Middle East

Geneva (AFP) – More than 920,000 people were displaced inside Syria during the first four months of 2018, the highest level in the seven-year conflict, the United Nations said Monday. “We are seeing a massive displacement inside Syria… From January to April, there were over 920,000 newly displaced people,” Panos Moumtzis, the UN regional humanitarian […]

Israel/ Palestine

Israel’s Everyday Economic Violence Toward Palestinians in Gaza

Harry Blain

Don’t wait for the next massacre to start calling out the more insidious violence Palestinians suffer every day. New York (FPIF ) – “They just seem — well — less developed, less innovative, less productive than the Israelis.” This was one of the many objections I faced during a recent attempt to secure support for […]

Yemen

Saudi-led Attack on Yemen’s Hudaydah Port Could Cost 250,000 Lives: UN

Middle East Monitor

Clashes between troops backed by a Saudi-led coalition and the Iran-aligned Houthis intensified near Yemen’s Hudaydah over the weekend as the United Nations tries to negotiate a ceasefire to avert a possible assault on the main port city, military sources said. A military attack or siege on the Houthi-held western city, long a target in […]

Israel/ Palestine

Amid Gaza Health Crisis, Israeli Army Shoots Medical Workers in Demonstrations

Michelle Lonnquist

New York ( Human Rights Watch) – According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, an Israeli sniper fatally shot 21-year-old paramedic Razan al-Najjar inside Gaza near the separation fence on June 1, 2018. According to a medical volunteer with al-Najjar when she was shot, al-Najjar was clearly identifiable as a medical volunteer, and aiding injured […]

Iraq

Iraq Election Winner Muqtada al-Sadr calls on Militias to Disarm

Middle East Monitor

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 […]