The Turkish government seeks to resume facilitating an Israeli-Syrian peace process, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said today after meeting with Syrian President Basher al-Assad. Resumption of the peace process could result from increased overtures from the United States towards Syria, most notably the appointment of an ambassador to Damascus alongside various trips from […]
The majority of Palestinians lack trust in Fatah, Hamas, or any other political party, according to a recent poll. Conducted by Near East Consulting, the poll found 38-percent of Palestinians maintain confidence in Fatah, compared with only 11-percent for Hamas and five-percent for other groups. Of likely voters, the poll found that 35-percent of those […]
The ultra-orthodox community in Israel and the settlements continues to gain increased political clout in Israeli politics, according to a new report from the International Crisis Group. Due to high birthrates and political mobilization, these communities will likely prove to be a significant hurdle in the evacuation of settlements and the realization of a two-states […]
The Obama Administration’s mandate of a settlement will include any Jewish construction projects in East Jerusalem, according to U.S. officials cited in various news reports. The clarification comes amidst plans to transform a hotel in predominantly Palestinian East Jerusalem into apartments for Jews. Protestors rallied yesterday to show opposition to the construction project. Opposition to construction […]
The Hamas government in the Gaza Strip released its first major motion picture in an effort to transform a small lot in the embattled territory into an Islamic Hollywood. The film, produced by Hamas with $200,000 over 10-months, depicts the story of 23-year old Hamas commander Emad Akel who was killed in 1993 by Israeli […]
Former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert declares the overall political peace process as the main point of contention between Israeli and Palestinian officials while dismissing settlements as relevant, he wrote in an op-ed in today’s Washington Post. Instead of focusing on the settlements, Olmert suggests focusing on institution building, such as establishing a vibrant Palestinian […]
Israel’s recent navy mobilization through the Suez Canal represents a major initiative to strike Iranian nuclear facilities, according to officials first report in the Times of London. Any Israeli strike on Iran would require war ships to pass through the Suez and also include fly-overs of either Iraq or Saudi Arabia. While the U.S. government would likely […]
Two major media outlets in Israel and the West Bank face closure. The Palestinian Authority shuttered the offices of Al-Jazeera in the West Bank likely due to a controversial report on former P.A. President and Palestinian icon Yasser Arafat. The story cited a Fatah official accusing current P.A. President Mahmoud Abbas of conspiring to assassinate […]
Due to inconsistencies importing and exporting goods from Palestinian controlled areas because of Israeli control of the border, a conglomeration of U.S. and Palestinian institutions established an insurance project for Palestinian companies to mitigate loss. The Palestinian Political Risk Insurance project provides certain companies with economic security programs in the event that border closures and violence […]
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Howard Berman sharply condemned Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas for preconditioning peace talks by mandating a settlement freeze. Berman’s comments could mark a divergence between House Democrats and the official Obama Administration position that calls for an immediate halt to all settlement activity. Acknowledging recent discussion on settlements between Israeli and U.S. […]
Israeli authorities recently arrested former Congresswoman Cynthia McKinney aboard an aid ship headed for the Gaza Strip (see previous blog entry here). After her capture, the former B-rate Congresswoman compared her imprisonment to that of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I think not. Her career as a public servant in the United States gained little […]
When speaking of the Arab-Israeli conflict, we generally conjure images of Hamas in Gaza or a potential war with Syria. However, another group of Arabs constitutes a considerable issue for Israel- the Bedouins in the Negev. Prior to the creation of Israel in 1948, small Bedouin tribes (or clans called hamullahs) travelled throughout the Negev […]
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