Israel faces ‘moment of truth’ after U.S. slams ‘insult’ (VIDEO)
March 15th, 20100 TEL AVIV — Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu found himself on the defensive after an unprecedented public assault by US officials over the weekend, as the diplomatic furor over new building in Jerusalem escalated. Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy With a succession of US officials...Armenian genocide vote threatens ties with Turkey at key moment
WASHINGTON — Last Thursday's vote by a Congressional committee condemning the deaths of up to 1.5 million Armenians during World War I as "genocide" is almost certain to complicate U.S. ties with Turkey, a long-time strategic ally and increasingly influential player in the Middle East and central and southwest Asia. The 23-22 vote...Welcome to Israel, Joe!
U.S. Vice President Joe Biden said Thursday there should be no delay in resuming Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. U.S. Vice President Joe Biden holds a joint news conference with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (R) in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 10, 2010. Biden said on Wednesday that Israel's approval of 1,600 new...Israeli raid called off after Facebook slip
JERUSALEM – Israel's military has "unfriended" one of its own — after a combat soldier potentially updated Israel's enemies on Facebook. The military said Wednesday that a planned raid on a West Bank village was called off after the soldier disclosed its details online. The military said the soldier posted the time and location of...Dubai: Israeli premier faces arrest
(Al Jazeera) — The head of the Dubai police is planning to seek the arrest of the prime minister of Israel and the head of the country's secret service, Mossad, over the killing of a Hamas leader. Dhahi Khalfan Tamim told Al Jazeera he would ask the Dubai prosecutor to issue arrest warrants for Binyamin Netanyahu and Meir Dagan this...Danish paper apologizes for reprinting Muhammad cartoon
(BBC) — A Danish newspaper has apologized for any offense caused when it reprinted a cartoon depicting the Prophet Muhammad with a bomb-shaped turban in 2008. Politiken said it was apologizing as part of a settlement with Muslim groups in the Middle East and Australia. Other Danish newspapers criticised Politiken for its move....Muslim scholar condemns terrorism
(BBC) — An influential Muslim scholar is to issue in London a global ruling against terrorism and suicide bombing. Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri Dr. Tahir ul-Qadri, from Pakistan, says his 600-page judgement, known as a fatwa, completely dismantles al-Qaeda's violent ideology. The scholar describes al-Qaeda as an "old evil with...Muslims are their own worst enemy
Muslims are numerous but powerless. Divisions among Muslims, especially between Sunni and Shi'a, have consigned the Muslim Middle East to almost a century of Western control. Muslims cannot even play together. The Islamic Solidarity Games, a regional version of the Olympics, which were to be held in April in Iran, have been cancelled,...Palestine Diabetes Institute dedicated
WASHINGTON — The Jerusalem Fund, along with the National Arab American Medical Association (NAAMA) Foundation and Physicians for Peace officially dedicated the Palestine Diabetes Institute in Al-Bireh, Palestine this week. Moving from rented space in Ramallah, the Institute now occupies two floors (800 square meters) in an office...Media on Israel: All in the family
Recent exposés revealing that New York Times' Israel-Palestine bureau chief Ethan Bronner has a son in the Israeli military have caused a storm of controversy that continues to swirl and generate further revelations. Many people find such a sign of family partisanship in an editor covering a foreign conflict troubling — especially...
Rachel Corrie’s family brings civil suit over death by Israeli bulldozer in Gaza
March 6th, 20100 The family of American activist Rachel Corrie, who was killed by an Israeli army bulldozer in Gaza seven years ago, is to bring a civil suit over her death against the Israeli defense ministry. A month after Rachel Corrie's death, the Israeli military said an investigation had determined its troops were not to blame and said the...Haaretz: Hamas leader’s son ‘was Israeli spy’
(BBC) – The son of a jailed Hamas leader who converted to Christianity and moved to California has gone public to say that he spied for Israel. Speaking before the release of a book about his life, Mosab Hassan Yousef made the assertion in an interview for Israel's Haaretz newspaper. Mosab Hassan Yousef A former deputy...James Baker Institute urges greater U.S. presence in peace process
WASHINGTON (IPS) — The United States needs to take on a more aggressive presence in peace negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, according to a major report published earlier this month by the James Baker III Institute for Public Policy at Rice University. James Baker Baker, who served as President George H....
Israeli women soldiers break the silence
February 27th, 20100 What's it like to be a woman serving in the Israeli occupation force in the West Bank? Is a woman's experience as an occupier any different than a man's? Yes indeed, say some women who have just broken their silence and offered a glimpse into the grim reality of the occupation. Female Israeli soldiers make up their face in...U.S. starts normalization processwith Damascus in earnest
WASHINGTON (IPS) — After months of delay, the administration of President Barack Obama is taking major steps to engage the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad as part of a broader regional strategy designed in major part to isolate Iran, escalate the fight against al Qaeda and other radical Sunni groups, and encourage peace......
Young Western Muslims fight misperceptions
NEW YORK (IPS) — Islamophobia is rising in the West, and sectarian clashes have undermined unity in the Muslim world, but there is hope from within, says a group of young Muslim Leaders of Tomorrow (MLTs) working to address the problems. MLTs speak at the 2006 Copenhagen forum. "There is a lot of misinformation out...
Frail boy-king Tut died from malaria, broken leg
February 20th, 20100 CAIRO — Egypt's famed King Tutankhamun suffered from a cleft palate and club foot, likely forcing him to walk with a cane, and died from complications from a broken leg exacerbated by malaria, according to the most extensive study ever of his more than 3,300-year-old mummy. The findings were from two years of DNA testing and CT......
Europeans press Israel over Dubai killing row
February 20th, 20100 Interpol, the international police agency, has placed 11 members of an alleged hit squad suspected of assassinating Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, a senior Hamas commander, at a luxury Dubai hotel last month, on its most-wanted list. The suspects: (From left to right, top row): Evan Dennings (Irish), Gail Folliard (Irish), James Leonard...Fighting hunger — A matter of faith
ROME (IPS) — The world's major religions might disagree on theology and matters like the foods we ought to eat and the days we should rest on, but when it comes to fighting hunger, they see eye to eye. The holy books say that those who do not have enough to eat must be helped, which, if you are a believer, makes food insecurity a...Amnesty International criticizes Israel for latest response to Gaza violations
Amnesty International has said that Israel's most recent response to the U.N. on its investigations into alleged violations of international law by its forces in Gaza a year ago is totally inadequate. Crucial questions about the conduct of attacks in which hundreds of civilians were killed and thousands were made homeless, are not...Polls find little evidence Iranian public sees government as illegitimate
Indications of fraud in the June 12 Iranian presidential election, together with large-scale street demonstrations, have led to claims that Mahmoud Ahmadinejad did not actually win the election, and that the majority of Iranians perceive their government as illegitimate and favor regime change. Supporters of defeated Iranian......
UN report challenges Israeli version of attack on civilian building in Gaza war
JERUSALEM — A new Israeli report defending the military's conduct in the Gaza war was challenged this week after evidence emerged apparently contradicting one of its key findings. Palestinian children play soccer in Khan Younis in the southern Gaza Strip, January 31, 2010. Soccer has always been popular in the Gaza Strip but...Keffiyeh war ahead
First it was the hummus war. Then it was the tabouleh war. Now get ready for the keffiyeh war. A self-described "Jewish music label and promotion company" in the United States has begun marketing a version of the traditional Arab headdress complete with blue embroidered stars of David, the symbol of the state of Israel. Shemspeed,......
U.S., Karzai clash on unconditional talks with Taliban
February 5th, 20100 KABUL (IPS) — On the surface, it would seem unlikely that Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who presides over a politically feeble government and is highly dependent on the U.S. military presence and economic assistance, would defy the United States on the issue of peace negotiations with the leadership of the Taliban insurgency....Netanyahu digs into West Bank
MAALEH ADUMIM, Occupied West Bank (IPS) — When Benjamin Netanyahu dug a spade here and in another West Bank settlement this week, some thought the Israeli Prime Minister was actually digging a hole into current United States-sponsored peace efforts. Netanyahu plants a tree in the West Bank on Sunday.Certainly, Netanyahu was......