LEBANON: Stepping Nearer the WTO

Lebanon could be stepping closer to joining the WTO following years of political instability that have held up reforms.

MIDEAST: Two Police States, No Solution

What remains of Palestinian civil rights is rapidly being eroded by the dictorial Palestinian governments that respectively control the divided Palestinian territories.

MIDEAST: Rampaging Settlers Shatter Fragile Calm

The northern Palestinian West Bank is turning into a flashpoint as Israeli settlers continue to attack Palestinian civilians and their property as part of a "price tag" policy.

MIDEAST: Settlers Grow and Advance

A little village nestled in a valley between several hills in the Bethlehem governorate is today fighting for survival.

MIDEAST: Soldiers’ Voices Rise Again

Israel continues to brush off allegations of human rights violations during its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza launched at the end of December. A series of reports on such violations through the 22-day campaign come soon after completion of fieldwork by the UN human rights four-person fact-finding team headed by South African jurist Richard Goldstone.

MIDEAST: Malnutrition Begins to Bite

"No one is buying meat these days," says Yousef Al-Jerjowi, sitting next to his butcher shop devoid of customers.

MIDEAST: What Do You Call It

What's a name, what's in a road name? History, ideology, nationalism.

MIDEAST: Israeli Spy Ring Threatens Fragile Peace

The UN Security Council has warned that the existence of a large Israeli-run espionage network in Lebanon could threaten a fragile peace established between the two countries following the end of the 2006 Israel-Lebanon war.

MIDEAST: Israel and EU Clash Over Settlements

The Israeli Foreign Ministry's concern over an "unusually harsh statement" by the European Commission over Israel's settlement policy indicates a growing unease between Israel and the EU.

MIDEAST: Fine-Tuning the Cold War

Ambiguity - is it the watchword for all involved in the issue over whether Iran goes nuclear, especially in light of the ongoing political uncertainties that engulf the Islamic Republic?

MIDEAST: Future of Fatah in Doubt

The future of Palestinian unity talks is far more complex than the bitter rivalry, bloodshed and division which represent the yawning chasm separating Palestine's two main political factions, Hamas and Fatah.

MIDEAST: Nobel Laureate ‘Abducted’ by Israeli Navy

Twenty-one international peace activists were seized by Israeli naval frigates in international waters Tuesday as their boat 'The Spirit of Humanity' tried to carry humanitarian aid to Gaza.

MIDEAST: Finding Fish, But Israelis Too

"They told us 'go west or we will shoot you'," says Ashraf Sadallah. "Initially, we refused, so they began shooting very close all around our boat."

MIDEAST: When Drones Become Indiscriminate

The concerted effort of international human rights activists to rein in violations of laws of war was given a major impetus when Human Rights Watch researchers presented a report Tuesday on the unbridled use by the Israeli military of unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCLAV), commonly known as drones, during Israel's 22-day assault on Hamas in Gaza at the beginning of the year.

MIDEAST: Lest We Don’t Forget

They are little white, yellow or green pills and are available almost anywhere. At the pharmacies or in the market, they are accessible, addictive and cheap.

MIDEAST: Deal on Gaza Makes Headway

Under a complex twin-pronged initiative from the U.S. and Egypt, Israel's hard- line government is moving towards backtracking on two major planks of its policy in the occupied territories - resisting demands for a blanket freeze on all settlement building in the West Bank, and acquiescing in the end of its tight siege of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip.

POLITICS-EGYPT: Women Get Help on Road to Parliament

Egypt elected the first Arab woman to parliament in 1957, but in the half century since, the most populous country in the Arab world has gone from being a leader in women's political participation to a lagger.

MIDEAST: Prisoners Shackled, and Hidden Away

The Public Committee Against Torture in Israel has accused the Israeli security forces of deliberately shackling Palestinian prisoners in a painful and dangerous manner, amounting to a form of torture.

LEBANON: How Not to Oppose an Opposition

Christian heads of both the majority and the opposition have raised their stakes ahead of the imminent formation of the Lebanese government headed by Sunni leader Saad Hariri.

MIDEAST: The Writing Is On the Settlement Walls

A paralysing equation has long bedevilled would-be Middle East peacemakers: either, go directly to negotiating the kernel issues of the Israel-Palestine conflict - borders, security, refugees, Jerusalem - and leave, in the context of a full peace, the thorny question of Israeli settlements in the West Bank to fall naturally into place. Or, tackle the settlements head-on, thereby opening the way for a peace drive.

MIDEAST: Bloody Showdown Looming if Unity Talks Fail

Egyptian mediators have set Jul. 7 as deadline for final Palestinian reconciliation talks in Cairo. The Egyptians say time is running out, and if there is no progress in July, they will no longer be prepared to arbitrate.