May, 2021

• 29 May

  Egypt, Sudan begin joint military exercise

  

  The armed forces of Egypt and Sudan launched a joint military exercise in southern Sudan on Wednesday, according to a military source. Armed forces of the two countries are taking part in the Guardians of the Nile exercise in southern Kardavan province, a Sudanese military official told Anadolu Agency on …

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• 29 May

  Tackling the U.S. Military’s Extremism Problem

  

  Following the Jan. 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, numerous reports emerged indicating that a significant number of rioters had connections to the military. A study released in April by the Program on Extremism at George Washington University and the Combating Terrorism Center at West Point found that 43 of …

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• 29 May

  Palestinian Politics Are More Divided Than Ever

  

  The cease-fire that entered into force last Friday brought an end to 11 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas, leaving behind at least 248 Palestinian and 12 Israeli dead, as well as untold destruction in Gaza. Yet even as the fragile truce is holding thus far, the power struggle …

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• 29 May

  Jordan tacitly approves anti-Israel protests

  

  Jordanian authorities have appeared more lenient toward the recent protests that erupted across the kingdom in support of Palestinians. Amid the 11-day conflict that pitted Israel on the one hand and Hamas and the Islamic Jihad on the other, Jordanians took to the streets, organizing protests and sit-ins across the …

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• 29 May

  Israel sets conditions for talks with Palestinians via Egypt

  

  Reports say Israel is interested in the Egyptian initiative for indirect talks with Hamas, but conditions Hamas on advancing the return of Israeli captives and bodies of soldiers held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Reports this morning say Israel has conditioned the rebuilding of the Gaza Strip on advancing …

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• 29 May

  Israeli war adds scars to Palestinian psyche

  

  Activists see Israel’s bombing of cultural centers, bookstores and other cultural institutions in the Gaza Strip, as well as the killing of a 17-year-old in a refugee camp in the West Bank, as an attempt to obliterate Palestine’s cultural identity. On May 17, the Israeli army killed 17-year-old Obaidah Akram …

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• 29 May

  Is two-state solution back on Israel’s agenda?

  

  Israel’s leadership must understand that as far as the Biden administration is concerned the two-state solution is back on the agenda. The meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in Jerusalem May 25 offered insight into the enormous changes taking place in the …

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• 29 May

  Has Egypt turned the page on discord with Hamas?

  

  Egypt’s relations with Hamas have begun to warm up in recent months after years of tension following the 2013 overthrow of Muslim Brotherhood President Mohammed Morsi. Egypt’s diplomatic efforts resulted in a cease-fire agreement May 21 between Hamas and Israel. The deal, coordinated with the United States, ended 11 days …

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• 29 May

  Mobster’s claims turn spotlight to new cocaine route via Turkey

  

  A spree of rattling allegations by a Turkish mobster has brought into focus the increase in cocaine trafficking in Turkey and its domestic and international ramifications. Long a major route of heroin smuggling from Afghanistan to Europe, Turkey in recent years has seen an increase in cocaine trafficking as well, …

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• 29 May

  As Syrians vote in regime areas, Kurdish authorities close crossings

  

  The Syrian Democratic Forces closed the crossings connecting their areas in northeast Syria to government-held areas to prevent the participation of the areas’ inhabitants in the Syrian presidential elections. On May 24, the Kurdish-led autonomous administration in north and east Syria announced in a statement that it was shutting the …

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