Facts, News, Trends, Analysis
Israeli author, David Grossman has a reasoned piece in the NYT today about the current Israeli campaign to crush Hamas. He argues for a 48 hour unilateral ceasefire on Israel’s part. Grossman, whose eldest son was killed in the 2006 Lebanon War, maintains that such an approach taken early in that conflict, would have put [...]
According to the NYT Dec 26, 2008, “The Piracy Reporting Center in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, said Friday that 110 ships have been attacked in the gulf [of Aden] this year, and 42 have been hijacked. Fourteen ships are still being held for ransom.” This is part of the reason that China is sending warships to [...]
On Saturday in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a 150-men council met to discuss important issues such as water, real estate investment, adoption of international agreement on oil pollution, infrastructure development, and employment issues. The council heard from the Water and Electricity Minister, among other officials of the Saudi bureaucracy.
Replace ‘the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’ [...]
Today, Bill Clinton, in an unprecedented move, disclosed the names of donors to the Clinton Foundation. The move was meant to give transparency to the foundation as Hillary awaits confirmation for her appointment as the Secretary of State.
Among the most controversial donors are the government of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Brunei and Oman. The pundits [...]
A few days ago, I mentioned Robert Kaplan’s piece in the NYT on his idea that the Middle East needed redefining. It got me thinking about other authors’ definitions. Here are a few:
In The Foreign Policies of Middle East States (2002), Hinnebusch and Ehteshami have a map labeled “The Middle East (the Arab League plus [...]
The Free Gaza Movement claims to have smuggled at least 11 university students out of Gaza, reaching Cyprus on Friday, according to reports by Al Jazeera. Israel’s blockade has previously not permitted students studying in Gaza to leave. The move is intended to allow the students to study at universities elsewhere in Europe and Canada, [...]
Ahmed Qurei, the chief Palestinian negotiator, stated on Saturday that the Palestinians have rejected an Israeli proposition to annex a portion of the West Bank in exchange for some of its own territory. Qurei went on to explain that the Israeli land was “…not an equal trade in size and quality.” The rejected offer comes [...]
Supporters of Hamas gathered in Gaza City on Sunday to mark the 21st anniversary of the Sunni organization’s founding. Presumably in recognition of the occasion, a meeting involving Israeli and Egyptian officials took place in Cairo in an attempt to seek renewal of the current ceasefire agreement between Hamas’ military apparatus and opposition forces in [...]
Public sector employees in the Gaza Strip have recently encountered difficulties collecting their salaries due to the severe cash shortage faced by area banks. The shortage is in part a result of the Israeli blockade that has prevented many from traveling freely to and from Gaza – a detrimental effect on business, especially with regard [...]
Late into the hours on Sunday, former President Jimmy Carter met with Khaled Meshaal, the militant leader of Hamas who lives in exile in Damascus, Syria. We know that the major issues discussed in that meeting include the fate of Gilad Shalit who was kidnapped by Hamas back in the summer of 2006 and has [...]
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