Posted By Omar Dajani
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 12:35 PM
Yasir Arafat had a canny knack for ensuring that Palestine never strayed too far from the world's headlines. His ghost may turn out to be no less resourceful. Today, a multinational team of medical and forensic experts exhumed the late Palestinian president's remains, as part of an investigation to determine whether he was poisoned. And, Thursday, the United Nations General Assembly, Arafat's favorite international forum, appears poised to confer the status of "non-member observer state" upon Palestine. The timing of these two developments appears coincidental, but what happens next may determine the fate of another apparent victim of foul play: the Middle East peace process.
The decision to exhume Arafat's remains, almost eight years after his demise, is itself illuminating. Why, many have asked, wasn't it done earlier, when potential evidence of wrongdoing remained fresh? Although it is tempting to suspect a conspiracy, the reality likely hews closer to Hamlet than Julius Caesar. Just after Arafat's death in 2004, a negotiated settlement of the conflict remained a tantalizing prospect: Israel withdrew its troops from the Gaza Strip in 2005, a new Palestinian-Israeli agreement on movement and access was concluded later the same year, and Palestinians returned to the polls in 2006 for the first time in a decade. While many Palestinians suspected from the start that Arafat died from unnatural causes, their leadership, like the court of Denmark in Hamlet, preferred not to be confronted with potentially unpleasant facts about the late patriarch's death. Why inflame the situation just as tempers were cooling? Why risk souring relations with Israel and the United States when progress was close at hand? Wasn't it possible, after all, that Arafat had been the obstacle to peace all along?
AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Tuesday, November 27, 2012 - 9:51 AM
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi worked to diffuse a crisis sparked by a decree extending his powers meeting with the Supreme Judicial Council on Monday. In five hours of talks with senior judges, Morsi appeared to pull back from his attempts to assert power beyond judicial review saying he respected judicial independence. He asserted that he would not withdraw the decree, but assured that it would be limited to "sovereign matters." Morsi has maintained that the move was to ensure that the judges, appointed by former President Hosni Mubarak, could not dissolve the constituent assembly. The Supreme Constitutional Court dissolved the first constituent assembly as well as the Islamist-dominated parliament. Morsi has failed to appease demonstrators, and opponents have continued protesting in Cairo's Tahrir Square for a fifth day. Clashes have been reported between police and protesters on Tuesday, and the demonstration is expected to grow throughout the day. The Muslim Brotherhood has postponed its counter "million-man" march to avoid increasing "public tension."
Syria
A Syrian military air strike on an olive oil press reportedly killed dozens of civilians on Tuesday, according to opposition activists. The strike hit the Abu Hilal oil press about 2 miles west of Idlib city on Tuesday killing an estimated 20 people and wounding 50 others. However, the British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it could only currently confirm five deaths. According to activists, it is unclear if there was an opposition target in the area, but there were opposition fighters nearby. The Syrian government has not yet commented on the accusations. Activists claim the attack was in response to recent strategic gains by opposition fighters, including several military bases near Damascus as well as a hydro-electric dam the opposition reportedly seized on Monday. Fighting was also reported on the southern edge of the opposition held Maaret al-Numan, on the highway between Damascus and Aleppo. Meanwhile, the government has been demolishing neighborhoods in Damascus in an apparent strategy to disperse and weaken opposition fighters by destroying the areas from which they operate. Officially, "presidential decree No. 66" was issued to rid Damascus of its illegal slums, however a Syrian official said the move was essential to drive out "terrorists."
Headlines
- Eight years after the Palestinian leader's death, Yasir Arafat's remains have been exhumed as part of an investigation into whether he was poisoned.
- Israel's former foreign minister and former head of the opposition Kadima party Tzipi Livni has announced a return to politics forming "The Movement" party which will further fracture the center-left.
- The Palestinian Authority has submitted a draft resolution to the U.N. General Assembly for recognition of Palestine as a nonmember state, which will come to a vote on Thursday.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Monday, November 26, 2012 - 10:16 AM
Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is meeting with top officials from the Supreme Judicial Council (SJC) Monday in efforts to calm a crisis sparked by a decree he issued Thursday which extended executive powers. The announcement sparked major demonstrations and a 9 percent plunge in the country's stock market. Clashes between police and protesters have wounded 500 people and killed a 15-year-old Muslim Brotherhood member, who died in an attack on the main Brotherhood office in the town of Damanhour. Protesters criticize the decree for exempting Morsi's decisions from judicial review and the opposition has accused him of behaving like a new dictator equating him to former President Hosni Mubarak. They say they will only be satisfied by a full retraction of the decree, however the SJC has implied it is willing to compromise saying the decree should apply only to "sovereign matters." On Sunday Morsi said the decree is temporary, until a new constitution is approved and parliament instated, and his move was not intended to concentrate power in his hands. Morsi's supporters and opponents are planning large demonstrations for Tuesday and the Muslim Brotherhood has called for a million-man march.
Syria
Syrian opposition activists have reported a Syrian government cluster bomb attack has killed 10 children and wounded 15 people. A Syrian MiG fighter jet reportedly dropped multiple bombs Sunday on a playground in the village of Deir al-Asafir, east of Damascus. The Syrian government denied the claims as "baseless" saying the military does not possess such weapons. On Sunday, opposition fighters claimed they seized a military air base at Marj al-Sultan, not far from Damascus. The British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the opposition fighters later pulled out from the base, but the report has not been verified. Additionally, opposition fighters have claimed to have taken the hydroelectric Tishreen dam on the Euphrates river in northern Aleppo province after several days of clashes. Meanwhile, the conflict has again reportedly spilled outside Syria's borders as Turkey fired on Syrian warplanes that appeared to have entered Turkish airspace while attacking opposition fighters in the Syrian town of Atma, along the border. Having requested NATO Patriot missiles, the Turkish military said surface-to-air missiles will be used only to protect the border, not to establish a no-fly zone in Syria. A Turkish and NATO team is set to meet Tuesday to begin assessments on where to station the missiles and to discuss who will operate them.
Headlines
- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak announced his retirement from Israeli politics and said he will not run in parliamentary elections scheduled for January.
- Scientists and legal experts from Switzerland, France, and Russia have begun to arrive in the West Bank set to exhume the body of former Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat on Tuesday over suspicions that he may have been poisoned.
- The 18th United Nations climate change conference began Monday in Doha, Qatar, for the first time held in the Gulf.
Posted By Mara Revkin
Sunday, November 25, 2012 - 3:09 PM
If Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi is ever in the market for a presidential theme song, he should consider, "U Can't Touch This." American rapper M.C. Hammer's infectiously arrogant refrain aptly sums up a stunning power play by the Egyptian president on November 22 -- a unilateral constitutional declaration that immunizes his decisions from judicial oversight and preempts legal challenges to an Islamist-dominated constitutional process. In short, the declaration makes Morsi's decisions legally untouchable. If this were Zimbabwe, we would call it dictatorship. But in Egypt, it's just business as usual in a dysfunctional democratic transition.
Morsi, who was elected Egypt's president in June on a platform pledging to purge remnants of the former regime from state institutions, is now taking cues straight from the playbook of his authoritarian predecessor, Hosni Mubarak. The president has attempted to justify the declaration as a necessary intervention to alleviate political gridlock, with the aim of achieving "revolutionary demands and rooting out remnants of the old regime." A senior advisor in the president's Freedom and Justice Party (the Muslim Brotherhood's political wing), Gehad El-Haddad, took to his Twitter feed to defend the decision in less tactful terms. "Someone needs to get real," El-Haddad tweeted dismissively to critics who suggested that the president had less radical alternatives at his disposal.
AHMED MAHMOUD/AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey
Monday, November 19, 2012 - 11:00 AM
As casualties climb in fighting between Israel and Gazan militants, diplomats are working on negotiating a ceasefire. An estimated 30 Palestinians were killed Sunday in Israeli fire on the Gaza Strip, as Palestinian militants continued fire into Israel. In six days of fighting, up to 94 Palestinians have been killed, including 20 children, and at least 600 have been injured. Additionally, three Israelis have been killed in rocket fire and an estimated 79 wounded. The Israeli military reported that since last Wednesday 544 rockets have hit Israel and 302 have been intercepted by Iron Dome Missile Defense System. Israeli airstrikes have targeted Hamas owned buildings and homes, weapons storage facilities, and police stations. Israel has deployed thousands of troops to the Gaza border and called 75,000 reservists, and international officials are trying to prevent what would likely be an incredibly costly ground invasion. An Israeli envoy traveled to Egypt on Sunday and met with Egyptian security officials, while leaders of Egypt, Qatar, Turkey, and Hamas met for indirect talks about a ceasefire. Hamas is calling for the end to Israel's five-year embargo on the Gaza Strip and Israel is looking for a permanent end to rocket fire.
Syria
Israeli troops fired into Syria late Saturday night responding to fire in the disputed Israeli held Golan Heights. The gunfire reportedly hit an army vehicle, but caused no injuries. A spokeswoman for the Israel Defense Forces said Israeli artillery fire hit a target across the Syrian border, but did not provide further details. Israeli Brig. Gen. Yoav Mordechai said there may have been casualties in the Syrian Army, but that could not be confirmed. Several shells have reportedly hit Israeli territory in recent weeks causing damage but no casualties. Violent clashes continued across Syria over the weekend with an estimated 108 people killed on Saturday. Fighting was reported in the suburbs of Damascus as well as Aleppo, where opposition fighters are working to overtake a Syrian army base, Base 46. Additionally, opposition forces reportedly seized the Hamdan airport on Saturday in Deir el-Zour. Meanwhile on Sunday, senior Syrian officials spoke out against the recent recognition by foreign governments of the new National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces accusing France, Turkey, and Qatar of supporting "terrorism."
Headlines
- Jordan has charged 89 activists for inciting revolt after protests last week over decreased fuel subsidies turned unusually violent.
- Egypt's Coptic Christians leaders ordained Pope Tawadros II on Sunday, replacing Pope Shenouda III who died in March.
Lior Mizrahi/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Friday, November 16, 2012 - 9:59 AM
Gazan militants fired the first rockets at Tel Aviv since Iraq targeted the Israeli city during the 1991 Gulf War. One rocket hit an uninhabited part of a suburb south of the city, and another hit the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tel Aviv, the farthest distances ever reached by Gazan fire. In a speech on Thursday night, Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said this is a "very significant development" in the conflict with Israel, and noted that the Iranian-made rockets have a range of 44 miles. He called for Arab leaders to shift their focus from Syria to protecting the people of Gaza. Egypt has sent its Foreign Minister Hisham Kandil to Gaza in a dramatic diplomatic move seemingly displaying Egypt's support for Hamas, which Israel, the United States, and other Western countries deem a terrorist organization. Kandil's arrival prompted Israel to agree to a temporary truce, which barely took hold. Israel has deployed armored vehicles toward the border with Gaza and has called up 16,000 reserve troops to prepare for a possible ground invasion. Meanwhile, Israeli airstrikes have continued on Gaza and Palestinian militants fired at least 25 rockets into southern Israel. An estimated 21 Palestinians and three Israelis have died in the past three days of escalated violent conflict.
Syria
Turkey has recognized the new Syrian opposition group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces, as the "sole representative of the Syrian people." It joins France and the six Gulf states. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu cited the rising death toll in the 20-month conflict, which he said surpassed 39,000 and asserted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's days are numbered. British Foreign Minister William Hague has signaled he is preparing to formally recognize the group, but wants to have more details, "about who they are going to appoint, particular positions, about whether the Kurds will be included, how much support they have inside Syria." After meetings began Friday in London with representatives from the opposition, Hague said the talks were "encouraging." He is expected to make a decision in the next few days.
Headlines
- Thousands of Jordanians chanted the 2011 Arab uprisings slogan "the people want the downfall of the regime" in protests in the capital Amman. The Muslim Brotherhood joined the demonstrations.
- Iraq has released Ali Mussa Daqduq, suspected senior Hezbollah operative accused of killing U.S. troops, saying, "there was no reason for his detention."
- Iran's state television reported the intelligence ministry arrested a "number of terrorist elements" backed by "Western-Zionist intelligence services" who it accused of planning bomb attacks.
MOHAMMED ABED/AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Thursday, November 15, 2012 - 9:45 AM
Israel has continued air, naval, and tank strikes on Gaza on Thursday after Wednesday's pinpoint bombing that killed a Hamas leader sparked intense rocket fire from Gaza. An Israeli strike killed the military head of Hamas, Ahmed Said Khalil al-Jabari, and was accompanied by air strikes on over 100 militant targets in the Gaza Strip. Violence has reached levels not seen since four years ago, during the three week Israeli ground invasion into Gaza in the winter of 2008 to 2009. Israel has said about 200 rockets were fired into southern Israel since the hit on Jabari, although 145 were destroyed by Israel's Iron Dome missile defense system. Three civilians were killed in a strike in the southern Israeli town of Kiryat Malachi. Up to 13 Palestinians have also been reported killed from strikes, mostly militants, but including some children. Dozens of people have been injured on both sides. The recent violence has heightened international concerns of escalation. Israel's activities are stressing its fragile relationship with the new leadership in Egypt. President Mohamed Morsi has recalled the Egyptian ambassador to Israel. The United Nations Security Council met in a closed emergency session on Wednesday evening, and the Arab League is scheduled to meet on Friday. The escalation has come nine weeks before Israeli parliamentary elections and as the Palestinian Authority prepares to request observer status for Palestine at the United Nations General Assembly.
Syria
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is urging the Syrian opposition to unite as France pushes for arming the opposition. Lavrov met with Arab foreign ministers on Wednesday in Saudi Arabia stressing the unification of Syrian opposition groups and calling for the establishment of a team to negotiate with President Bashar al-Assad's government. Syrian opposition groups formed an umbrella coalition on Sunday in what Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Muqdad criticized as a "declaration of war." France said it will discuss arms supplies to the Syrian opposition with its European partners. While French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said he was wary of injecting more weapons into the war torn country, the government is looking for a relaxation of a European Union arms embargo which has made it difficult for "defensive arms" to reach opposition fighters. Meanwhile, tensions remain along the Syrian and Turkish border after days of bombing targeting the town of Ras al-Ain. Attacks seem to have abated. However, Turkish jets have deployed monitoring the area.
Headlines
- Jordanian police killed a gunman in an attack on a police station where several police officers were injured in the second day of unrest sparked by a government reduction of gas subsidies.
- U.S. President Barack Obama defended U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Susan Rice over her handling of the September attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya.
Posted By Aaron Y. Zelin
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - 3:25 PM
Ever since the attacks on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi and U.S. Embassy in Tunis in September, there has been a large spotlight on the Islamist groups viewed as the main culprits -- Katibat Ansar al-Sharia in Benghazi (ASB) and Ansar al-Sharia in Tunisia (AST). While much of the understandable focus has been on the violent actions of individuals in these organizations, much of the scope of their activities lies outside violence. A large-portion of the activities of these groups is local social service provision under their particular dawa (missionary) offices. This broader picture is crucial to better understanding emerging trends in societies transitioning from authoritarian to democratic rule.
ASB and AST can broadly be considered jihadi organizations based on their ideological outlook. However, these jihadis are different than past incarnations. Jihadis have a good track record in fighting and less so in governing or providing social services. The only example of jihadi governance has occurred when the Somali-based Harakat al-Shabab al-Mujahidin and Yemeni-based al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) held actual territory. What sets ASB and AST apart is that they are providing aid to local communities in a non-state actor capacity, which has been unheard of previously.
ABDULLAH DOMA/AFP/GettyImages
EXPLORE:MIDDLE EAST, MIDDLE EAST POSTER 4, ARAB WORLD, MIDDLE EAST, NORTH AFRICA, ISLAM, LIBYA, SECURITY
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Wednesday, November 14, 2012 - 9:48 AM
A wave of bombings across Iraq which seemed to target security forces and civilians killed an estimated 17 people and wounded dozens of others early on Wednesday. The apparently coordinated attacks came on the eve of the Muslim month of Muharram, marking the Islamic new year. Six car bombs and roadside explosive devices hit Iraq's capital of Baghdad and four other Iraqi cities. The worst of the attacks was outside the offices of the Kurdistan Democratic Party in the oil-rich, ethnically mixed, and disputed northern city of Kirkuk, about 175 miles north of Baghdad. At least three bombs exploded simultaneously, killing five Kurdish security forces and injuring four others. In the nearby majority Sunni town of Hawija, a car bomb hit an army patrol killing at least four people. A car bomb also hit downtown Baghdad during the morning rush hour. Another car bomb exploded at a crowded market in the city of Hilla, about 60 miles south of Baghdad, killing up to six people including children and wounding over 30 others. No one has yet claimed responsibility for the attacks.
Syria
France has joined the Gulf states in officially recognizing Syria's new opposition coalition as the sole representative of the Syrian people, and said it is considering arming the group. Conversely, while the United States has commended the formation of a unity opposition group, officials have referred to the coalition as "a legitimate representative" of the Syrian people. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the United States is waiting to evaluate the work of the group. However, she announced that the United States is committing $30 million in additional humanitarian aid to Syria, bringing the total amount of U.S. assistance to about $200 million. Meanwhile, violence continued across Syria with air strikes on Maaret al-Numan and tank shelling in two Palestinian refugee camps in southern Damascus. Additionally, a Syrian warplane reportedly bombed the town of Ras al-Ain, on the border with Turkey. Turkey warned Syria on Wednesday that it would retaliate if Syrian aircraft violate Turkish airspace. The bordering town of Ceylanpinar has seen damage from the recent air strikes, but no casualties. Villages west of Ceylanpinar have begun evacuating over concern of spillover from the Syrian conflict.
Headlines
- Violent protests have broken out across Jordan on Tuesday against increases in fuel prices after the government announced the lifting of subsidies.
- Israel's hard line Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has proposed "toppling" the Abbas government if the Palestinian Authority goes forward in seeking observer status at the United Nations.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Tuesday, November 13, 2012 - 8:51 AM
The radical Islamist cleric Omar Mahmoud Mohammed Othman, popularly known as Abu Qatada, has won an appeal in Britain against his deportation to Jordan. Abu Qatada has been detained in Britain for seven years, and is wanted in Jordan on terrorism charges. He received asylum in Britain in 1993 after claiming he had been tortured in Jordon. On Monday, Britain's Special Immigration Appeals Commission (SIAC) ruled that he would not receive a fair trail in Jordan. British authorities reported he has been released Tuesday from a high security prison under conditions of an electronic tag, a 16-hour curfew, a ban on internet use, and heavy restrictions on who he can meet. British politicians have united against the ruling and the government has said they are "absolutely determined" to deport Abu Qatada. British Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg said, "He should not be in this country, he is a dangerous person." British security officials described Abu Qatada as one of al Qaeda's top operatives in Europe, and a Spanish judge referred to him as Osama bin Laden's right hand man in Europe.
Syria
As a new negotiated Syrian opposition coalition garners international support, Syrian forces continued an attack on the town of Ras al-Ain on the border with Turkey. The Arab League welcomed the National coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces established on Sunday, and Qatar's prime minister called for "political and material support" of the group. Six Gulf states have recognized the coalition as the country's "legitimate representative." Yet other Arab League members such as Iraq and Lebanon have not supported the Syrian revolt and are not yet willing to delegitimize Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. British and U.S. officials were optimistic about the efforts at unification and Turkey said the international community had "no excuse any more" not to support the opposition. Meanwhile, Syrian forces have bombarded the border town of Ras al-Ain for the second day. According to witness accounts Syrian warplanes destroyed at least 15 buildings and killed at least 20 people on Monday. No casualties have been reported in the adjacent Turkish town of Ceylanpinar, but it has sustained considerable destruction and the attacks are creating panic among residents. Additionally, the bombings have sparked some of the highest refugee movements into Turkey since the beginning of the Syrian conflict. Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu reportedly sent a diplomatic note to Syria protesting the bombing of Ras al-Ain. Fierce clashes broke out in other locations across Syria as well, including in Damascus and Daraa. Additionally, Syrian forces have provoked Israeli army commanders in the disputed Israeli held territory of the Golan Heights.
Headlines
- Israel continued targeted strikes into Gaza on Monday as Palestinian militants decreased rocket fire and indicated they are ready for a truce.
- Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said it will present a bid to the United Nations on November 29 for U.N. non-member observer state status.
- Turkey's ruling AKP submitted a bill to authorize the Kurdish language in courts, but it is not clear when it will be discussed in parliament.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Monday, November 12, 2012 - 9:48 AM
Violence has flared over the weekend between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip for the second time in less than a month. Hamas affiliated militants from the Popular Resistance Committees fired a rocket into Israel Saturday hitting an Israeli patrol jeep and injuring up to four Israeli soldiers. Israel quickly retaliated with air strikes reportedly killing up to six Palestinians and wounding over 20 more people. Since Saturday night, over 50 rockets were fired from Gaza toward the Israeli border, according to Israeli sources. Israeli officials are debating an operation into Gaza and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu planned a meeting for Monday with foreign ambassadors. Egypt stepped in Sunday night in efforts to broker a truce -- however, Israel reported nine more rockets were fired into Southern Israel on Monday morning.
Syria
Syria's fractious opposition signed a tentative agreement in Doha, Qatar on Sunday to form a new opposition umbrella group, the National Coalition for Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces. The agreement came after days of tense negotiations spurred from western and regional pressure aimed at creating a unified body for international financial and possibly military aid, as well as to serve as a future transition government if President Bashar al-Assad is removed from power. The new assembly unanimously elected Sheikh Ahmad Moaz al-Khatib, a well-respected figure amongst Syrians and former Imam of the historic Umayyad mosque in Damascus, as president. The previous main opposition group, the Syrian National Council, will hold 22 of the 60 seats on the new coalition's leadership council. Meanwhile, Israel fired into Syria for the first time since 1973 after a stray mortar shell hit an Israeli army post in the disputed territory of the Golan Heights. Israel's army called the missile fire into Syria a "warning" as fighting in Syria has been spreading closer to the Israeli border with several recent errant munitions falling into Israeli-held territory. Additionally, a Syrian jet has bombed the opposition held town of Ras al-Ain near the Turkish border on Monday. Witness accounts have cited up to 15 people died in the attack, and many wounded were brought to the Turkish town of Ceylanpinar for care. The Turkish military has been increasing deployments to the tenuous border and the government has reportedly been considering asking NATO to station Patriot missiles at the border.
Headlines
- Iran launched its "biggest ever" air drill on Monday as tensions increase with the United States after Iran shot down an unarmed U.S. drone over the Persian Gulf.
- Sectarian clashes broke out in the south Lebanese coastal city of Sidon on Sunday between Sunni Salafist supporters and Shiiite Hezbollah supporters killing at least three people.
- The United States is concerned that a Hezbollah operative accused of helping to kill U.S. troops in Iraq may soon be released.
- An agreement between Egypt and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) over a $4.8 billion loan is stalled as the IMF waits for an Egyptian government economic reform package.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Wednesday, November 7, 2012 - 9:47 AM
Bahrain has revoked the citizenship of 31 opposition activists for "undermining state security." The interior ministry cited Article 10 of the Citizenship Law saying it permits the "re-evaluation of nationality." Of the 31 activists named, two were former members of parliament representing the Shiite al-Wefaq party -- Jawad and Jalal Fairuz. Others were London based activists Said al-Shehabi, head of the Freemen of Bahrain movement, and Ali Mushaima, son of Hassan Musaima, the imprisoned leader of the opposition al-Haq group who is serving a life sentence for allegedly plotting against the Al-Khalifah regime. The Bahrain Youth Society for Human Rights and Bahrain Center for Human Rights said they had "grave concern over the systematic targeting of prominent political activists, former members of parliament, clerics and others." They continued claiming the government did not provide sufficient evidence for revoking the citizenships of these individuals. The move comes after Bahrain's government banned public gatherings and rallies last week drawing criticism from human rights groups and the United Nations. There has been widespread unrest in Bahrain since pro-democracy protesters took to the streets of the capital of Manama in February 2011. At least 60 people have been killed and thousands wounded and detained.
Syria
The Syrian opposition struck government strongholds in Damascus with four mortar attacks showing a growing boldness and an increased sectarian nature of the conflict. The Houran Freemen Brigade of the Syrian opposition claimed responsibility for attacks on the predominantly Alawite Damascus neighborhood of Mezze, hitting a military airfield and an intelligence headquarters. Fighters fired upon the palace that houses President Bashar al-Assad's offices, but missed. Bombings also hit the districts of Hai al-Wuroud, al-Qadam, and Ibn al-Nafis. Syrian state television reported that Judge Abad Nadwa was killed by a car bomb on Wednesday. Additionally in Damascus, clashes have continued between opposition fighters and pro-government Palestinian forces in the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmouk and in the southern neighborhood of Hajar al-Aswad. Meanwhile, opposition representatives have continued negotiations in Qatar where they are set to elect a new leader and executive committee on Wednesday. British Prime Minister David Cameron called for the removal of Assad saying he should face international law and justice, but suggested he be allowed safe passage if he agrees to step down. Cameron is in the midst of a regional tour, visiting the Zatari Syrian refugee camp in Jordan as well as the Gulf countries of the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
Headlines
- Turkey's government said it will propose legislation to allow the Kurdish language to be used in courts in efforts to bring an end to an eight week hunger strike by an estimated 700 Kurdish prisoners.
- For the first time, women will join Saudi Arabia's Shura Council advising King Abdullah, but will be separated from men with a screen.
Posted By Nadia Hijab, Alaa Tartir, Jeremy Wildeman
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - 11:42 AM
The U.S. State Department recently warned (again) that any move by the Palestine Liberation Organization to enhance the organization's status at the United Nations would, among other things, put United States aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) at risk.
That day may not be far off. PA President Mahmoud Abbas plans to ask the U.N. General Assembly to upgrade Palestine to non-member state status later this month. But is a U.S. aid cutoff such a bad thing? More voices are questioning international aid to the Palestinians living under Israeli occupation, with some even calling for a full boycott of the aid industry.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Tuesday, November 6, 2012 - 9:41 AM
A suicide car bombing at an army base outside of Baghdad killed an estimated 31 people, most believed to be Iraqi soldiers, and injured another 50 in one of the worst attacks this year on the country's security forces. The attacker drove his explosive-filled car into a group of soldiers and recruits at the Taji base, about 12 miles north of the Iraqi capital of Baghdad. Casualties were high because a large number of soldiers were outside the base for a shift change around midday. Authorities have said they expect the death toll to rise as many of those wounded sustained critical injuries. This was the second attack in Taji in less than 24 hours, as a car bomb targeted a nearby army patrol, wounding eight people. Another bombing hit a Shiite neighborhood in Baghdad on Monday, killing four people. Violence has decreased in Iraq since its peak in 2006 and 2007. However insurgent attacks are still frequent and there has been at least one major attack a month since the withdrawal of U.S. forces in December 2011.
Syria
Syria saw some of the worst violence in months on Monday as U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi called the situation a "big catastrophe." According to the activist Local Coordinating Committees, at least 159 people were killed across Syria on Monday. An Islamist car suicide bomber, reportedly from al-Nusra Front, drove into a center used as a base by Syrian security forces and pro-government militia in Hama province, killing at least 50 people. The attack was among the worst on President Bashar al-Assad's forces since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011. However, Syrian state media said that just two civilians had died. Clashes also raged in Damascus between Palestinian factions in the Yarmouk and Tadamon neighborhoods in rare infighting with the Palestinian Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine fighting on behalf of the Assad regime. A car bombing claimed by the opposition Free Syria Army hit Mezze 86, a pro-government Damascus neighborhood near Assad's offices, killed at least 11 people and injured more than 30 others. Government airstrikes continued across the country on Monday, many concentrated in Idlib province. On Tuesday, gunmen killed Mohammed Osama Laham, brother of Syria's Parliament Speaker Jihad Laham while he was on his way to work in the Damascus neighborhood of Midan. In another blow to the regime, seven Syrian generals reportedly defected to Turkey.
Headlines
- Turkey has begun a trial in absentia of four Israeli senior former military commanders of the 2010 raid of an aid flotilla to Gaza that killed nine Turks, a move dismissed by Israel as a "show trial."
- Saudi Arabia has named long time security chief Prince Mohammed bin Nayef as interior minister in one of the first ascensions of the next generation of Saudi princes.
- Israel has announced plans to begin construction on 1,213 new West Bank settlement homes.
- Rival government aligned militias battled in Libya's western city of al-Khoms a day after clashes in Tripoli.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Monday, November 5, 2012 - 9:59 AM
Five homemade bombs exploded on Monday in the Qudaibiya and Adliya districts of Manama, Bahrain's capital, killing two foreign workers and severely wounding a third. Police have been targeted on several occasions over the past year, but this was a rare attack on civilians, in what appeared to be coordinated explosions. The Bahrain News Agency called the blasts an "act of terrorism," and said an investigation is underway. A representative from the opposition Shiite party al-Wefaq, Matar Matar, said that he doubted opposition activists were responsible for the attack, mentioning that Shiite clerics have come out against escalating the conflict. Bahrain has been plagued by unrest since demonstrations broke out in February 2011, during which at least 60 people were killed and thousands were arrested. Bahrain's government announced a ban on rallies and public gatherings last week, a move that was condemned by human rights groups and U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Foreign ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to discuss regional issues, including unrest in Bahrain and Kuwait, which also banned public gatherings and rallies last week.
Syria
Amid heavy weekend violence, Syria's fractious opposition began meetings in the Qatari capital of Doha in efforts to form a new unity leadership for a possible transitional government. The talks between over 20 opposition leaders are set to take place over four days and are aimed at overhauling the structure of the opposition after the Syrian National Council (SNC) lost support, specifically from the United States. Abdulbaset Sieda, the current head for the SNC said, "The main aim is to expand the council to include more of the social and political components." The United States is pushing for the group to create stronger ties between commanders in the field and Syrian leaders in exile. To allay fears that the meeting would precede talks with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the group released a statement saying that the Assad regime leaving power is a precondition of any political dialogue. Meanwhile, opposition fighters reportedly seized an oilfield for the first time on Sunday, over taking al-Ward oilfield in Deir el-Zour province after three days of clashes. Also, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy clashes near a Damascus security building. Syrian television reported a large explosion near the Dama Rose hotel in Damascus, which wounded several people. Additionally, the Syrian army reportedly shelled the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp in the southern outskirts of Damascus killing at least 20 people. Opposition fighters reportedly pulled back from an attack that began on Saturday on the large Taftanaz military airport in the northern Idlib province due to a shortage of ammunition. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimates that nearly 200 people died in weekend violence.
Headlines
- For the first time in 40 years, Egypt's Coptic church has chosen a new pope, Bishop Tawadros, who said he will reverse the political role of the church espoused by the late Pope Shenouda.
- Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas sparked controversy and protests after a remark interpreted as a concession over the Palestinian "right to return."
- A Yemeni man and ten Saudi Arabians recently released from prison, who had been held on terrorism charges, were caught after two Saudi border guards were killed in an ambush.
- Kuwait's emir met with opposition representatives as thousands of Kuwaitis gathered Sunday to protest a new electoral law days after demonstrations were banned.
- An Israeli news channel reported Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu had ordered an attack on Iran in 2010, but the effort was blocked.
AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Friday, November 2, 2012 - 8:51 AM
A retired British businessman and millionaire Christopher Tappin has pleaded guilty in a Texas court to charges of attempting to sell batteries to Iran for surface to air missiles. He admitted to aiding and abetting two business associates in attempting to sell "zinc/silver oxide Reserve Batteries" to Iran, which is used in Hawk Air Defense Missiles, defying export regulations. A U.S. federal indictment was filed in 2007 after a sting operation. Tappin was extradited from Britain in February. The case has brought extradition arrangements under scrutiny from opponents who claim harsh sentences force suspects to reach plea deals instead of standing trial. Tappin is expected to be sentenced on January 9, and will likely be sentenced to 33 months. Prosecutors said they would not oppose him serving his sentence in Britain. Had he not pleaded guilty, he could have faced up to 35 years in jail.
Syria
Syrian forces have reportedly withdrawn from their last base near the town of Saraqeb. The base is about 30 miles southwest of Aleppo at a junction between two major highways, one linking Damascus to Aleppo, and the other connecting Aleppo with the Mediterranean port of Latakia. After having lost the strategic town of Marret al-Numan to the opposition, the retreat has left the area "completely outside the control of regime forces" according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, and will make it increasingly difficult for President Bashar al-Assad's forces to resupply troops in Aleppo. The move came after opposition fighters reportedly killed an estimated 28 soldiers in attacks on three checkpoints on the highway leading from Damascus to Aleppo. The attacks have come under severe scrutiny after a video allegedly showed 10 of the soldiers being summarily executed. The United Nations and Amnesty International have condemned the killings saying the opposition forces could be committing war crimes. Five opposition fighters were also reportedly killed in the associated clashes. Meanwhile, government forces continued air strikes across Syria on Thursday.
Headlines
- Kuwait has warned it will be stricter on demonstrators breaking the ban on protests after authorities allowed the release of former opposition MP Mussallam al-Barrak on bail.
- Dozens of gunmen have occupied Libyan's Parliament over cabinet appointment disputes.
- After years of speculation, Israel has admitted to the 1988 killing of former Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat's deputy, Khalil al-Wazir, in a raid in Tunisia.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Thursday, November 1, 2012 - 8:42 AM
The United States is withdrawing support for the Syrian National Council (SNC) and helping form a more representative opposition group. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said "There has to be representation of those who are on the front lines, fighting and dying today to obtain their freedom." The SNC is largely comprised of exiles. The Obama administration has been working behind the scenes for several months in negotiations to build a new Syrian opposition leadership. Clinton said she has been heavily involved in planning an Arab League supported meeting for next week in Doha, Qatar, where opposition figures will work to form a new opposition body. U.S. ambassador to Syria Robert Ford, pulled form Syria last year due to safety concerns, has also been working to assemble a new group. It is expected to have between 35 and 50 representatives, up to one third of which will likely go to members of the SNC. Former Syrian Prime Minister Riyad Hijab, who defected in August, is one of the people proposed for the new council. Addressing increasing reports of Islamist extremist involvement in fighting in Syria, Clinton also warned the opposition should "strongly resist the efforts by the extremists to hijack the Syrian revolution." Meeting with U.N. and Arab League envoy on Syria Lakdar Brahimi, China proposed a plan to end violence in Syria including a regionally phased ceasefire and establishment of a transitional government. Meanwhile, violence continued Wednesday with street fights in Aleppo and a bombing in Atarib, 12 miles west of the city, which hit a breadline and killed at least 15 people. Additionally, a bomb exploded at a Shiite shrine in Damascus near a government checkpoint.
Headlines
- A Saudi fuel truck crashed and exploded killing 22 people and injuring over 100 others.
- Libya's General National Congress has approved a cabinet proposed by Prime Minister Ali Zidan, who took office when the former prime minister was dismissed after his cabinet was rejected.
- After an unverified report that Palestinian Prime Minister Salaam Fayyad resigned, the PLO refuted the report and said Fayyad had presented a plan for a more inclusive factional government.
- Kuwait has extended the detention of former opposition Member of Parliament Mussallam al-Barrak on charges of challenging the emir in a speech at an October 15 protest.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Wednesday, October 31, 2012 - 8:47 AM
Bahrain's Interior Minister, Sheikh Rashid al Khalifah, has banned all demonstrations and rallies citing "repeated abuses" of the rights to freedom of expression by protest organizers. Khalifah has accused the organizers of inciting riots and attacks, as well as calling for the overthrow of "leading national figures." Additionally, he said that participants have failed to adhere to legal regulations. Government spokesman Fahad al-Binali said that the ban would be temporary and mainly intended to "calm things down." Recent clashes between protesters and police officers outside the capital of Manama resulted in the deaths of two policemen. The interior minister said rallies and gatherings would be allowed when security is sufficient to "protect national unity and social fabric to fight extremism." Bahrain's protest movement started in February 2011 after prodemocracy rallies in the since demolished Pearl Roundabout sparked clashes that killed at least 35 people and injured hundreds. A government crackdown followed shortly afterward, and thousands of activists were arrested. While the government has made some efforts toward reform, human rights groups claim abuses have continued, mainly the detainment of peaceful protesters. Sayed Hadi al-Mosawi, a representative from the opposition group Al-Wefaq, said, "They don't want people to express their opinions, their anger." He continued, "This will not take the country to stability." Amnesty International demanded that the ban be immediately lifted saying it violated the right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly.
Syria
Syrian state television has reported that an air force general has been "killed by rebels" as government air raids pound opposition targets after a largely ignored ceasefire. Syrian state television reported that General Abdullah Mahmud al-Khalidi was "assassinated" on Monday in the central Damascus district of Rukn al-Din. The opposition Free Syrian Army has taken responsibility for the attack that killed the general adding an air force intelligence official was also killed in the operation. However, contrasting reports state the government killed the general to prevent his defection. Meanwhile, air raids by Syrian forces have escalated on Tuesday, a day after the expiration of the failed Eid al-Adha ceasefire brokered by U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi. A fighter jet reportedly dropped four bombs on the Damascus neighborhood of Jobar, which would be the first account of an air strike within the capital city since the beginning of the conflict in March 2011. The British-based Syrian Observatory reported that at least 185 people were killed on across Syria on Tuesday, many in airstrikes in the Damascus suburb of Douma. Heavy air strikes and clashes also hit the opposition held Maaret al-Numan, the strategic town on the highway connecting Aleppo with Damascus. Activists estimated the death toll during the four day ceasefire that began Friday exceeded 500.
Headlines
- An electrical fire prompted by celebratory gunfire killed an estimated 25 people, mostly women, and injured 30 others at a Saudi Arabian wedding.
- An Islamist protester was killed in clashes between police and Salafists at a pro-sharia rally in the Tunis suburb of Manouba.
- Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said Iran has delayed nuclear weapons development by diverting over a third of its medium-enriched uranium to civilian purposes.
- French criminal investigators will exhume the body of former Palestinian Authority President Yasir Arafat in Ramallah in late November on suspicions he died from poisoning.
Posted By Shadi Mokhtari
Tuesday, October 30, 2012 - 3:04 PM
For decades, "human rights in the Middle East" was a subject of scrutiny, debate, and mobilizations spearheaded from outside of the region. Western governments including successive U.S. administrations frequently took up the region's dire human rights conditions and funded a variety of human rights initiatives to remedy them, in many ways as a substitute for forgoing economic and military alliances with highly repressive regimes. These foreign governments' human rights talk was heavy in its emphasis on women's rights and other violations for which backward cultural and religious belief were designated as the key culprits and light on its emphasis on civil and political rights violations. During the post-9/11 era, as highlighting the Middle East's deplorable human rights conditions added a veneer of moral purpose to military interventions in the region, the "human rights in the Middle East" line of inquiry took on a life of its own and created a cottage industry of Western-driven human rights assessments and prescriptions. All the while, local voices promoting human rights were largely silenced by authoritarian rulers simultaneously paying lip service to human rights and undermining it by arguing that it served foreign, Western, imperialist agendas. Cumulatively, there dynamics resulted in minimal Middle Eastern agency in defining the nature and scope of its own predicament vis-à-vis the human rights paradigm.
Today, the region's myriad of human rights mobilizations and contests are increasingly being spurred from within the Middle East, not abroad.
AMRO MARAGHI/AFP/GettyImages
Posted By Brian Dooley
Friday, October 26, 2012 - 10:21 PM
The Bahraini government seems to understand freedom of expression a bit like Lance Armstrong understands clean cycling. Like Lance, it prefers to play by its own rules and attack critics rather than accept normal standards. The Kingdom has invented a curious definition of free expression where criticizing members of the ruling family on Twitter can land you in court. The Bahraini regime's credibility is as damaged as that of world cycling -- the government needs to implement drastic measures that go beyond public relations to restore international trust.
Bahrainis can't say they weren't warned. On September 9, Bahrain's Ministry of the Interior announced it would "soon tackle crimes related to defamation and abuse on social media networks." A senior official in the ministry noted that "some people were using the communication technology to abuse national and public figures through the Internet," and that the ministry "had received many complaints from public figures affected by such acts who have demanded action against this."
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Friday, October 26, 2012 - 8:41 AM
A ceasefire has come into effect for Eid al-Adha on Friday, although several accounts of fighting have been reported. Late Thursday the Syrian government agreed to a four-day truce proposed by U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, but said it reserved the right to retaliate against opposition attacks. The opposition Free Syrian Army said it would comply as long as the government adheres to it. However, other opposition factions said they would not stop fighting. Syria has appeared much calmer although clashes have broken out in several locations. Protesters have taken to the streets across the country calling for the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad. Clashes broke out Friday morning at an army base near Maaret al-Numan, where opposition fighters have been trying to overtake the military installation along a strategic highway connecting Damascus and Aleppo. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, the Syrian army fired six rockets at the Khalidiya district of Homs. According to other reports, Syrian troops have hit Hajar al-Aswad, a poor district of Damascus, and violence was reported in the Damascus suburb of Harasta. In Aleppo, opposition forces were reported to have made significant gains. An earlier ceasefire negotiated by Brahimi's predecessor, Kofi Annan, failed to take hold, but did reduce the casualty count for several days. Brahimi has said he hopes that the temporary truce will allow for a sustainable political process.
Headlines
- Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party has formed a coalition with Avigdor Lieberman's nationalist party, Yisrael Beiteinu, widening the divisions between Israel's left and right camps.
- Intelligence officials have reported Iran is nearing completion of its underground nuclear enrichment plant, Fordo, despite unprecedented sanctions and a plummeting economy.
- A French poll has found a majority of people in the country believes Islam plays too significant a role in French society and threatens the national identity showing a hardening of public opinion.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Thursday, October 25, 2012 - 8:45 AM
After two days of fighting, Egypt has brokered a tentative ceasefire between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza. According to Israel, no rockets have been fired since Wednesday night and the unofficial truce is appearing to hold. Fighting began on Tuesday after a landmark visit from Qatar's emir to Gaza, when Hamas militants fired rockets into Israel drawing retaliatory Israeli airstrikes, which killed four Palestinians including three militants. Israeli officials said around 80 rockets and mortar shells were fired into Israel injuring six people, including two Thai workers who were critically wounded. Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak said he hoped the truce would stand, but said over 600 rockets had been fired into Israel since the beginning of 2012 and that the struggle was far from over. Meanwhile, EU foreign policy head Catherine Ashton is visiting with Israelis and Palestinians in attempts to revive stalled peace talks.
Syria
The Syrian government is expected to give its decision Thursday on a ceasefire for the Eid al-Adha holiday brokered by U.N. and Arab League envoy Lakdar Brahimi. Brahimi announced Wednesday that President Bashar al-Assad agreed to the temporary truce beginning Friday, but that was immediately thrown into question when Syria's foreign ministry said the military was still studying the proposal. In a meeting with the U.N. Security Council, Russia said it had "indications" that the Syrian government would approve the plan, and the Security Council members expressed their support for Brahimi's proposal. The opposition Free Syrian Army said it would adhere to a ceasefire if the government does, but expressed doubts. Other groups within the opposition said that no one is taking the ceasefire proposal seriously. Meanwhile, a day ahead of the truce deadline, violent clashes have broken out in the Sunni dominated Damascus suburb of Harasta. Fighting began when opposition fighters overran a roadblock on a highway connecting Damascus to the north. Syrian forces have retaliated with fierce tank and rocket fire, killing five people. Fighting also continued in the Damascus suburb of Douma, the town of Maarat al-Numan, along the highway between Damascus and Aleppo, and in the city of Homs near the Lebanese border with over 100 people reported killed across the country on Wednesday.
Headlines
- A man suspected of involvement in the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi has been killed in Cairo. Meanwhile, Tunisia has arrested a Tunisian man linked to the attack.
- Sudan has blamed Israel for carrying out air strikes on an arms factory in Khartoum that was hit by several explosions late Tuesday and said it reserves the right to retaliate.
Arguments and Analysis
Meet the Israelis (Gideon Levy, Haaretz)
"Nice to make your acquaintance, we're racist and pro-apartheid. The poll whose results were published in Haaretz on Tuesday, conducted by Dialog and commissioned by the Yisraela Goldblum Fund, proved what we always knew, if not so bluntly. It's important to recognize the truth that has been thrown in our faces and those of the world (where the survey is making waves ). But it's even more important to draw the necessary conclusions from it.
Given the current reality, making peace would be an almost anti-democratic act: Most Israelis don't want it. A just, egalitarian society would also violate the wishes of most Israelis: That, too, is something they don't want. They're satisfied with the racism, comfortable with the occupation, pleased with the apartheid; things are very good for them in this country. That's what they told the pollsters."
Hezbollah uses its military power in a contradictory manner (David Hirst, The Daily Star)
"Nobody, neither its friends nor its foes, ever questions Hezbollah's military prowess. During its last major engagement, the July war of 2006, an Israeli general ruefully called it "the greatest guerilla organization in the world today," and the entire Arab world thrilled at its exploits, not only in classical guerilla warfare, but in higher-tech forms of combat, such as the sea-borne missile which very nearly sank the Israeli navy's flagship.
The really contentious question is: What does it use its prowess, and its weapons, for? In the past two weeks, it has given two dramatic, and profoundly contradictory, answers.
One came in the shape of the drone that Hezbollah launched over Israel on Oct. 6. In a subsequent speech, Hezbollah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah called it an "Iranian-built," "Hezbollah-assembled" device which, during its three-hour, 300 km mission, conducted reconnaissance of sensitive sites, including that "holy of holies," the ultra-secret nuclear facility at Dimona."
--By Jennifer Parker and Mary Casey
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Wednesday, October 24, 2012 - 8:33 AM
The Syrian government said its military is still studying a proposal for a ceasefire over the Eid al-Adha holiday beginning Friday. The statement has contradicted an earlier announcement by U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi that the Syrian government agreed to a ceasefire but would make a final decision on Thursday. Brahimi also said that most opposition groups said they would also adhere to a temporary truce. Brahimi hopes that a lull in fighting will "allow a political process to develop." The statement came shortly after a massacre at a bakery in an opposition held neighborhood of Aleppo. The bakery was filled with customers and employees at the time of the bombing and at least 20 people were killed and 30 others injured. Syrian forces have continued bombing the strategic opposition controlled town of Maarat al-Numan on the highway connecting Aleppo to Damascus. Opposition fighters have been fighting in efforts to overtake the nearby military base Wadi al-Daif in hopes of establishing a "safe zone." Russia said on Wednesday that opposition forces have surface-to-air missiles, some of which they claim are United States-made Stingers. However, the reports have not been verified.
Headlines
- After a historic visit from Qatar's emir, Gaza and southern Israel have seen a surge in violence with Palestinian militant rocket fire into Israel, and Israeli airstrikes into Gaza that have killed four Palestinians.
- Israeli media has reacted with outrage after a Haaretz report on a survey that has found a majority of Jewish Israelis would prefer an "apartheid" state exposing anti-Arab views.
- Emails obtained by CNN show that the White House was alerted to a militant claim two hours after the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi.
- The United States has expressed support for Lebanon's efforts to form a new coalition government and warned of the dangers of a "political vacuum."
AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Tuesday, October 23, 2012 - 8:59 AM
As gunfights have continued to flare, primarily in Beirut and Tripoli, the Lebanese Army is working to restore order. At least six people have been killed, 27 wounded, and 50 arrested since clashes rooted in the Syrian crisis began on Sunday. Most of the people reported dead were killed in the northern city of Tripoli in fighting between the Sunni neighborhood of Bab al-Tabbaneh and the Alawite district of Jebel Mohsen. Additionally a resident of a Palestinian refugee camp in Beirut was killed after he reportedly fired at Lebanese forces. Violence was sparked on Sunday after a funeral for slain intelligence chief Wissam al-Hassan. The U.S. State Department confirmed that it is sending a team from the F.B.I. to assist in investigating the bombing that killed Hassan Friday. Jordan is also working to contain spillover from Syria; authorities reported they have seized a group of Jordanian extremists who obtained arms from Syria. The Jordanian military saw its first casualty in related violence when a corporal was killed in clashes with suspected Islamist militants traveling along the Syrian and Jordanian border. Meanwhile, the U.N. Refugee agency has reported that Lebanon has registered over 100,000 Syrian refugees, joining Jordan and Turkey.
Syria
The United Nations is putting together a peacekeeping force for Syria, hoping the regime and opposition fighters will implement a proposed ceasefire for the holiday Eid al-Adha beginning Friday. U.N. peacekeeping head Herve Ladsous stated, "We are getting ourselves ready to act if it is necessary and a mandate is approved." However, the prospects for a temporary truce appear slim as deadly clashes continue across Syria. According to the British-based Syrian Observatory of Human Rights, over 115 people were killed across Syria on Monday. Aleppo saw fighting in several districts with warplanes bombing the Katergi quarter. Clashes were also reported in Damascus, Daraa, and Deir el-Zour. Government forces and opposition fighter have continued the battle over the strategic town of Maaret al-Numan, which is on a strategic supply route between Damascus and Aleppo. On Tuesday, Syrian warplanes reportedly bombed the town as fighters clashed over a nearby Syrian military camp.
Headlines
- Qatari Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani has arrived in Gaza as the first head of state to visit since Hamas came to power in 2007 set to launch a $254 million assistant program.
- After clashes at demonstrations over election law, Kuwait has banned gatherings of over 20 people ahead of the December 1 election.
- Egypt's Administrative Court has referred to the Supreme Constitutional Court the decision of whether to disband the Constituent Assembly, which is tasked with drafting the constitution.
- A man has released an audio message claiming to be Saeed al-Shihri, al Qaeda's number 2 in Yemen, countering accounts that he was killed in a drone strike.
Posted By F. Gregory Gause, III
Monday, October 22, 2012 - 9:59 AM
When a presidential campaign is in full swing, we probably should not be surprised that the challenger's team throws everything and the kitchen sink at the incumbent. Still, it seems strange that Republicans want to remind voters that President Barack Obama extricated the United States from a difficult and unpopular war in Iraq. But that is just what Peter Feaver did in the Foreign Policy blog Shadow Government on October 12. He said that the president had opened up a "civil-military problem" for himself, because "significant portions of the military believe the administration abandoned them on Iraq." He went on to accuse the administration, and Vice President Joe Biden specifically, of blowing the chance to negotiate a Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) with Iraq, either through incompetence or a lack of serious commitment, that would have permitted the United States to keep tens of thousands of troops in Iraq. Those are some pretty stiff charges. (Full disclosure: Feaver and I went to graduate school together. He is a great guy, but just plain wrong here.)
We can set aside, for this discussion, the big question about whether keeping that many U.S. troops in Iraq would have been a good thing. It is pretty clear what the American people think the answer is. The interesting thing about Feaver's thumbnail account of the supposed failure of the administration on this issue is the utter absence of Iraqis from the story. When the United States fails to achieve a goal, it must be either because we really were not committed to it, or we messed up. The other guys just are not that important. It really is all about us.
TIMOTHY A. CLARY/AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Monday, October 22, 2012 - 9:20 AM
Lebanon's religious and political leaders have called for calm as protests and clashes have continued into Monday in the capital of Beirut and northern city of Tripoli. Fighting was sparked after the funeral of the Internal Security Forces intelligence chief Brigadier General Wissam al-Hassan, killed Friday in a car bombing. The car bombing is widely believed to be tied to the conflict in Syria and has ignited Lebanese sectarian tensions. Hassan was an outspoken critic of President Bashar al-Assad and had links to the opposition March 14 coalition of former Prime Minister Saad Hariri. Protesters attempted to storm the Grand Serail's offices of Prime Minister Najib Mikati, allied with Hezbollah's governing bloc, calling for Mikati to resign. Mikati said he would resign, but rescinded after a request from Lebanon's President Michel Suleiman to wait until there is time for political talks. Sporadic clashes in Beirut's southern and western regions between Sunni and Shiite districts continue to flare up, particularly on the edge of the Tariq al-Jadida neighborhood, which borders the Shiite dominated southern suburbs. The Lebanese Armed Forces have deployed troops backed by armed personnel carriers to restore calm and have begun raiding suspected militant hideouts in the outskirts of Beirut. Violent clashes in the northern city of Tripoli, which has frequently seen the spillover from the Syrian crisis, broke out killing at least four people, including two children.
Syria
Bombings hit Damascus and Aleppo over the weekend. Sunday morning, a bomb reportedly set in a parked vehicle exploded in Damascus's Old City in the Bab Touma, or St. Thomas Gate, predominantly Christian neighborhood killing at least 13 people and wounding 29 others. The strike was near a police station and took place while nearby churches were holding Sunday services. Syrian troops stormed the opposition held Damascus suburb of Harasta, sparking deadly clashes. In Aleppo, a suicide bombing exploded outside a private Franco-Syrian hospital in a primarily Christian district according to government officials. There were no casualties other than the bomber. Additionally, clashes continued in the districts of Salaheddin and Izaa as well as in the Old City. Meanwhile, U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria Lakhdar Brahimi met with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus appealing for a ceasefire over the Eid al-Ahda holiday that begins Friday. According to the Syrian foreign ministry, Assad and Brahimi discussed "objective and rational circumstances to stop the violence from any side in order to prepare for a comprehensive dialogue among the Syrians." Arab League Deputy Secretary General Ahmed Ben Hellli said that after Brahimi's meeting with Assad and opposition representatives a temporary truce for the holiday is unlikely.
Headlines
- Clashes broke out between Kuwaiti police and protesters, after tens of thousands of protesters filled the streets this weekend in the capital after the government announced elections and a change to electoral law.
- U.S. and Iranian officials denied planning nuclear talks after the New York Times reported the parties had agreed, in principle, to negotiations after the U.S. presidential election.
- After years of delay, Palestinians held municipal elections in the West Bank. The voter turnout was low, and Hamas boycotted the elections.
- Jordanian authorities reported they had uncovered an al-Qaeda plot targeting "shopping centers, residential areas, diplomats, and foreign nationals."
AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Friday, October 19, 2012 - 8:32 AM
Syrian government airstrikes hit the opposition controlled town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province killing at least 44 people and leaving massive destruction on Thursday. The opposition secured the town last week after intense fighting, and had begun providing basic services for residents. Maaret al-Numan is located on a strategic highway and supply route connecting Damascus and Aleppo. A missile hit a residential area, damaging four buildings, four homes, and a mosque. Over 20 children were reported to have been killed in the attack. The strike on Maaret al-Numan signals a shift of government tactics according to some analysts. Rather than trying to win back territory gained by the opposition and the "hearts of the people," the regime is merely destroying and abandoning towns so that the population will resent the opposition. Over 200 people were reported killed across Syria on Thursday. Meanwhile, after a regional tour seeking international support for implementing a ceasefire over the Muslim holiday Eid al-Adha, U.N. and Arab League envoy, Lakhdar Brahimi is scheduled to arrive in Damascus on Saturday. Turkey and Germany have backed the ceasefire. The BBC has reported several of its channels have been deliberately jammed in Syria in what the network has described as a "blatant violation of international TV regulations."
Headlines
- A car bomb has exploded in the eastern Ashrafeah district of Beirut, Lebanon during rush-hour Friday killing several people.
- Libyan militia commander, Ahmed Abu Khattala, implicated in the September U.S. consulate attack, said he was at the scene, but didn't lead the attack. He added that he hasn't gone into hiding.
- U.S. officials have said that the C.I.A. station chief in Libya reported within 24 hours of the U.S. Benghazi consulate attack that there was evidence of a militant attack, and not a spontaneous mob.
- At least 14 soldiers and 12 al Qaeda militants have died in clashes at a military base in Yemen's southern Abyan province.
- The U.S. TV series "Homeland" has generated anger amongst Lebanese and Israelis. Lebanon's tourism minister is considering a lawsuit.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Thursday, October 18, 2012 - 8:54 AM
Libyan authorities have said they suspect Ahmed Abu Khattala, the leader of Libya's Islamist militant group Ansar al-Sharia, to have led the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi. Witnesses have reported seeing Abu Khattala at the site, but his exact role is unclear, as is whether or not he shared leadership with others. But, the allegations provide the most direct link yet between Ansar al-Sharia and the assault. The F.B.I. has been investigating the attack from Tripoli, almost 400 miles from Benghazi, and a U.S. official said they had been tracking Abu Khattala who remains at large. Having not yet established central control of security since last year's revolution, Libyan authorities rely on local militias for law enforcement. The government-allied militias say that haven't been directed to arrest Abu Khattala, and the government is concerned about exacerbating tensions between rival militia groups.
Syria
Syrian human rights groups say that at least 28,000 people have "disappeared" in Syria since the beginning of the 19-month long uprising, and some estimate the number of missing to be as high as 80,000. According to a director at the online activist group Avazza, "Syrians are being plucked off the street by Syrian security forces and paramilitaries and being ‘disappeared' into torture cells. Whether it is women buying groceries or farmers going for fuel, nobody is safe." The group plans to request an investigation by the U.N. Human Rights Council. Damascus has started to feel the strain of the country's civil war, from which it had been relatively isolated until recently. Meanwhile, U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lahkdar Brahimi, has warned of regional spillover of the conflict. After meeting with Lebanese officials seeking international support for a ceasefire over an upcoming holiday, which Turkey and Iran have backed, he said, "The crisis cannot remain within Syrian borders indefinitely. Either it will be addressed or it will increase ... and be all-consuming." Brahimi's remarks came shortly before reports of Syrian and Lebanese border clashes.
Headlines
- After multiple postponements, West Bank Palestinians will vote in municipal elections Saturday, which Hamas will boycott.
- An Iranian-American dual citizen from Texas has pleaded guilty to plotting the assassination of the Saudi Arabian ambassador to the United States last year, at the direction of Iranian military officials.
- A drone strike, likely by the United Strikes, killed seven suspected al Qaeda militants in the southern Yemeni city of Jaar Thursday, in the second such attack this month.
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Wednesday, October 17, 2012 - 9:01 AM
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has overturned the conviction of Osama bin Laden's driver, Salim Hamdan. Hamdan had been held on charges of "material support for terrorism." He was captured in Afghanistan in 2001, sentenced to seven years in prison, and held at a contested U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. He was returned to Yemen in November 2008 and released in January 2009, given credit for time served. The appeals court found that providing support for terrorism was not a war crime at the time when Hamdan worked for bin Laden from 1996 to 2001, and could not be charged retroactively. The Military Commissions Act of 2006 was passed by Congress delineating various acts as war crimes, including providing support for terrorism. Judge Brett Kavanaugh wrote, "If the government wanted to charge Hamdan with aiding and abetting terrorism or some other war crime that was sufficiently rooted in international law at the time of Hamdan's conduct, it should have done so." Despite that Hamdan has already been released, the decision sets an important precedent as many others detainees at Guantanamo are held on similar charges, and were captured prior to 2006.
Syria
The Syrian government and opposition are considering a ceasefire for the Eid al-Adha holiday, beginning on October 26, that has been proposed by U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi. However, on Wednesday the government said a ceasefire would likely fail because there is no unified opposition leadership with which to negotiate. The opposition is divided among various brigades fighting under the Free Syrian Army (FSA) brand. But, in practice, the brigades compete for power and operate independently. On Tuesday, two rebel sources said groups have agreed to set up a united opposition leadership, after much international pressure. The leadership will include FSA leaders Riad al-Asaad, Mustafa Sheikh, and General Mohammad Haj Ali, as well as heads of provincial military councils inside Syria such as Qassem Saadeddine in Homs province. A main opposition group, the Syrian National Council has scheduled a unity conference in Qatar for November 4. Meanwhile, Syrian forces bombarded several areas in the north. Warplanes hit an opposition blockade on the strategic highway that connects Damascus with Aleppo, which has cut off government reinforces into the embattled city. Additionally, Syrian forces targeted the opposition controlled town of Maaret al-Numan in Idlib province. After traveling to Iran and Iraq seeking regional help to broker a Syrian truce, Brahimi arrived in Lebanon to speak with President Michel Suleiman, and is expected to stop in Damascus later on Wednesday.
Headlines
- An Israeli court has forced the government to release a study commissioned after it tightened the blockade on Gaza in 2007. The study details the minimum number of calories Palestinians need in order to prevent malnutrition.
- Protesters clashed with police outside Kuwait's parliament building on Monday evening, during which former MP Mussallam al-Barrak criticized the emir.
- A British man arrested at Heathrow airport last week has been charged with kidnapping a British photographer and Dutch journalist in Syria.
AFP/Getty Images
Posted By Mary Casey, Jennifer Parker
Tuesday, October 16, 2012 - 9:08 AM
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has taken responsibility for security failures in the September 11 attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, which killed four Americans. In an interview with CNN on Monday, Clinton said that she is in charge of over 60,000 people working for the State Department across the world. The statement came as President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden have come under increasing criticism over the Benghazi attack by the Mitt Romney campaign coming into the November 6 presidential election. Republicans have questioned the handling of security prior to the attack, and have accused the Obama administration of shifting explanations afterward. Clinton said, "The president and the vice president wouldn't be knowledgeable about specific decisions that are made by security professionals. They're the ones who weigh all of the threats and the risks and the needs and make a considered decision." Her remarks came the day before the second presidential debate, during which Romney is likely to use the Benghazi attack against Obama's foreign policy. Earlier this week, the father of Ambassador Chris Stevens, who was killed in the attack, said it would be "abhorrent" for his son's death to be politicized.
Syria
The U.N. and Arab League envoy to Syria, Lakhdar Brahimi, said he welcomes "ideas from all sides" as he appealed to Iran and Iraq for help in negotiating a Syrian ceasefire for the Eid al-Adha holiday. As tensions with its neighbor have recently escalated, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to discuss the situation in Syria. Additionally, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov met in Luxembourg with EU ministers. Russia has traditionally been an ally of Syria, and along with China, has repeatedly blocked U.N. Security Council resolutions against the government of Bashar al-Assad. British Foreign Minister William Hague said, "I can't say that we made any progress." Meanwhile, clashes continue in Aleppo. According to the British based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, government forces bombarded two opposition controlled districts in northeast Aleppo, al-Shaar and Karm al-Habal. Additionally, opposition fighters and Syrian troops clashed in Jdeideh, north of the ancient citadel. Syrian warplanes reportedly bombed several towns in the northwestern Idlib province. As violence progresses, the United States has expressed concern over weapons flows into Syria after the New York Times reported that arms sent through Saudi Arabia and Qatar to the Syrian opposition are going to jihadist groups. The U.S. ambassador to the United Nations told the U.N. Security Council that Lebanon's militant group, Hezbollah, has been increasingly involved in the Syrian conflict and actively supporting the Assad regime.
Headlines
- About 120 prisoners escaped from Libya's al-Judaida prison on Monday after a policeman threw a set of keys into a cell, according to security officials. Nearly half have been recaptured.
- The EU approved new sanctions on Iran, the most severe since July, aimed at pushing Iran into negotiations on its contested nuclear development program.
- Israel's parliament dissolved itself and approved Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's January 22, 2013 date for elections, originally scheduled for October 2013.
- Egypt's state prosecutor is investigating allegations that two Muslim Brotherhood leaders provoked violence against anti-Morsi protesters on Friday.
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