Middle Orient

Twenty-nine people were killed Tuesday by explosives in three separate incidents in parts of north Syria along the border with Turkey, a war monitor said. There was no immediate link between the two car bombings near Al-Bab and in Afrin that killed a total of eight people, or the incident …

Hamas is strongly opposed to security coordination with Israel and considers it a form of “collaboration with the Zionist enemy.” The Palestinian Authority’s recent decision to restore its relations with Israel has scuttled efforts to end the long-standing dispute between the Palestinian ruling Fatah faction and Hamas.

Syria’s state news media reported material damage from an Israeli strike on Syrian air defenses and Iranian militias in the country yesterday. Israel reportedly bombed targets in southern Syria again late Tuesday evening.

The Dutch now take the helm of a training mission that focuses on “expert specialized capabilities.” The Netherlands is preparing to bolster its mission in Iraq by sending up to 150 additional troops to Iraqi Kurdistan, according to a vote by the Dutch Council of Ministers on Friday. The troops …

Egypt seeks to check Turkish influence in North Africa and the Horn, while its priority remains Nile Dam talks with Ethiopia. The incoming Joe Biden administration will find that key Middle East fault lines are increasingly present in Africa. On one side is Egypt, backed by Saudi Arabia and the …

A marked increase in Turkish military activity in the area between Ain Issa and Tall Tamer in northern Syria has raised the specter of a fresh Turkish military move to curb the Kurds before

In an address before parliament, the president said there “is no Kurdish problem” in Turkey and took aim at fellow AKP member Bulent Arinc over the latter’s comments supporting the release of a jailed Kurdish leader.

Clashes have rocked Ayn Issa, with fighting between Kurdish fighters and Turkey-backed opposition gunmen and leaving 11 people dead reports Al-Araby Al-Jadeed.

Short analysis by:Ejaz Hussain,London. The assassination of Dr Fakhrizadeh on Friday 27 November is not just ‘another’ incident—it’s causality is greater than it’s aftermath. Having followed closely the roadmap to JCPOA (October 2015), course of negotiations in Switzerland and Austria, and post-JCPOA developments—the compass of my anschauung of this highly …

The invitation came in light of Lebanon increasing its demands for more maritime territory than had previously been part of the negotiations with Israel. Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz called on Lebanese President Michel Aoun to meet in Europe for direct negotiations on the maritime border dispute between Israel and Lebanon, …