Middle East

Belgrade (Special to Informed Comment) – When the George W. Bush administration launched the invasion of Iraq in 2003, many believed the campaign’s main goal was to gain control of the country’s oil. Almost two decades later, most U.S. oil corporations have exited Iraq and the last major, ExxonMobil, appears to be on the way […]

Israel/ Palestine

In Disappointment, even the Israeli Left voted for Racist Palestinian Family Separation Law

Asa Winstanley

( Middle East Monitor ) – This week, Israel’s Parliament the Knesset failed to pass an extension to Israel’s racist marriage law. The law bars the spouses of Palestinian citizens of Israel from receiving citizenship. This means that Palestinians from Haifa, Acre or Jaffa are effectively banned from marrying Palestinians from the West Bank and […]

Featured

UN Human Rights Special Rapporteur on Palestine slams Israeli Squatter-Settlements as ‘War Crime,’ Urges Practical Punishment

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Canadian academic and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the Palestinian Territory occupied since 1967, Michael Lynk, made waves on Friday. Lynk asked the nations of the world to classify the Israeli government practice of sponsoring Israeli squatters on Palestinian-owned land on the Occupied Palestinian […]

Featured

Israeli Supreme Court affirms Apartheid law limiting Sovereignty to Jewish Israelis, excluding 20% of Population

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports in an article edited by Mahmud Mujadalah that the Israeli Supreme Court on Thursday refused to strike down the basic law passed by the parliament or Knesset in 2018 declaring Israel a Jewish nation such that sovereignty is solely invested in the Jewish population. […]

Petroleum

Does the end of Bromance between Saudi’s Bin Salman and UAE’s Bin Zayed mean Breakup of OPEC?

Omar Ahmed

( Middle East Monitor ) – The disagreement between the UAE and Saudi Arabia over a proposed deal by OPEC+ to increase oil production is the latest sign that the close relations between the two Gulf states, and in particular those of their respective de facto rulers, are turning into a bitter rivalry. The Saudi-led […]

Human Rights

‘A pandemic of impunity in a tortured land’: Stalemate in Yemen War Worsens Human Rights Crisis

Global Voices

By Saoussen Ben Cheikh | – (GlobalVoices.org ) – The latest peace talks in Oman fell apart apart, and for Yemenis, that means going back to square one. Escalations in Marib have worsened the dire humanitarian situation and the suffering of civilians in a conflict that has entered its sixth year. An activist speaking to […]

Climate Crisis

Ship Explosion Rocks Dubai, Mideast’s Largest Commercial Zone, Possibly as a Result of Extreme Heat

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Alarabiya reports from Dubai on the massive explosion on the deck of a ship that was coming in to dock at the Jebel Ali port there, which could be heard for miles and shook the city’s skyscrapers. Since the explosion was on the ship, it appears not to have done […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Squatters stole Palestinian Land for an Illegal Settlement, but Plucky town of Beita isn’t Taking it Lying Down

Middle East Monitor

Beita is an icon of the popular Palestinian resistance ( Middle East Monitor ) – The town of Beita has turned into an icon of the popular resistance in occupied Palestine. It appears to have channelled the spirit of the Jerusalem uprising during the day and the harsh activities of Gaza at night, in harmony […]