Western powers are believed to be considering air strikes against Syria in response to a suspected chemical attack near Damascus. The White House says it is continuing to assess intelligence and talk to its allies on how to respond while France’s President Emmanuel Macron says he will decide “in due course” whether to take action. In the UK, Cabinet ministers… Read more »
The recapture of Eastern Ghouta by Syrian government forces means President Bashar al-Assad is now more securely in power than at any time since the start of this seven-year conflict. President Assad will be exuberant that the rebels have been ousted from their last remaining stronghold close to the capital. He can rest easily in Damascus knowing the city will… Read more »
The UN’s secretary general has said the Cold War is “back with a vengeance”. Antonio Guterres also warned about the dangers of escalation over Syria. The US and its allies are considering launching missile strikes against Syria after a suspected chemical attack, an action which Russia – whose forces are there supporting the government- has said would risk starting a… Read more »
The OPCW, the only international body authorised to investigate the use of chemical weapons, has carried out several inquiries after allegations of chemical attacks in Syria, despite the difficulty in collecting evidence on site. While the Syrian government and its Russian ally deny any chemical attack in Eastern Ghouta on April 7, the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has announced that a team will arrive… Read more »
After the blasts that hit Palestinian Prime Minister’s convoy this morning, Hamas has been under fire by a number of PA officials blaming them for the attack. I was surprised that PA wouldn’t have blamed Israel for the incident, and immediately jumped to blaming Hamas. This shows how divided the Palestinians really are. Officials on the scene have been speculating about the time… Read more »
The Palestinian Authority (PA) has rejected an invitation by the White House to attend a Gaza“stakeholders” summit next week, a senior official of the self-government body said. Ahmad Majdalani told the Voice of Palestine radio on Friday that the PA would not attend the meeting, saying that the issue in Gaza was “political par excellence”. “The United States is well aware that… Read more »
The BBC is making an unprecedented appeal to the UN to stop Iran from harassing its Persian service staff in London and their families in Iran. It says Iran has stepped up a campaign of intimidation, including threats, arrests of relatives and travel bans. Iran began targeting the BBC’s Persian service after the disputed 2009 presidential election, when Tehran accused… Read more »
JERUSALEM — A roadside bomb blast in Gaza Tuesday morning damaged several vehicles in the convoy of the Palestinian Authority’s prime minister, Rami Hamdallah, in what the authority called a failed assassination attempt. But the incident quickly raised questions about the motives of those responsible, and whether a successful assassination might not have been their real aim. No group immediately… Read more »
An explosion targeted Palestinian prime minister Rami Hamdallah’s convoy as he arrived in the Gaza Strip on Tuesday for a rare visit, lightly wounding seven people, officials and witnesses said. Hamdallah was not injured in the explosion, which occurred shortly after his convoy entered the territory run by Islamist movement Hamas, a security source in the convoy said. Palestinian intelligence chief… Read more »
When first researching the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, I was initially sucked into to the nitty-gritty blame game. Who was at the most fault? Who was to blame for all the bloodshed and innocent lives lost? However, upon taking a step back I came to realize that both the Israelis and the Palestinians have blood on their hands. No one is innocent… Read more »