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May 27, 2021 Middle Orient
Here is something that can be said with great confidence. It is racist – antisemitic, if you prefer – to hold Jews, individually or collectively, accountable for Israel’s crimes. Jews are not responsible for Israel’s war crimes, even if the Israeli state presumes to implicate Jews in its crimes by …
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May 27, 2021 Eurasia
The three major military powers (the United States, Russia, and China) systematically and consistently engage in inflation of the threats they face. Each side tends to see the worst motivation and the greatest capabilities in assessing its adversaries in order to justify its own actions. This problem was endemic throughout …
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May 26, 2021 Middle Orient
The big problem, though, with Mr Biden’s commitment for the US to work with the Palestinian Authority in Gaza is that the ability of Mr Abbas’s organisation to exercise any influence over Gaza is virtually negligible. While Mr Abbas continues to indulge in the fiction that he is the legitimate …
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May 26, 2021 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Hamas’ popularity has risen sharply, but this doesn’t help them much with the outside world. An understanding with Fatah is key to any potential role in regional diplomacy. If the relationship between the PLO and Hamas was on shaky grounds after President Mahmoud Abbas canceled the legislative elections, they are …
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May 26, 2021 Iran, Middle Orient
Iran’s Guardian Council disqualified all the major moderate contenders from the country’s presidential election, paving the way for a one-sided race and an anticipated victory for hard-line judicial chief Ibrahim Raisi. The lengths Iran’s Guardian Council went to to squash the presidential hopes of top moderates shocked even many hard-liners …
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May 26, 2021 Eurasia, Middle Orient
The Turkish media has trumpeted the killing of a high-ranking PKK militant by Turkish security forces in northern Iraq as a reprisal of the US support of the Syrian Kurdish groups, while Turkey seems to be a major blockade before Syrian Kurds’ desire for political recognition. The US support for …
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May 26, 2021 Middle Orient
Meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reiterated US commitment for Israel’s security, and said the United States is committed also to the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived today in Israel, his first stop on a regional …
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May 26, 2021 Middle Orient
Saadeddine Othmani’s support for the Palestinians during the recent conflict with Israel followed Morocco and Israel agreeing to normalize relations late last year. Morocco’s prime minister congratulated Hamas on its “victory” against Israel following the cease-fire. Saadeddine Othmani wrote to Hamas’ political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on Saturday to congratulate him …
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May 26, 2021 Eurasia, Middle Orient
Moscow has reportedly landed Tupolev Tu-22 bombers at Syria’s Hmeimim Air Base for the first time. Russia has based nuclear-capable bomber aircraft on the Mediterranean for the first time, the Defense Ministry in Moscow said Tuesday. Three Tupolev Tu-22M3 long-range bombers were sent to Russia’s Hmeimim Air Base in western …
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May 26, 2021 Eurasia
Official Russian statements on the recent conflict between Israel and Hamas indicate Moscow is looking for a larger diplomatic role. On May 21, the Russian Foreign Ministry expressed support for the Israel-Hamas cease-fire and called for an urgent meeting of the Middle East Quartet to prevent a relapse into conflict. …
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