ISRAEL: Triggering Tourism

Commandos embedded in a pristine touristic resort bordering Egypt and Jordan sounds unreal? Though theirs are borders of peace, it appears Israel’s best defence against would-be Islamist militants isn’t just a good fence. Crack fighters might help make better neighbours. And, better tourism.

MIDEAST: Fighting Settlers’ Impunity and Immunity

The outer stone walls of the unused 12th century Ayyubid mosque in the Israeli centre of the city carried the black scars of attempted arson and hatred. "Price tag", the signature read.

ISRAEL: Togetherness Takes Wings

Hasn't anyone dreamt once of taking refuge under the shelter of a bird's wings, coiled up in its feathers, catching a bird's eye view of what looks from above like paradise?

ISRAEL: ‘Don’t be Right, be Clever’

Is his reticence vis-à-vis the Palestinians justified? Has his unsympathetic view of the convulsions gripping the Middle East conquered the world's leaders? Is he right about Iran's nuclear intentions?

ISRAEL: Not When Desert Is Home

"Anyone who lives sees, but he who moves sees more," a local Bedouin proverb has it. Caught in a web of roads and fences, electric cables and pylons, closed military training grounds and trails of Air Force jets, Bedouin Israelis have long been reduced to a half-hearted life of immobility.

ISRAEL: Women Push Back Into Public Space

They're looking at you "uncensored". Posters of women by women have recently multiplied on the holy city walls. "Women on billboards are back in Jerusalem," they proclaim defiantly.

MIDEAST: Israeli Military Fires Up the Creative Side

War brings economic development, we're told at times. Like the cliché or not, in their case, Israelis have become a successful start-up nation by building a powerful start-up military.

ISRAEL: To Strike Iran or Not, With the US or Not

Preceding the UN atomic watchdog's report on Iran's nuclear quest, a flurry of reports about Israel increasingly tilting towards preventive military action against Iran highlights U.S. military support of Israel, but tests its influence over its ally.

MIDEAST: Virtually, There Are No Borders

Israeli entrepreneurs dream of a region without borders. Given their country's remoteness from its vicinity, that's a natural need. It's a dream also nurtured by their Palestinian counterparts, and a national necessity given their own encirclement by Israel. That's where high-tech comes into play...

MIDEAST: A Circle Not Easily Squared

Security first or borders first: security says Israel, borders retort the Palestinians. Israeli-Palestinian peace talks are finally again getting under way. Israel though remains adamant that the only chance the talks have to make headway is for its security concerns to be satisfactorily addressed.

MIDEAST: Pessimistic About Peace, Yet…

As President Obama on Wednesday initiates the ninth U.S. attempt in the last 30 years to bring about a final Palestinian-Israeli peace agreement, expectations are low and pessimism is high.

Doubts Over Zimbabwe Diamonds

Three days of tense deliberations by members of the Kimberley Process have failed to reach consensus on whether diamonds from Zimbabwe's Marange fields should be certified as conflict-free. Zimbabwe has already announced that it intends to resume exports of the precious stones immediately.

Israel Navigates Between Inquiries

Israel's easing of its land blockade of Gaza is unlikely to lessen international pressure for a change in its policies towards the Palestinians. Nor can Israel be expected to give up its battle to undermine Hamas' control of the Gaza Strip.

No Sidelining Arab-Israelis Over Raid On Aid Flotilla

Normally, in this non-descript sleepy Arab town in Galilee, TV sets are tuned to Al-Jazeera or Al-Arabiyya, the round-the-clock Arabic networks.

MIDEAST: Where Commemorations Are Split

In Israel and Palestine memory is a split matter, depending on which side of the map you come from. Especially this May, as Israeli and Palestinian leaders restart negotiating a border acceptable to their peoples.

ISRAEL: The Only Democracy in the Middle East?

Noam Chomsky, a fierce espouser of left-wing causes, is widely admired in countries which parade themselves as "democracies". Apparently, the admiration does not extend to Israel.

Q&A: ‘U.S. Can Stop Israeli Settlements’

Ziad Abuzayyad was Palestinian cabinet minister responsible for Jerusalem affairs and a member of the Palestinian Legislature. During previous rounds of peace talks with Israel he was a leading member of the Palestinian negotiating team

MIDEAST: Netanyahu Plants Trees and More on Occupied Land

When Benjamin Netanyahu dug a spade here and in another West Bank settlement this week, some thought the Israeli Prime Minister was actually digging a hole into current United States-sponsored peace efforts.

Q&A: ”Israeli Settlements Killing Two-Nation Solution”

In the absence of any progress towards peace between Israelis and Palestinians, leaders of the Palestinian Authority (PA) are adopting a reasonable approach as a way of building up international pressure on Israel to get it back to the negotiating table.

Q&A: ”U.S. ‘Grand Bargain’ Can Save Israel From Itself”

Resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict along the two-state parameters seems less likely with Israel torn between accepting a Palestinian state and the settler ideology which calls for Israel's exclusive rule over the whole of Jerusalem and the West Bank.

Q&A: No Unilateral Declaration of Palestinian State, Says Erekat

The Palestinian Authority has embarked on a new strategic drive to get renewed international recognition for the borders of the future Palestinian state. Last Thursday it gained backing for this approach from the Arab League.