Middle East

NEGEV (Ma’an) — Israeli bulldozers demolished the unrecognized Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev desert in southern Israel for the 142nd time, on Thursday. Locals reported that Israeli bulldozers, escorted by Israeli police forces, demolished residential structures and tents of al-Araqib villagers, leaving women, children and the elderly without a shelter. Villagers said that […]

Featured

Congress Slaps down Trump-Saudi War on Yemen

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – The House of Representatives voted Thursday 247 to 175 to end the US involvement in supporting the Saudi-led war effort in Yemen. 16 Republicans voted with the Democratic majority. The Senate had already passed the act, invoking the War Powers act for the first time since it was enacted in […]

Israel/ Palestine

Sharp Rise in Number of Palestinian Children Killed by Israeli Military in 2018

Maan News Agency

BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — The number of Palestinian children killed by Israeli forces in 2018 increased sharply from the previous year and reached 57 compared to 15 in 2017, the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) said in a report published on Thursday marking Palestinian Child Day, which coincides on Friday. The PCBS report said that […]

Algeria

Arab Spring Pt. 2? Massive Crowds forced out Bouteflika, but What Next for Algeria?

Brian Whitaker

Algerians who have been demonstrating on the streets for more than a month appear to have achieved their primary goal of toppling President Abdelaziz Bouteflika. On Monday the official news agency reported that the 82-year-old president will resign “before 28 April” – the date when his current mandate expires. [Update: Bouteflika resigned on Tuesday April […]

Featured

Senators Grill Rick Perry on Transfer of Nuclear Info to Saudi Arabia Despite “Troubling Actions”

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Timothy Gardner at Reuters reports that senators on Tuesday sent a sharp letter to Secretary of Energy Rick Perry about the Part 810 approvals he secretly gave US businesses to provide sensitive nuclear specifications to Saudi Arabia. Senators Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and Marco Rubio (R-FL) insisted that Perry inform them […]

Turkey

Turkey’s Erdogan Lost Key Cities in Paranoiac Campaign that ignored Sinking Economy

The Conversation

By Ihsan Yilmaz and Erdoan Shipoli | – Votes are still being counted in local elections that took place across Turkey on Sunday, but so far it appears that President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s party has lost key cities and towns. That includes the Turkish capital Ankara, which has been run by Islamist mayors for the […]

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Political Prisoners Face Severe Abuse: Report

Middle East Monitor

Political prisoners in Saudi Arabia are facing severe abuses by prison authorities, according to a medical report leaked to the Guardian newspaper. The leaked report documented evidence that political prisoners – both men and women – are suffering from malnutrition as well as cuts, burns and bruises due to severe physical abuse by authorities. The […]

Featured

Syrian Ambassador: Trump should give Israel the Carolinas, instead of Syria’s Golan

Juan Cole

Ann Arbor (Informed Comment) – Syria’s envoy to the United Nations, Bashar Jaafari, lambasted the Trump administration for recognizing the Israeli annexation of the Golan Heights. He said that if Trump wanted to give somebody else’s territory to Israel, it should be North and South Carolina. The United Nations Charter forbids the acquisition of territory […]

Israel/ Palestine

The Great March of Return is a Turning Point in Palestinian Collective Memory

Middle East Monitor

By Yousef Alhelou | – Despite Israeli efforts to deter Palestinians from taking part in this weekend’s Great March of Return, and in spite of the cold weather conditions which prevailed, a tsunami of demonstrators flocked to Gaza’s 25-mile-long fence. Heavily-armed Israeli forces fired live ammunition at protesters, who came in their thousands to mark […]