Middle East

International Pressure on Israel averted Widespread Gaza Famine this Summer, but the Danger is Back: RI

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Refugees International has issued a new report about hunger in Gaza. The authors say, “Contrary to the official Israeli pushback, research and analysis by Refugees International has corroborated evidence of a severe hunger crisis in Gaza and found consistent indications that famine-like conditions occurred in northern areas during the first […]

Israel/ Palestine

Time to End Business as Usual in Unlawful West Bank Settlements

Human Rights Watch

By Bill Van Esveld Associate Director, MENA, Children’s Rights Division ( Human Rights Watch ) – The United Nations’ core human rights agency is mandated to produce a database, updated annually, of businesses involved in Israel’s unlawful policy of establishing Jewish settlements in the occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem. So far, this has been […]

Featured

Eugene Rogan’s The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Making of the Modern Middle East

Marc Martorell Junyent

Review of Eugene Rogan, “The Damascus Events: The 1860 Massacre and the Making of the Modern Middle East” (New York: Basic Books, 2024). Munich, Germany (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) –– How did Ottoman Damascus descend into violence and looting in July 1860? Why did the Damascene masses fall upon the Christians, leaving around 5,000 […]

Israel/ Palestine

Protesting Israel’s targeted destruction of all Schools and Universities in Gaza

Committee on Academic Freedom

Middle East Studies Association Board | Committee on Academic Freedom | – Dear President Biden, Vice-President Harris, Secretary of State Blinken, and Secretary of Defense Austin, We write to you on behalf of the Committee on Academic Freedom (CAF) and the Board of Directors of the Middle East Studies Association of North America (MESA) to […]

Featured

Woman, Life, Freedom: Rachel, Shireen, Mahsa and Ayşenur

Fariba Amini

Newark, Del. (Special to Informed Comment; Feature) – A few days before the invasion of Iraq by American forces under G.W. Bush, on March 16, 2003, a young woman from Seattle, Washington, who had gone to Rafah, in Gaza to help Palestinians halt the demolition of homes died under the bulldozer of the Israeli army. […]

Sudan

Sudan is Burning and Foreign Powers are Benefiting – what’s in it for the United Arab Emirates?

The Conversation

By May Darwich, University of Birmingham | – (The Conversation) – The United Nations has accused foreign players of prolonging the war in Sudan, making it harder for the country to find peace. The fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces started in April 2023. It was sparked by two generals […]

Israel/ Palestine

The Life and Legacy of Turkish-American activist Aysenur Ezgi Eygi: A Beacon of Hope for Palestine

Middle East Monitor

By Elif Selin Calik | – ( Middle East Monitor ) – The world of activism was shaken by the tragic news of Aysenur Ezgi Eygi’s death at the hands of Israeli forces in the West Bank. Her demise has sparked a renewed conversation about the Occupation of Palestine, the struggles of the Palestinian people, […]

Afghanistan

The Morass of U.S. Middle East Policy was visible in the Harris-Trump Debate

Juan Cole

ABC provided a transcript of the debate between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. I have some thoughts on the Middle East dimension: On Gaza, Harris said, “Well, let’s understand how we got here. On Oct. 7, Hamas, a terrorist organization, slaughtered 1,200 Israelis. Many of them young people who were simply attending a concert. Women […]

International Criminal Court

ICC judges to decide on Arrest Warrants for Israeli and Hamas Leaders: a legal Breakdown

The Conversation

By Avidan Kent, University of East Anglia | — (The Conversation) – The prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC), Karim Khan, has been a prominent figure in the news in recent years. In 2023, he requested – and was granted – a warrant for the arrest of Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin. He then dived […]