Middle East

Washington (AFP) – The United States said Friday that it had canceled more than $200 million in aid for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, leading their ambassador to accuse President Donald Trump’s administration of being “anti-peace.” A senior State Department official said the decision, made “at the direction of the president,” […]

Israel/ Palestine

Gaza is Running out of Fuel, Medicine: UN

AFP

United Nations (United States) (AFP) – The United Nations has run out of funding to pay for fuel needed for hospitals, water plants and other critical facilities in the Gaza Strip, the UN political chief said Wednesday. Rosemary Di Carlo also told the Security Council that recent violent escalations between Israel and Palestinian militants “threatened […]

Israel/ Palestine

It Took Me Three Decades to Drive One Hour from Gaza to Jerusalem

Human Rights Watch

By Abier Almasri | – Traveling Under Occupation Almost Impossible for Palestinians Locked Inside Gaza Earlier this year, the Israeli army gave me a permit to leave the 11-by-40 kilometer Gaza Strip for the first time in my life and travel to the United States for work. Last month, I left again – this time, […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel to Build 1,000 More Squatter Units on Usurped Palestinian Land

AFP

Jerusalem (AFP) – Israeli authorities on Wednesday approved plans for more than 1,000 settlement homes in the occupied West Bank, the Peace Now NGO said, the latest in a raft of approvals since US President Donald Trump took office. The plans for 1,004 homes approved by a defence ministry committee are at various stages in […]

Iran

Trump Iran Sanctions Knee-Cap Baghdad’s Recovery from ISIL Catastrophe

Middle East Monitor

(Middle East Monitor) – The Iraqi government is worried about US sanctions imposed on Iran, which seem to have a negative impact on the Iraqi economy too. There is currently political unrest in Iraq, as the protests calling for economic reforms have restarted. Baghdad declared that it would ask Washington to exempt Tehran from the […]

Saudi Arabia

For 1st Time, Saudis Seek Death Penalty for Woman Shiite Activist

Human Rights Watch

First Woman Facing Execution in Trials of Shia Protesters

Featured

Trump’s Remark that Israeli PM will be ‘Mohammed’ ignores how Apartheid Works

Juan Cole

In a conversation earlier this summer with Jordan’s King Abdullah II, the king told Trump about the possibility of a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian struggle, which Abdullah said younger Palestinians increasingly favor. Trump is said by French and other diplomats present to have replied, “what you say makes sense. [In a one-state scenario,] the […]

Iraq

Are Iraqis Dumping Sunni-Shiite Politics as they Demand Services, End of Corruption?

Seyed Ali Alavi

London (OpenDemocracy.net) – In the absence of civil war, the people of Iraq have found an opportunity to demand that the political elite deliver on their election campaign promises. While Iraq is in the grip of a breathtaking summer heat-wave, the odor of dissatisfaction rose in the major southern cities of Basra, Najaf and Karbala […]

Turkey

Turkey’s Economy has been Gliding for 16 Years but is it about to Crash?

The Conversation

By Can Erbil and Umit Ozlale | – If you happen to be a tourist in Turkey right now, consider yourself lucky. Otherwise, things look grim. The Turkish lira has lost as much as a third of its value relative to the U.S. dollar in less than a month and recently hit a record low. […]