Middle Orient

Hamas is perceived as having initiated the war to stop the Sheikh Jarrah evictions and force Israel to rescind its strict security measures in Jerusalem’s Old City and the all-Aqsa Mosque compound. If there’s one thing that many Israelis and Palestinians agree on, it’s that Hamas enjoys widespread support among …

What is clear is that he was affiliated with Hamas and regularly expressed views similar to those of the Gaza-based group. Those who knew Sheikh Fadi Abu Shkhaydam were not surprised to hear that he was the terrorist who carried out the shooting attack in the Old City of Jerusalem …

Cymbals, prayers and Chaldean Catholic liturgy resounded in Mosul’s Saint George Monastery on Friday as Iraqi faithful marked the restoration of two churches destroyed by ISIS during their occupation of the city. Dozens gathered in one of the monastery’s churches that have been rebuilt in stone six years after the …

Aleppo province: Syrian Observatory activists have reported that Turkish forces renewed artillery attacks on areas under the control of Kurdish and regime forces in the northern countryside of Aleppo, as they targeted the surrounding areas of al-Ouda camp, which accommodated displaced people from Afrin, nearby al-Ziyyarah village in the northern …

SOHR sources have reported violent clashes with heavy machineguns between factions of “al-Fath al-Mubin” operations room and regime forces on the frontlines of Deir Sonbol village in the western countryside of Maarrat al-Nu’man. The clashes erupted following an infiltration attempt by regime forces into posts of the factions. However, no …

The next round of talks to restore the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear deal, scheduled for November 29, is unlikely to produce any breakthroughs. Iran’s demands for rapid and sweeping sanctions relief, the expansion of its nuclear program, and its regional attacks do not augur well for the coming round of …

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) Foreign Minister’s visit to Syria furthers efforts by President Bashar Al Assad to break out of the isolation caused by his military response to the uprising. The UAE’s engagement with Assad feeds criticism that the Gulf state supports a “counter-revolution” against challenges to established Arab …

Turkey has sent a new batch of Syrian mercenaries to Libya despite local and international demands to withdraw all foreign forces ahead of parliamentary and presidential elections scheduled for December 24. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said 150 mercenaries from the pro-Ankara Libyan National Army, including al-Majd Corps, …

It is a mistake to view Iran’s regional aggression and hegemony as purely a result of violence and terrorism. Certainly, a major impetus of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and of its local militias in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Yemen, and elsewhere is the projection of violence of every sort. …

In recent months, a series of analytical publications sparked fresh debate in Iran about the status of Iran’s oil and natural gas reserves in the Caspian Sea as well as why it has still not taken greater efforts to exploit those resources. Namely, a piece in August predicted that a …