Middle East

Iraqi cleric Muqtada al-Sadr called on Friday for a nationwide disarmament campaign and announced his Baghdad stronghold would be first to disarm just two days after an ammunitions cache exploded there and killed 18 people. Sadr, whose political bloc won Iraq’s parliamentary election in May, called on all armed groups to hand in their weapons […]

Israel/ Palestine

Jerusalem Day: Israeli Soldiers Harm 525 Palestinians at Gaza Rally

Middle East Monitor

At least 525 Palestinians have been wounded on the Gaza border by Israeli occupation forces who violently suppressed protests as part of Al-Quds Jerusalem Day, the Ministry of Health said today. The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least seven people were in critical condition as a result of their injuries. Israeli soldiers fired tear […]

Featured

Anthony Bourdain: The Only Mensch on Gaza

Juan Cole

Anthony Bourdain was the only major American celebrity who succeeded in depicting publicly the Palestinians as rational, caring human beings rather than as irrationally angry “inciters” to violence. He was the anti-Bernard Lewis. Lewis smeared the world’s 1.8 billion Muslims with the charge of “Islamic Rage” (as though large swathes of humankind are angry for […]

Iraq

Widespread Fraud? Iraq Elections upended as Parliament Orders Full Recount of 11 Million Votes

AFP

By Omar al-Kateb Baghdad (AFP) – Iraq’s parliament Wednesday ordered a manual recount of the May 12 legislative elections and sacked the commission which oversaw the polls that resulted in a surprise victory for a populist Shiite cleric. After several failed attempts because of a lack of quorum, outgoing MPs met to order a recount […]

Qatar

How Saudi Arabia lost out to Iran and Turkey over failed Qatar Blockade

Mohammed Nuruzzaman

The 5th of June was the first anniversary of the Saudi-led blockade of Qatar. Imposed on the accusation that Qatar was sponsoring terrorism and destabilizing the Middle East region, the blockade came as a big shock, a bolt from the blue for the Qataris but they have managed to survive it well. Qatar’s capacity to […]

Israel/ Palestine

Argentinean Soccer Team cancels Israel Match to avoid “Sports-Washing” Apartheid

Middle East Monitor

(London) – Palestinians have thanked the Argentinian football team and star forward Lionel Messi for cancelling their friendly match with Israel scheduled for Saturday, according to the Palestinian Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (PACBI). Football fans and Palestinian human rights supporters had urged the Argentinian team to cancel the match, set […]

Cartoon

America was Asking ‘Where’s Melania?’ when the Question was ‘Where’s Razan?’ (Cartoon)

Paul Jamiol

Via: Jamiol’s World – Get Paul Jamiol’s latest book of political cartoons, Hatred Rising Related Informed Comment Posting: “War Crimes: Israeli Snipers Kill Palestinian Nurse, Injure 100, at Gaza March of Return” .

Qatar

Trump’s Debacle: Gulf Game of Thrones between Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Continues

Beverly Milton-Edwards

The crisis that erupted between a Saudi-led bloc of Arab states and Qatar led to the tiny Emirate facing an attack on them that was unprecedented. A full year later, the crisis is still unresolved. Read against the wider exigencies of US interests in the Gulf, the crisis has also highlighted profound weaknesses in Donald […]

Qatar

Qatar Seeks to Join NATO, Saying It Is “Stronger” Despite Year-Long Saudi-led Blockade,

David Harding

Doha (AFP) – On the first anniversary of a bitter Gulf diplomatic rift, Qatar’s foreign minister on Tuesday declared his country stronger than ever and said it was open to dialogue with its regional rivals. Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al-Thani also rebuked Qatar’s foes for “imaginary victories” against the small Gulf state, the target of a […]