Tag: israel

Tensions Mount Again at al-Aqsa 

Tension over control of the Haram al Sharif compound of mosques in Jerusalem’s Old City has reached a pitch unseen since clashes at the site sparked the second intifada nine years ago.  Ten days of intermittently bloody clashes between Palestinians and Israeli security forces in Jerusalem culminated yesterday in warnings by Palestinian officials that Israel … Continue reading “Tensions Mount Again at al-Aqsa “

US Public Skeptical and Hawkish on Iran

Despite strong support for diplomatic engagement with Iran, most U.S. citizens believe such efforts will ultimately fail and that Washington should be prepared to use military force to prevent Tehran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, according to a new poll [.pdf] released Tuesday by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. Sixty-one … Continue reading “US Public Skeptical and Hawkish on Iran”

How Israel Killed UN’s War Crimes Probe

Israel celebrated over the weekend its success at the United Nations in forcing the Palestinians to defer demands that the International Criminal Court investigate allegations of war crimes committed by Israel during its winter assault on the Gaza Strip. The about-turn, following vigorous lobbying from Israel and the United States, appears to have buried the … Continue reading “How Israel Killed UN’s War Crimes Probe”

Cold War’s Ghost Blocks Mideast Peace

And you thought “don’t ask, don’t tell” was a U.S. law on gays in the military that Barack Obama has promised to change. As it turns out, the same phrase plays quite a different role in the Middle East, where Obama seems to have no intention of changing it at all. Successive administrations have adhered … Continue reading “Cold War’s Ghost Blocks Mideast Peace”

Palestinian Voices of Gloom Get Louder

ABU DIS, Occupied West Bank – Three Israeli soldiers, automatic rifles slung across their shoulders, are questioning a group of Palestinian builders. The top floors being added to the concrete house that lies right alongside Israel’s security wall, which divides off occupied East Jerusalem from Palestinian territory on the eastern side, have evidently aroused some … Continue reading “Palestinian Voices of Gloom Get Louder”

Israeli Exceptionalism

In the Washington Times, some astonishing news: "President Obama has reaffirmed a 4-decade-old secret understanding that has allowed Israel to keep a nuclear arsenal without opening it to international inspections, three officials familiar with the understanding said. The officials, who spoke on the condition that they not be named because they were discussing private conversations, … Continue reading “Israeli Exceptionalism”

The Betrayal of Gilad Shalit

  Saturday was the 1,196th day in captivity for the soldier Gilad Shalit. A prisoner of war must not be left in captivity. A wounded soldier must not be left in the field. The state signs an unwritten contract with every person who joins the army, and most definitely with everyone who serves in a … Continue reading “The Betrayal of Gilad Shalit”

Goldstone Rejects Netanyahu Remarks

The head of the U.N. commission that investigated the December-January Gaza war Thursday rejected assertions by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu that any action to pursue the recommendations of his commission’s report could prove fatal to any renewed peace process with the Palestinians. "For the life of me, I don’t understand the reason for that … Continue reading “Goldstone Rejects Netanyahu Remarks”

Riots May Point to Third Palestinian Uprising

EAST JERUSALEM – Palestinian politicians and Israeli political analysts are warning of a third Palestinian Intifadah following serious rioting in East Jerusalem last Sunday. Clashes broke out between Palestinians protesters and Israeli security forces after a group of extremist Israeli settlers, escorted by Israeli soldiers and police, tried to enter the compound of Al-Aqsa Mosque, … Continue reading “Riots May Point to Third Palestinian Uprising”

Our Intelligence, and Theirs

Ron Rosenbaum, journalist (the New York Observer, Slate.com), author, and one of the few liberals to sign on to the ill-fated Pajamas Media fiasco, is damned mad: “Will all the pundits who relied on the discredited 2007 NIE on Iran now admit that they were wrong? That they bought into and kept citing, without any … Continue reading “Our Intelligence, and Theirs”