A silent battle has been raging right under our noses, a fierce underground struggle pitting the U.S. against one of its closest allies. For all its newsworthiness, the media has barely noticed the story – except when it surfaces, briefly, like a giant fin jutting...
In 2007, just as the Bush administration was hyping the alleged "threat" from Iran's ostensible nuclear ambitions – and facing renewed pressure from the Israel lobby to go after Tehran – the CIA issued a National Intelligence Estimate that punctured the War...
RAMALLAH - Turkey's cooling relationship with Israel comes in tandem with its improving relations with the Arab and Muslim world, and this development is expected to impact positively on Palestinian politics. "The Turks appear to be implementing a major policy...
A U.S. decision to stall Security Council action against Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas for war crimes during the 22-day conflict in Gaza last December has come under heavy fire both from inside and outside the United Nations. Addressing the Security...
Pressure has been building on the UN Security Council to address the impact of the Gaza war on civilians in advance of its meeting Wednesday to discuss the Middle East. "The Security Council has a historic opportunity to uphold the principle of civilian...
RAMALLAH - An increasingly isolated and unpopular Palestinian Authority (PA) has again made a 180-degree turn in the Goldstone report fiasco as it tries to fend off mounting criticism from all and sundry, including its own organization. On Sunday, Palestinian...
EAST JERUSALEM - Clashes between Israeli security forces and protesting Palestinians have subsided as several hundred Muslims agreed to evacuate Jerusalem's al-Aqsa Mosque following a deal brokered by the Jordanian embassy in Tel Aviv Saturday. But the Islamic...
Just two months ago, many western commentators were jubilant that Mahmoud Abbas, the U.S.-supported head of both the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the interim Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority (PA), was making a comeback and reducing the influence in...
RAMALLAH - The Palestinian Authority (PA) is trying desperately to contain the political fallout following its decision to withdraw support for a UN report into war crimes committed in Gaza in December and January. The UN Security Council had been due to vote last...
JERUSALEM -- Amazingly, just when all four parties -- the U.S., its allies in the Arab world, the Palestinian Authority, and Israel -- seemed to have hit rock bottom in terms of the prospects of moving the region away from conflict and towards peace, all of a sudden...
