Palestine: A policy of deliberate blindness
Dennis Ross, formerly the United States envoy to the Middle East, admitted back in 2000 that mistakes had been made in the 1978 Camp David accords: The diplomatic...In Iraq, sex is traded for survival
Baghdad — When Rana Jalil, 38, lost her husband in an explosion in Baghdad last year, she could never have imagined becoming a prostitute in order to feed her children....Doesn’t anyone hear those awful cries from Gaza?
No one seems to hear the cries from Gaza enough to act, despite the reports that talk about imminent economic collapse, dangerous food shortages, total aid dependency......
Why does Egypt choose to stoop so low?
September 1st, 20070 There is a special sadness to the diminution of giants, to great men and countries that choose to stoop low. Egypt, in this respect, mystifies us once again, as its...First ice lounge in the desert
Outside it was a sticky 44 degrees Celsius (111 degrees Fahrenheit), but Ali Hamdan was shivering under two parkas as he had a drink, surrounded by tables and chairs......
It’s not just the occupation
"Forty years ago today was the last day the citizens of Israel were a free people in their own land," wrote "Ha'aretz" columnist Akiva Eldar on June 4. "It was the last...What do Israel, U.S. expect from Abbas?
The rash and self-defeatist behavior emanating from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his close circle in the West Bank cannot possibly be intended for......
The closed door meetings of Mahmoud Abbas
When Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Authority in Ramallah, holds three-hour meetings in Jericho with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and when these...Hamas optimism vs. Fatah despair
PALESTINE — Even in the face of possible economic collapse, Hamas leaders want to figure out a better way to collect garbage in Gaza. The Islamist movement, which now......
Hizbullah marks Lebanon war anniversary with pomp and piety
August 14th, 20070 Last summer, the sky above Beirut's southern suburbs was filled with Israeli warplanes; Tuesday night, it exploded with color as Hizbullah supporters came out in force...
America waking up to scale of Iraq disaster
July 29th, 20070 The most probable result of U.S. withdrawal will be further bloodshed Iraq is over. Iraq has not yet begun. Two conclusions from the American debate about Iraq, which......
Israel’s primal myth: A barrier to peace
Forget about Hamas, the wall, Gaza and the Occupied Territories. There can be no peace in the Middle East until Israel and the Palestinians deal with one key issue: the...New peace initiative met with skepticism
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A major policy address this week by U.S. President George W. Bush promoting a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has been greeted with......
What next after Samarra bombing?
ARBIL (IPS) — Iraq is again haunted by the ghosts of Samarra, with last week's attack on the Shi'a-revered al-Askari mosque raising fears that it could touch off a new...Is there finally peace in Yemen?
The Sa'ada war in northern Yemen may be coming to a close. The Yemeni government announced on June 15 that a cease-fire had been negotiated through the good offices of......
The Palestinian experiment: A defining turn
All my forewarnings have suddenly actualized, all at once: Gaza has descended into total and utter chaos; Abbas has capitulated to Israel and to the United States...
Bush, Olmert aim toward disastar
June 24th, 20070 What would it take to persuade Israel to rethink its attitude towards its Arab neighbors — and primarily towards the Palestinians? The Hamas victory in Gaza is......
Why Mahmoud Abbas has failed
June 24th, 20070 The breakdown of the domestic political order in Gaza last week reflects the clear failure of the current Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas to achieve its...Israel leaves few Christians in Holy Land
Palestinian Christians are on their last breath in the Holy Land. This was the overwhelming conclusion of more than 300 international religious leaders and scholars......
The Arab peace initiative and the changing Middle East
April 5th, 20070 The rapid, almost hasty, developments on the Arab Israeli front, almost immediately following the Saudi sponsored Makkah Agreement on February 2, should be examined in...
Will there be another civil war in Lebanon
April 5th, 20070 BEIRUT — A recent poll in Lebanon suggests deep pessimism about the chances of avoiding another civil war. Plenty of "wise owls" here think civil war is just a matter of......
