Israel’s premature “victory” celebration: The defining war in Gaza is yet to be fought
August 20th, 20220 For years, Palestinians, as well as Israelis, have labored to redraw the battle lines. The three-day Israeli war on Gaza, starting on August 5, clearly manifested this reality. Throughout its military operation, Israel has repeatedly underscored the point that the war was targeting the Islamic Jihad Movement only, not Hamas or anyone...
Israel raids Palestinian rights groups it labeled terrorists
August 19th, 20220 Israel raided the offices of several Palestinian advocacy groups it had previously blacklisted as terrorist organizations early Thursday, sealing entrances and declaring them closed. Western diplomats visited one of the offices hours later in a show of support for the outlawed groups. The U.S. State Department expressed concern about...
Without Palestine, there is no Arab unity: Why normalization with Israel will fail
August 14th, 20220 It seemed all but a done deal: Israel is finally managing to bend the Arabs to its will, and Palestine is becoming a marginal issue that no longer defines Israel’s relations with Arab countries. Indeed, normalization with Israel is afoot, and the Arabs, so it seems, have been finally tamed. Not so fast. Many events continue to...
Stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie was “preplanned,” prosecutor says; judge denies bail
August 13th, 20220 NEW YORK — The man accused in the stabbing attack on Salman Rushdie pleaded not guilty Saturday to attempted murder and assault charges in what a prosecutor called a "preplanned" crime, as the renowned author of The Satanic Verses remained hospitalized with serious injuries. A judge refused to grant bail Thursday to Hadi Matar, 24...
If you’re planning to travel to the U.S. with food items from overseas, read this
August 13th, 20220 United States border officials have a message for travelers who bring food items from overseas: Violations will cost you. In the past year alone, U.S. border officials have fined passengers for bringing a wide range of undeclared food items in their luggage, including balut eggs, pork bologna and turkey ham. Border officials...
Israel army, Palestinian fighters set for truce from Sunday night
August 7th, 20220 Israel and Palestinian soldiers agreed to a Cairo-mediated truce to take effect late on Sunday, sources said, raising hopes of an end to the most serious flare-up on the Gaza frontier in more than a year. Israeli forces pounded Palestinian targets through the weekend, triggering longer-range rocket attacks against its cities and...
Saudis open airspace to more flights serving Israel
August 5th, 20220 RIYADH - Cathay Pacific and Air Seychelles have overflown Saudi Arabia for Israel flights for the first time, aviation data showed on Thursday, after Riyadh announced last month it would open its airspace to all airlines, paving the way for more overflights to and from Israel. Opening Saudi airspace to flights to and from Israel was a...
U.N.: Yemen’s warring parties agree only to renew two-month truce
August 4th, 20220 Yemen's warring sides agreed to renew a two-month truce expiring on Tuesday, the U.N. envoy said, despite international pressure for an extended and expanded deal that would build on the longest stretch of relative calm in over seven years. "This truce extension includes a commitment from the parties to intensify negotiations to reach...
Lebanese woman sees son for first time since blast two years ago
August 4th, 20220 Lebanese mother Liliane Cheaito, stuck in the hospital since the Beirut blast two years ago, saw her son for the first time on Thursday following a court ruling in a protracted family dispute with her husband. Cheaito has not left the American University of Beirut's Medical Center since August 4, 2020, when she was brought in bruised...
Anti-boycott laws are an affront to free speech. They also don’t address anti-Semitism
July 29th, 20220 — This article by Hamzah Khan, legal intern at the the Council on American-Islamic Relations’ New Jersey Chapter, was first published by the New Jersey Record and USA TODAY Network. It has been edited for style In a world where there are hundreds of companies manufacturing and selling the same product, the freedom to choose a...
Washington is the problem, not the solution: Why Mahmoud Abbas is seeking new “powerful” sponsors
July 28th, 20220 To judge U.S. President Biden’s recent visit to Israel and Palestine as a “failure” in terms of activating the dormant “peace process” is simply a misnomer. For this statement to be accurate, Washington would have had to indicate even a nominal desire to push for negotiations between the Israeli government and the Palestinian...
Al Jazeera reporter’s family meets Blinken to demand justice in her killing
July 27th, 20220 The family of slain Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh met U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday to demand justice for the killing of the Al Jazeera reporter during an Israeli raid in the occupied West Bank. U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price told a regular news briefing that Blinken was meeting...
The shameful U.N. “List of Shame”: Equating between the Israeli perpetrator and the Palestinian victim
July 23rd, 20220 By Ramzy Baroud “We regret we failed to protect you.” This was part of a statement issued by U.N. human rights experts on July 14, urging the Israeli government to release Palestinian prisoner Ahmad Manasra. Only 14-years-old at the time of his arrest and torture by Israeli forces, Manasra is now 20-years-old. His case is a...
Iran stands with Russia in the war against Ukraine, but clashes with Turkey’s plans in Syria at summit
July 22nd, 20220 Russian President Vladimir Putin ended his first major summit outside Russia since the invasion of Ukraine with an endorsement from Iran for its response to NATO, a clash with Turkey over Syria and signs of progress over the lifting of the Russian blockade of Ukrainian grain. The White House said the Tehran summit held between Putin,...
In Syria, a poor wheat harvest adds to food worries
July 22nd, 20220 Poor rainfall, fuel shortages, soaring fertilizer prices: It's been a bad year for farmers in northeastern Syria, where a disappointing wheat crop looks set to deal another blow to food supplies in a country grappling with climate change and war. Farmer Mohamed Hussein said he planted around a fifth of the area he would usually......
How much extra oil can Saudi Arabia pump?
July 19th, 20220 SAUDI ARABIA — President Biden's visit in recent days to top oil exporter Saudi Arabia ended without any announcements that the kingdom would raise oil production to help lower fuel prices which are spurring the highest U.S. inflation in four decades. Top U.S. energy envoy Amos Hochstein told a television program on Sunday that...
Nasrallah: “no one” will extract gas from maritime zone if Lebanon is unable to do so
July 15th, 20220 Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had strong words on Wednesday about a maritime oil dispute between Lebanon and Israel. Nasrallah warned that "no one" would be allowed to operate in maritime oil and gas fields if Lebanon was barred from its "rights" in extracting from areas off of its own coast. "If Lebanon is prevented......
On Israeli trip, Biden reiterates commitment to Israel, reaffirms two-state solution
July 15th, 20220 In his Middle East trip, President Biden reiterated his support for for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine, amid a backdrop of deep skepticism from Palestinians and international human rights groups that the U.S. leader is willing to give more than lip service to Palestinians living under a brutal occupation. Biden met with...
Biden will push for greater oil output on Mideast trip
July 12th, 20220 WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. President Biden will make the case for greater oil production from the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) nations to bring down gasoline prices when he meets Gulf leaders in Saudi Arabia this week, White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said on Monday. Biden leaves Tuesday...
The Hajj is back and Saudi Arabia is hoping to cash in
July 9th, 20220 — This article by Abbas Al Lawati originally appeared in CNN Business. It has been edited for style. Oil has added trillions of dollars to Saudi Arabia’s coffers over the decades, but it’s a resource that will someday run out or lose value as the world turns to alternative energy. Despite current high oil prices, the kingdom...
Analysis: Political and banking deadlock may plunge Lebanon deeper into crisis
July 2nd, 20220 BEIRUT – Lebanon’s untamed financial crisis is gathering new menace as it heads into a fourth year, with political paralysis dampening hope of reforms that could unlock foreign support and stave off social turmoil, according to analysts, lawmakers and former officials. The emergency gripping the small country squeezed between Syria......
Biden says he won’t directly ask Saudi Arabia to produce more oil
July 1st, 20220 President Biden said on Thursday he would not directly press Saudi Arabia to increase oil output to curb soaring crude prices when he sees the Saudi king and crown prince during a visit later this month. Biden also said at a news conference in Spain that Americans will have to stomach high gas prices for "as long as it takes" to beat...
A Palestinian bride celebrates in the rubble of her demolished Jerusalem home
June 29th, 20220 JERUSALEM — Rabeha Rajabi did not think she would be holding her wedding celebrations in the rubble of her own home in Occupied East Jerusalem, until Israeli authorities destroyed it. "Before any blow hit the house, it hit our hearts," said Rajabi, a Palestinian, speaking among the debris and donning a traditional Palestinian thobe......
U.N. investigation says Shireen Abu Akleh was killed by Israeli forces
June 28th, 20220 A U.N. investigation has revealed that the shots that killed renowned Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh and injured her colleagues in the Occupied West Bank in May came from Israeli forces. The U.N. Human Rights Office made the announcement on June 24. The conclusion also refutes Israel's claim that the shots came...
Lebanon’s Mikati named PM, urges action to secure IMF deal
June 24th, 20220 BEIRUT — Lebanon's Najib Mikati was named prime minister on Thursday, urging fractious politicians to set aside differences to secure an IMF deal which he said was the only chance to save the country from financial collapse. Facing a politically difficult path to agreeing on a new cabinet, the billionaire tycoon who led three......
