With Iran continuously threatening Israel, including statements claiming its missiles can reach the Dimona nuclear facility, Israel may be increasing preparations for a unilateral strike. Meanwhile the Obama administration continues diplomatic efforts to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon, including discussions with Russia to prevent their technical and material assistance to Iran. Following his […]
Gaza reconstruction conference attendees heralded the need for opening border crossings and an end to any aggression on the Strip. Moreover, attendees called for immediate Palestinian reconcilliation between Fatah and Hamas, although the two groups did not reach any conlcusive agreements following a conference last week in Cairo attempting to bring them together. After leaving […]
Mokhtar Ghambou, professor of English at Yale, expounds on the virtues of Sufism in fostering moderate and modern versions of Islam in Morocco.
The Gaza reconstruction conference held in Cairo raised far more funds than anticipated, totalling $4.4 billion, according to Egyptian Foreign Minister Ahmed Abdul Gheit. The total could even reach $5.2 billion if previous promised funding actualizes. Initially, the Palestinian Authority requested approximately $2.7 billion, with about half towards Gaza and the remainder for PA programs, […]
Those interested to follow and /or contact the Tribunal can do so here. SOLIDA has a blog that will keep an eye on the Tribunal. The Daily Star editorial ‘ With all eyes on Syria as Tribunal begins, Damascus would do well to act with care’ “Although indictments have not yet been issued in the […]
The Gaza Strip rehabilitation conference begins today in Cairo, with the Palestinian Authority requesting $2.7 billion in donations, $1.326 billion to assist Gaza recovery and $1.415 billion for the PA. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced the U.S. intention of supporting Palestinian with $900 million in aid, $300 towards humanitarian assistance to Gaza and $600 […]
I invite you to read at Blacksmiths of Lebanon two recent posts that caught my attention. Election Anxiety – Part I Liars at Least Election Anxiety – Part II Perceiving Defeat And while you’re at it, don’t forget Jeha’s Lost in Translation.
Egypt has unsurprisingly rejected a recent Department of State report criticizing the country’s deteriorating human rights record. The report can be found on the DOS website here. An article on the report in the popular independent paper Al-Masri Al-Youm relates that: …in statements given to Al-Masri Al-Youm, [Egyptian] political experts warned against “dependence on the […]
For the first time in 30 years, Hamas Deputy Chief of the Political Bureau Abu Marzuk briefly entered the Gaza Strip at the Rafah border crossing. His visit could correlate to the recent debate on returning abducted IDF soldier Gilad Shalit before truce talks with Israel. He recently attended reconciliatory discussion in Cairo between Hamas […]
UPDATE: See the State Department release here. It’s official. The United States will officially boycott the United Nation’s anti-racism conference held in Durban this April. After attending plenary sessions for the conference, U.S. negotiators deemed draft resolutions anti-Semitic and singled out the Israel-Palestine conflict. Israel pressured the United States to boycott and join a growing […]
Palestinian democracy activist Mustafa Barghouti discusses the effect of Netanyahu returning to the PMO. Essentially, he asserts that Netanyahu will not seek to further the peace process and an alliance with right wing parties can only be detrimental to regional stability.
Italy gave the UNDP 1.2 million euros ($1.5 million) for Nahr el Bared, Palestinian camp, and the surrounding areas. “[The Nahr al-Bared] region went through the most dramatic events, and its reconstruction needs to be based on an integrated approach which takes into account … the needs and expectations of both the Palestinian refugees and […]
“If the political and security situation is stable then we expect a real growth of 4 percent and 4 percent inflation. We also expect to have surpluses in the balance of payments,” said Riad Salameh, the Lebanese Central Bank Governor. Salameh did a great job not dragging Lebanon into the global crisis downs. Lebanon was […]
A new Carnegie report describes the need for U.S. leadership in an Israel-Syrian peace. Incentives for Syria include the return of the Golan Heights and an end to political isolation. The U.S. would benefit by involving itself in the process due to demands it can make on Syria to distance itself from Iran and refrain […]
