Middle Orient

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — It is a moot point whether the Palestinian uprising is over. A new phase of conflict is already taking shape in the Middle East. Fighting still centres on the Gaza Strip following Israel’s withdrawal from the territory after 38 years of occupation, but both sides concur that …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel shut down charities with ties to Hamas across the West Bank and fired artillery into the Gaza Strip for the first time, as it widened a five-day offensive against Palestinian fighters, despite their pledges to stop firing rockets at Israel. A senior army officer said …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM (AFP) — Israel reiterated threats Wednesday to hamper January’s Palestinian election if the Islamist movement Hamas stands despite being urged by Washington to cooperate in organising the polls. “We will not allow Hamas to take part in the elections” on January 25, said Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom in …

BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq’s former interim defence minister said corruption allegations levelled against him are driven by Iran, which he had in the past accused of meddling in Iraq’s affairs. But an Iraqi official, in seeking to strip the former minister of his parliamentary immunity, said Wednesday dossiers supporting the …

KHARTOUM — Sudan’s first unity Cabinet was born of months of intense jockeying between former foes and now has six years to make a united Sudan appear an attractive option to a largely pro-secession south. The national unity government was announced late Tuesday, ending a bitter bout of wrangling over …

VIENNA (AP) — The United States on Wednesday urged its fellow International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board members to do their “duty” and vote in coming days to haul Iran before the UN Security Council for violating its nuclear treaty commitments. Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who is in Vienna …

BASRA (Reuters) — Iraqi police staged an angry anti-British protest in Basra on Wednesday as London and Baghdad sought to quell tension over a British raid to free two undercover soldiers held in the southern city. About 200 policemen who work at the police station damaged during the British raid …

OCCUPIED JERUSALEM — The issue of Hamas’ participation in Palestinian parliamentary elections seems set to put Israel and the Palestinians on a potentially explosive collision course. And Tuesday’s statement by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on the issue only served to provide both sides with support for their respective …

BASRA (Reuters) — Angry crowds attacked a British tank with petrol bombs and rocks in Basra on Monday after Iraqi authorities said they had detained two British undercover soldiers in the southern city for firing on police. Two Iraqis were killed in the violence, an interior ministry official said. An …

RAFAH — Hamas supporters, including thousands of men and vehicles flaunting rockets, filled the streets of Gaza City in an impressive show of strength as Palestinian and Egyptian forces were busy imposing order on their chaotic border crossing. The Hamas rally on Sunday was a military-style victory parade. Masked men, …