Middle Orient

Ra’am leader Mansour Abbas’ coordination with Prime Minister Naftali Bennett about his visit last week to Jordan and his meeting with King Abdullah might signal that he is willing to end his party’s suspension of activity in the coalition. Ra’am party chairman Mansour Abbas was in Jordan April 28 for …

The Iraqi army is seeking to dislodge Yazidi fighters from Sinjar who Turkey says are members of the PKK. Thousands of Yazidi civilians are fleeing the area as clashes escalate. A Yazidi militia known as the Shingal Resistance Units (YBS) has accused Iraq’s prime minister, Mustafa al-Kadhimi, of colluding with …

On February 24, Russia attacked Ukraine, bombarding multiple cities, and killing soldiers and civilians. Russia’s attack plunged Europe into one of its most serious security crises since World War II. As a result, President Joe Biden, European leaders, and other US allies announced severe sanctions, targeting major Russian financial institutions …

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan might be aiming to tighten his grip on the domestic front, taking advantage of Ankara’s rising profile amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. A Turkish court sentencing of prominent Turkish philanthropist and businessman Osman Kavala and seven other defendants on April 25 in the trial …

Baghdad’s military moves in Sinjar, coinciding with a Turkish military operation in northern Iraq, and the construction of a wall along the border with Syria have rekindled fears among the local Yazidi population. As the struggle for control in Iraq’s northwestern region of Sinjar escalates, some observers believe that Turkish …

Thousands or people fled a northern Iraqi town amid fierce clashes between the army and a militia linked to a Kurdish separatist group, the military and local Iraqi Kurdish officials said Monday. At least 3,000 people left Sinjar and its surrounding areas, the officials said, and headed farther north toward …

Ukraine Month saw relative calm in Kyiv region as Russian forces withdrew to launch new offensive in east, where fighting could worsen as it edges closer to urban areas. Russian troops by 2 April had vacated stretch of land between Kyiv’s north-western suburbs and Belarusian border, as well as Chernihiv …

The Greek government is expected to raise with its EU partners Ankara’s decision not to join western sanctions against Russia, questioning Turkey’s narrative of being a neutral broker, EURACTIV has learned. “It’s inconceivable that Turkey has managed to escape western sanctions against Russia,” a source close to the matter told …

An attack on a Ramadan iftar on Wednesday was the latest to be blamed on ISIL in Syria’s northeast. ISIL (ISIS) is believed to have carried out a spate of attacks in the past week in northeastern Syria, an indication, experts and monitors have said, that the group is potentially …

Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz discussed Israel’s delicate strategic balance between Ukraine, Russia and Iran in an exclusive podcast interview with Al-Monitor’s Ben Caspit. Israel’s Defense Minister Benny Gantz told Al-Monitor that his government continues to engage with Russia in a tacit agreement that allows Israeli airstrikes against Iranian targets …