Middle East

“The Israeli settlements are a presumptive war crime under the Rome Statute:” Will the UN listen to its own Rapporteurs?

( Middle East Monitor) – “The Israeli settlements are a presumptive war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and should be treated as such by the international community,” UN Special Rapporteurs, Michael Lynk and Balakrishan Rajagopal declared in a statement earlier this month. This goes a step further than the non-binding […]

Featured

“A Cruel, Ingenious Cage:” Israel’s Panopticon for Palestinians archives the Bodies of the Occupied

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Two breathtaking reports out on Monday underlined the vast and unprecedented Israeli electronic surveillance of an entire population — the some 3 million stateless Palestinians of the Occupied West Bank. Elizabeth Dwoskin of the Washington Post interviewed Israeli veterans from Breaking the Silence, who oppose the Israeli occupation of the […]

Cybercrime

The Cyberwar between Israel and Iran is Heating Up

Middle East Monitor

( Middle East Monitor ) – It is becoming clear that the cyberwar between Israel and Iran is heating up, although neither side has accepted responsibility for recent attacks. Things became even clearer when hundreds of thousands of Iranians found themselves unable to fill the fuel tanks in their vehicles due to a computer glitch […]

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American Legacy of Instability in Iraq continues as caretaker Prime Minister Narrowly avoids Assassination by Drone

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Al-Jazeera reports that Iraqi authorities on Sunday announced that Iraqi caretaker Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi escaped being assassinated by three drones loaded with explosives that targeted his residence in the Green Zone in the center of Baghdad around dawn. No group claimed responsibility for the attack, which damaged the prime […]

Israel/ Palestine

The Balfour Declaration: 104 years since the start of the Palestinian tragedy

Middle East Monitor

By Sayid Marcos Tenório | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The date of 2 November marks an event directly linked to the root of the conflict in Palestine and the suffering, deterritorialisation and apartheid experienced by its people. On this date in 1917, British Foreign Secretary James Balfour wrote a letter, known as […]

Saudi Arabia

As Saudis, Emirates enjoy Impunity, the UN needs to Create a New Yemen War Crimes Investigation

Human Rights Watch

By Louis Charbonneau | United Nations Director | – ( Human Rights Watch) – Last month, the Netherlands’ ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva said the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) had “failed the people of Yemen” by rejecting the renewal of an investigation into alleged human rights abuses and war crimes there. […]

Arab World

The Middle East is heating twice as Fast as the Rest of the World: How long will it be Habitable?

Middle East Monitor

By Nasim Ahmed | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – Alarm bells are ringing at the COP26 climate summit in Glasgow over the perilous fate of the planet. The threat of a “doomsday” scenario was echoed in the speeches of world leaders taking part, warning of the “existential threat to human existence”. The message […]

Featured

Sheikh Jarrah Palestinian Families Reject Israeli theft of their Homes, turning them into Renters

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The Israeli newspaper Arab 48 reports that Palestinian East Jerusalem families facing expulsion from their homes by Israeli squatters in the Sheikh Jarrah neighborhood have rejected the proposal of the Israeli Supreme Court to let them remain in their homes for some years, but without equity or recognition of their […]