Middle East

By Sandy Tolan | – Los Angeles ( Tomdispatch.com) – When I first traveled to Israel-Palestine in 1994, during the heady early days of the Oslo peace process, I was expecting to see more of the joyful celebrations I’d watched on television at home. The emotional welcoming of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) Chairman Yasser Arafat […]

Syria

Syria: Dutch Gov’t Prosecuted Levantine Front Member, then Admitted they Supported It

TeleSur

The government of the Netherlands is facing widespread criticism from lawmakers and citizens after it was revealed it had supported a Syrian rebel group, which Dutch prosecutors had labeled a ‘terrorist’ organization. The revelation came in a news report on Nieuwsuur, a current affairs program on public broadcasters NOS and NTR Monday. According to the […]

Iran

Can Iran get around Trump’s Coming Embargo of its Petroleum?

Eric Randolph

Tehran (AFP) – Iran faces a potentially crushing loss of oil exports when US sanctions return in November, but the impact could be blunted by its experience of working around embargoes. When Iran faced its toughest international sanctions between 2012 and 2015, analysts say it found a number of creative solutions, from repainting and renaming […]

Israel/ Palestine

UN says Gaza Situation ‘Catastrophic,’ as Trump anti-Palestinian Aid Cuts Bite

Nina Larson

Geneva (AFP) – The UN said Wednesday that the situation in Gaza was “catastrophic” after 11 years of “economic siege” and warned that Washington’s decision to halt assistance to Palestinian refugees would create “more misery”. “The situation in Gaza is becoming less and less livable,” said Isabelle Durant, the deputy head of the United Nations […]

Iran

After Mobs Burn Iran Consulate in Basra, US Blames, Threatens Iran for Iraqi Attacks on US Facilities

Middle East Monitor

London (Middle East Monitors) – The United States warned Iran on Tuesday it will “respond swiftly and decisively” to any attacks by Tehran’s allies in Iraq that resulted in injury to Americans or damage to US facilities, Reuters reports. The statement by the White House press secretary accused Iran of not preventing attacks in recent […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Right: Oslo Peace Process is Dead, and We Packed down the Earth on the Grave

Stephen Weizman

Amichai (Palestinian Territories) (AFP) – A panoramic view of mountains and neighbouring Palestinian villages before him, Avichai Boaran thinks back on the Oslo accords first signed off on 25 years ago and happily declares them dead. “Oslo is buried deep in its grave,” says the 45-year-old resident of Amichai, a new Israeli settlement in the […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israeli Minister, Dozens of Settlers Storm 3rd Holiest Islamic Shrine

Maan News Agency

JERUSALEM (Ma’an) — Israeli MK and Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Uri Yehuda Ariel, along with dozens of Israeli settlers, stormed on Sunday the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound on the eve of the Jewish new year. According to local sources, Ariel stormed the Al-Aqsa Mosque through the Moroccan Gate, under heavy protection by the Israeli […]

Iran

A Trump War on Iran would destroy that Country, but would it Bring down the US as Well?

William R. Polk

To engage in war with Iran, Mr. Trump would need an excuse. He would need to show that Iran is a mortal threat to America, but, at the same time, he and his military establishment need to show that Iran, unlike North Korea and Russia, would be quickly and easily overcome. After all, no one […]

Iraq

Iraq: Muqtada al-Sadr demands PM Abadi Resign after Massive Basra anti-Corruption Protests

Ammar Karim

Baghdad (AFP) – Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi faced calls to resign Saturday as his alliance with a populist cleric who won May elections crumbled over deadly unrest shaking the country’s oil-rich south. The two leading groups in parliament called on Abadi to step down, after lawmakers held an emergency meeting on the public anger […]