilized as “land reserves or for agriculture,” according to an investigation by Israeli newspaper Haaretz.” The buffer zones were originally created during the Second Intifada [Palestinian Uprising] reportedly […]

Children
Child Labor: A Hidden Atrocity of the Syrian Crisis

Child Labor: A Hidden Atrocity of the Syrian Crisis

contributors

By Kanya D’Almeida UNITED NATIONS, Jul 3 2015 (IPS) – In a conflict that has claimed over 220,000 lives and injured a further 840,000 people as of January 2015, it is sometimes hard to see beyond the death toll. What started as a confrontation between pro-democracy activists and the entrenched dictatorship of President Bashar al-Assad […]

Civil Rights
Your Fourth of July and My Fourth of July

Your Fourth of July and My Fourth of July

Juan Cole

Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Revised for the 2010s: Your Fourth of July is invasions and wars. My Fourth of July is the pure sunbeam of peace. Yours is the Confederate flag and nostalgia for the hierarchies of slavery. Mine is ‘all men are created equal.’ Yours is kowtowing to billionaires in […]

Corruption
Iraq's Displaced People are Selling Body Parts For Food

Iraq’s Displaced People are Selling Body Parts For Food

contributors

Niqash.org | Sulaymaniyah | – – “Authorities in Iraqi Kurdistan suspect that displaced people are selling their kidneys to feed their families. Problem is, they don’t know how to stop it because there’s nothing illegal about donating a kidney.” The flood of internally displaced people into the semi-autonomous northern region of Iraqi Kurdistan is not […]

Apartheid
Israelis Detain, expel Former Pres. of Tunisia from Gaza Aid Flotilla; he vows to return

Israelis Detain, expel Former Pres. of Tunisia from Gaza Aid Flotilla; he vows to return

contributors

By IMEMC | – – Israeli occupation authorities deported to France, late on Monday, former Tunisian president Moncef al-Marzouqi, who took part in Freedom Flotilla III. After intercepting and towing the Gaza bound ship, the Israeli occupation detained, investigated, released and deported participants, including Israeli Arab MK Basel Ghattas and former Tunisian President Moncef al-Marzouqi. […]

Authoritarianism
2 Years after Coup, will Assassination of Egypt's Att'y General be Pretext for More Repression?

2 Years after Coup, will Assassination of Egypt’s Att’y General be Pretext for More Repression?

contributors

By MariaGloria Polimeno | (The Conversation) | – – Hisham Barakat, Egypt’s most senior prosecutor, has been killed by a car bomb that hit his motorcade in Cairo. The attack came just a month after Islamic State (IS) urged its followers to attack Egypt’s judges and its “deep state” in revenge for their jailing scores […]

Colonialism
Michael Oren, Neo-Orientalism and the Ghost of Edward Said

Michael Oren, Neo-Orientalism and the Ghost of Edward Said

contributors

By Daniel Brumberg | (Informed Comment) | – – Poor Edward Said cannot rest in peace. Twelve years after he passed away from cancer, his ghost apparently haunts the State Department, Pentagon and even the White House. This, at any rate, is the argument that informs the grim diagnoses of Obama “Muslim World” policies offered […]

Featured
The Great Wall of Turkey? Ankara imagines DMZ w/ Kurds, ISIL

The Great Wall of Turkey? Ankara imagines DMZ w/ Kurds, ISIL

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – So I am going to tell you a story about Turkey, Syria and the United States. It may or may not be true. Its details may or may not have happened, though there is reason to think they did. It is a story. The point is […]

Arab Spring
Tunisians fight back

Tunisians fight back

contributors

By Christine Petré | Your Middle East | – – In an interview with Swedish radio I was asked if there is any support for these radical Islamist ideals among people in Tunisia, and I could honestly respond with a blank no. Tunisians are in all possible ways defying the terrorist attack on Friday, which […]

  • « Previous Page
  • Page 1
  • …
  • Page 160
  • Page 161
  • Page 162
  • Page 163
  • Page 164
  • …
  • Page 237
  • Next Page »

Primary Sidebar

Support Independent Journalism

Click here to donate via PayPal.

Personal checks should be made out to Juan Cole and sent to me at:

Juan Cole
P. O. Box 4218,
Ann Arbor, MI 48104-2548
USA
(Remember, make the checks out to “Juan Cole” or they can’t be cashed)

STAY INFORMED

Join our newsletter to have sharp analysis delivered to your inbox every day.
Warning! Social media will not reliably deliver Informed Comment to you. They are shadowbanning news sites, especially if "controversial."
To see new IC posts, please sign up for our email Newsletter.

Social Media

Bluesky | Instagram

Popular

  • Are Cyberattacks and Iran's Port Explosion the First Salvo in Disrupting U.S.-Iran Nuclear Talks?
  • Trump, the Suez Canal, and the end of Eisenhower's World Order
  • My Palestine: An Impossible Exile
  • Rümeysa Öztürk freed, as Judge Warns of Grave Threat to Free Speech
  • When Politics Leaves Reality Behind

Gaza Yet Stands


Juan Cole's New Ebook at Amazon. Click Here to Buy
__________________________

Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires



Click here to Buy Muhammad: Prophet of Peace amid the Clash of Empires.

The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam


Click here to Buy The Rubaiyat.
Sign up for our newsletter

Informed Comment © 2025 All Rights Reserved