Middle East

By Maher Al-Tabba | – (Middle East Monitor ) – The Palestinians in the Gaza Strip continue to suffer from the Israeli-led blockade imposed since 2007. Add to this Israel’s military offensives and frequent incursions and it is easy to see why the economic crisis is acute. The destruction of the infrastructure has affected all […]

Syria

Every day is war’ – a decade of slow suffering and destruction in Syria

The Conversation

By Ammar Azzouz | – Abduljalil sent me a photo of his ruined home in Homs, Syria. “It is the third floor”, he told me over WhatsApp. The building still stands but it looks like an empty skeleton. Most of its facade has been destroyed, while piles of debris surround it. Residents have not been […]

Featured

10 Years after the Outbreak of the Syrian Revolution, the US is Still Prolonging the Agony

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – On March 15, 2011, ten years ago this week, the first tiny demonstrations took place in Damascus in Syria. A larger protest, however, was staged in the town of Deraa south of the capital on March 18, from which most observers start the Syrian revolution. The first wave of protests, […]

Iran

Amid Nuclear Standoff, Who’s In The Running To Take The Reins In Iran?

Golnaz Esfandiari

(RFE/ RL ) – Iran will hold a presidential election in less than three months amid speculation that a hard-liner and a “military man” could succeed Hassan Rohani, who is serving his final term and is under heavy pressure from his hard-line opponents who have consolidated power in the Islamic republic. As with all elections […]

China

Not Waiting on Biden: China breaks US Iran Blockade, moves to import nearly 1 mn b/d of Ayatolllah’s Oil

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – China is dramatically ramping up its imports of petroleum from Iran this spring, going from a daily average of 300,000 barrels per day during the past year to 856,000 bpd. So reports Felicity Bradstock of Oilprice.com. The Biden administration has dragged its feet on negotiating a return to the 2015 […]

Israel/ Palestine

Increasing Israeli Squatter violence against Occupied Palestinians goes unchecked by the Israel Military

Middle East Monitor

By Kamel Hawwash | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – As I was reading an article headlined “Israel says 600 children given Covid jab had no serious side effects”, my twitter feed was filled with messages expressing outrage about a video of some other children: Palestinian children. This told a very different story. Palestinian […]

Featured

Israel has Detained 13,000 Palestinian Children since 2000 and just took 5 more

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Since the year 2000, the Israeli military in the Occupied Palestinian West Bank has “detained, interrogated, prosecuted, and imprisoned approximately 13,000 Palestinian children,” according to Defense for Children International. Nowadays Israel typically prosecutes between 500 and 700 children annually in military courts. Even though they are civilians and children, they […]

Israel/ Palestine

Biden is Reemphasizing Human Rights in Foreign Policy, Except for Palestinians

Ramona Wadi

( Middle East Monitor ) – Israel is reportedly concerned that US President Joe Biden will prioritise human rights over traditional allegiances in the Middle East. With a policy shift that departs from the Trump administration’s belligerence, Biden is attempting to bring Washington in line with the human rights rhetoric favoured within the international arena, […]

Democracy

Why Tunisians are still out on the streets — a decade after the Arab Spring

The Conversation

By Saerom Han, Andrea Teti, and Pamela Abbott | – It has been 10 years since nation-wide protests in Tunisia led to the ousting of Tunisian President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his regime. Ben Ali led Tunisia for 23 years. Tunisia’s “Dignity Revolution” marked the first time a long-standing Arab autocrat was removed […]