Sometimes I feel like the Middle East is really just a crazy action movie all the time that’s super depressing and terrifying but like there’s some super cool military tactics and plot twists that keep you on your toes. None of it feels totally real because all of it is so incredibly messy, sad, and insane. I will say, however,… Read more »
Reading about everything happening in the Middle East is exhausting and depressing, especially living in a country where the government had decided it doesn’t want to help anyone we’ve helped in the past and those who are in desperate need of it. Yemen’s humanitarian crisis is predicted to be one of the worst going into 2019, the Sudanese government is… Read more »
Aid work took a hard hit this year when the US ended funding for UNRWA that helps 5 million Palestinian refugees. The United Nations and the Palestinian Authority have appealed for $350m in aid for Palestinians in 2019, saying they needed more but had to be “realistic” following major aid cuts by the United States. The UN said the appeal, down from $539… Read more »
UN peacekeepers say two of four tunnels found close to the border violate a resolution that ended the 2006 war. The United Nations’ peacekeepers in Lebanon have said two of the four tunnels allegedly discovered by Israel cross the border between the two countries, violating a ceasefire agreement that ended a 2006 war. In a statement on Monday, the UN Interim Forces in Lebanon (UNIFIL)… Read more »
Stakeholders fail to agree on the makeup of a Syrian constitutional committee amid calls to convene next year. Russia, Iran and Turkey, supporters of the main sides in Syria’s complex civil war, on Tuesday failed to agree on the makeup of a United Nations-sponsored Syrian constitutional committee but called for it to convene early next year to kick off a viable peace process. In a joint… Read more »
WSJ says Saudi effort to forge ties with Israel is faltering after crown prince was implicated in journalist’s murder. A covert US-backed initiative to improve ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel is facing setbacks after Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and two of his aides were implicated in a journalist’s killing, according to the Wall Street Journal. Prince Mohammed, whom the US Senate blamed… Read more »
Abdul Malik al-Ajri says the rebels want a land, sea and air blockade on Yemen to be lifted at upcoming talks in Sweden. Stockholm, Sweden – A senior Houthi leader says his group hopes upcoming peace talks in Sweden will end the war in Yemen and lead to an “inclusive political dialogue”. Abdul Malik al-Ajri told Al Jazeera that the Houthis are hoping to discuss… Read more »
Riyadh says it cannot engage in dispute settlement procedures because of ‘national security concerns’. Saudi Arabia told the World Trade Organization on Tuesday that national security concerns meant it “simply will not engage in dispute settlement procedures” regarding an intellectual property complaint by Qatar. Qatar launched the dispute in October, saying Saudi Arabia was blocking Qatari-owned broadcaster beIN and refusing to take effective… Read more »
Israeli forces round up 24 Palestinians in predawn raids across occupied West Bank. Israeli forces have killed a young Palestinian man during a predawn raid in Tulkarem in the occupied West Bank. Mohammed Hossam Abdel Latif Habali, 22, was shot in the head and lower limbs with live ammunition early on Tuesday, the Palestinian news agency Wafa reported. He was rushed… Read more »
Tensions in the Middle East are intensifying on their own, what with everything happening in Sudan, the situation between the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, the humanitarian crisis in Yemen, and so on. But if you ask me, the United States deciding to insert themselves into places where they may not belong only makes things worse, or vice versa, in the… Read more »