Middle East

By Motasem A Dalloul | @abujomaaGaza | – ( Middle East Monitor )- On Saturday, it was revealed that Israeli media are reporting fake news in order to market Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s annexation plan to the Palestinians. Such reports have been published by leading media outlets, including Yedioth Ahronoth, one of Israel’s bestselling newspapers. […]

Banking

Once the “Paris of the Middle East,” Lebanon’s Financial and Health Crises are Tearing it Apart

Jamal Dillman-Hasso

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Lebanon may have survived its bubbles and wars decades ago, but the combination of economic crisis and the coronavirus may have put it in a serious position once again. During the pandemic, Lebanon’s once-vibrant tourist industry is moribund (some two million visited the country of four million in 2019), and […]

Donald Trump

Another Screw-Up: Iraq announces Gradual US Troop Withdrawal, in Aftermath of Trump’s Strike on Local Generals

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On Thursday, the new Iraqi government of Mustafa al-Kadhimi concluded its first security review with its US partner, according to Arwa Ibrahim at Al Jazeera. They issued a joint statement saying, “”In light of significant progress towards eliminating the ISIS [or ISIL] threat, over the coming months the US would […]

Featured

In Major Blow to Far Right Netanyahu Gov’t, Int’l Court of Human Rights Upholds right to Boycott Israel

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Far Right Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s plan to steal 1/3 of the Palestinian West Bank is likely unstoppable, but a handful of institutions that still believe in an international rule of law have stepped in, in recent days, in an attempt to forestall it. Israel’s military occupation of the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israelis made the “Peace Process” a long Funeral for Palestinian Rights; Are They Finally Burying the Body?

Middle East Monitor

By Hossam Shaker | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – As the date for Israel’s planned annexation of Palestinian lands draws closer, Israeli circles have expressed growing concern about the consequences of the move. The concerns do not stem from the fact annexation violates international law or that it overturns the obligations of an […]

Israel

New Crusades? Conflict over Jerusalem is Heating up between Turkey and the budding Israeli-Saudi Bloc

Ahmed al-Burai

( Middle East Monitor) – Back in 2017, two Israeli advisors to the Jerusalem Municipality, David Koren and Ben Avrahami, shared their concerns about Turkey’s increasingly visible role in the Holy City. These two figures oversee all of the municipality’s interactions with Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem. They are fully aware of the fine details […]

Donald Trump

Chump: Before Trump fell for Antifa Conspiracy Theory, He Fell for Saudi Blockade of US Ally Qatar

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Trump produced widespread disgust on Tuesday by accusing a 75-year-old peace activist in Buffalo New York who was put in the emergency room by police of being an Antifa plant. It is a lie. The man is part of the pacifist Catholic Worker movement, there is no Antifa (anti-Fascist) organization […]

Libya

Libya: Is the Russia-Turkey Conflict Heightening over Oil-Rich Sirte?

Nikola Mikovic

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – The Libya’s civil war intensifies as Russia and Turkey are expected to negotiate the fate of strategically important coastal city of Sirte. The control of the oil rich province, as well as Jufra airbase, seems to be a top priority for both, Moscow and Ankara. Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip […]