Out of my four articles this week the most interesting one was the Palestinian prisoners launch mass hunger strike. Overall, the article describes how in Israeli prisons, Palestinian prisoners are on a hunger strike in order to improve conditions and treatment in the prisoners. I knew that there were tensions between the Israelis and the Palestinians but I didn’t think that… Read more »
Once again the Assad regime has used chemical weapons against the Syrian people. Images of the wounded lying in hospital beds and children dead in the streets were seen around the world. I find the current situation in Syria anything but acceptable. This is precisely the brand of tyranny and stunning human rights violations that the world should abhor, yet… Read more »
While the war in Syria and Iraq rages on, covered daily by all news networks and America constantly seems to have public disagreements with Saudi Arabia and Israel, many Americans seem to think they know quite a bit about Middle Eastern affairs. However, one area which seems to be of little or no concern to the vast majority of Americans… Read more »
ISIS is losing ground in Syria and Iraq. In Mosul, the Iraqi Army seems to be soundly defeating its insurgent opponents. The liberation of cities such as Palmyra, Aleppo, and Al-Bab in Syria, and Mosul and Fallujah in Iraq, show the terrorist group is on the desperate defense. The Iraqi Army’s push into Mosul supported by US and coalition airstrikes,… Read more »
Like I mentioned last week, Iraqi forces have been launching major offensives into West Mosul, hoping to recapture the half of the city still under ISIL control, with 600,000 civilians still trapped within the western portion of the city. Recently, Iraqi Forces have claimed responsibility for liberating the key neighborhoods of al-Kur and al-Tawafa, which they state will allow safe passage… Read more »
Recent fighting surrounding Syria’s capital of Damascus has cut 161,000 people in Douma and 142,000 people in Kafr Batna off from humanitarian aid. Conflict has destroyed supply routes that were used by convoys to deliver food and other supplies, and now supplies are dwindling. Even if the convoys were guaranteed safety while delivering supplies, the Syrian government has not green… Read more »
In both Iraq and Syria, anti-ISIL forces have been making tremendous strides in their fight against the Islamic State. Starting with Syria, the ancient city of Palmyra has recently been recaptured by the Syrian government with the backing of Russia and Iran. Palmyra, the UNESCO world heritage site, has been heavily contested, with the city itself being captured by ISIL… Read more »
Since the beginning of the Syrian Civil War, at least 3,613 Kurdish soldiers have been killed fighting the totalitarian Islamic State and the little-better authoritarian alternative, Bashar Al-Assad’s government. The Kurdish YPG (“People’s Protection Units”) is the largest portion of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), a military coalition of Kurds and Arabs that the United States backs through weapons sales… Read more »
At the end of 2016, a $5 billion dollar foreign aid package expired and now Jordan’s economy is seeing the consequences. In an effort to reduce the Jordanian budget deficit of 827 million Jordanian dollars, or $1.2 billion, the Jordanian government approved the 2017 budget which seeks to raise $643 million in taxes and tariffs on food items, fuel, commodities,… Read more »
Following the recent announcement that the United States will no longer be seeking a two state solution to resolve the Israel- Palestine conflict, many Middle Eastern alliances have begun to be reevaluated and reconsidered, notably, that between Egypt and Hamas. The relationship between the two has been strained recently but the Egyptian government is seeking to rebuild it in an… Read more »