Syria’s government has spent the past few months putting much diplomatic energy into strengthening its relationships with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members. The leadership in Damascus sees the oil- and gas-rich Gulf Arab states as extremely important to Syria’s future. The high-profile visits paid by President Ahmed al-Sharaa and …

Lining the streets of Jerusalem are pictures of Israeli soldiers killed in Gaza in the last 18 months, with the words “Until victory” scrawled across the smiling men in uniform. Juxtaposing these signs are posters reading, “Until the last hostage”, next to the faces of those kidnapped by Hamas on …

Set in the hills of the West Bank, The Teacher, written and directed by British-Palestinian filmmaker Farah Nabulsi, tells the riveting story of Bassem (Saleh Bakri), a Palestinian high school English teacher struggling to inspire his students under the pall of Israel’s occupation. What’s it all for–the studying, the scholarship–if …