Middle East

Ma’an News Agency | – – BETHLEHEM (Ma’an) — A majority of Palestinians now oppose a two-state solution to the conflict with Israel, with only a third believing it is still a practical possibility, a poll released Monday found. The poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Research, found that 51 percent of […]

Bashar al-Assad

What’s behind Russia’s military build-up in Syria?

contributors

By Alexander Titov | (The Conversation) | – – Evidence is emerging of a significant intensification of Russia’s military support for the Assad government. While the exact scale and purpose of Russia’s latest deployments remain obscure, the available evidence suggests that the Russians are preparing an airbase near the city of Latakia for possible airstrikes […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Turkey Risks Turmoil with end of Peace Process & of Non-Intervention Policies

contributors

By Omer Tekdemir and Oğuzhan Göksel | (Open Democracy) | – – Though often depicted as a relatively stable exception in a turbulent region, the Republic of Turkey has also wrestled with burdens of the Ottoman Empire. Arguably, the most troublesome legacy has been the multi-ethnic and multi-religious character of post-Ottoman society, because even after […]

Iraq

Iraq: Shiite Militia Abuses Mar Fight Against ISIS

contributors

Human Rights Watch | – – (Washington) – Iraqi government-backed militias carried out widespread destruction of homes and shops around the city of Tikrit in March and April 2015 in violation of the laws of war, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Militiamen deliberately destroyed several hundred civilian buildings with no apparent […]

Iraq

Tikrit: ‘My Son joined Daesh/ISIL, Now I’m Living in Hell’

contributors

By Ghazwan Hassan al-Jibouri | Tikrit | (Niqash.org) | – – While [the so-called ‘Islamic State’ group] ruled Tikrit, many locals joined. When they were beaten there, fighters fled, leaving family members behind. Today those relatives are harassed and cannot even leave their homes. Iraqi woman, Suniyad Mahmoud, lives in a small, mud house with […]

Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

Reports: Reluctant Russian Soldiers Oppose ‘Secret’ Syria Mission

contributors

By Tom Balmforth | ( RFE/ RL ) MOSCOW — Several Russian soldiers are seeking help from human rights advocates to oppose what they say are secret orders to send them to Syria, according to media reports that add to evidence of a Russian military buildup in the war-torn Middle East country. The Gazeta.ru news […]

Featured

Aqsa Crisis: PM Netanyahu wants Israeli Forces to use Live Fire against Rock Throwing Demonstrators

Juan Cole

By Juan Cole | (Informed Comment) | – – Thousands of demonstrators came out in Jordan on Friday to protest what appears to be a new Israeli assertion of authority over Muslim sacred space in Jerusalem, which includes the third holiest place in the world for Muslims, the al-Aqsa mosque complex. King Abdullah II of […]

Israel

Israel has moved 600,000 Squatters onto Palestinian Land in West Bank

contributors

By IMEMC News | – – About 600 thousand settlers live in the West Bank and half of them are in Jerusalem district, said the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) in a Thursday press release. Wiki Commons image WAFA correspondence reports that PCBS presented data detailing the distribution of settlements across West Bank districts, […]

Iran

As Iran takes on ISIL/ Daesh, can it avoid the Sectarian Trap?

contributors

By Shahram Akbarzadeh | (Informed Comment) | – – In an obvious attempt to show initiative and good will, President Hassan Rouhani recently declared Iran’s readiness to discuss Syria with the United States and Saudi Arabia. With the nuclear deal looking likely to be endorsed by the US Congress and the Iranian Majlis – not […]