MIDEAST: Gaza Needs More Aid

John Ging, head of the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Gaza, has urged Israel to ease aid flow restrictions that are having a devastating effect on the 1.5 million inhabitants.

MIDEAST: The Lines Are Getting Redrawn

The rival Palestinian parties Fatah and Hamas, the Arab League, the EU and the new U.S. administration all appear to have found common ground against Israel's continued occupation of the West Bank.

MIDEAST: Occupation and Siege Sideline Rampant Domestic Violence

A Palestinian woman fleeing her abusive husband in Gaza several weeks ago was stabbed to death by her enraged husband as the terrified woman sought shelter in her parents home.

Q&A: 'Women Are Not Equals in Our Society'

As a man in a patriarchal society, an outspoken advocate of women’s rights and a harsh critic of the way Palestinian women are treated, Mashoor Basissy, MOWA’s director in the West Bank, brings a fresh male perspective to the growing problem of domestic violence against Palestinian women.

EGYPT: State Security Blunts ‘Day of Anger’

Egyptians expressed their discontent Monday with rising prices and political stagnation in a national 'day of anger' organised by online activists. Although smaller in scope than a nationwide strike on this date last year, opposition figures say the demonstrations across the country made their point.

MIDEAST: It Will Take the World to Save These Homes

Orthodox Israeli settlers, backed by soldiers and police, attacked Palestinian residents of the Sa'diyya neighbourhood of occupied East Jerusalem Sunday evening, four days after the settler group invaded the home of the Jabir family and extra-judicially evicted them.

MIDEAST: Lost in the Buffer Zone

"They're always shooting at us. Every day they shoot at us," says Alaa Samour (19), pulling aside his shirt to show a scar on his shoulder. Samour said he was shot on Dec. 28 last year by Israeli soldiers positioned along the border fence near New Abassan village, east of Khan Younis in the south of the Gaza Strip.

MIDEAST: Big Powers Moving In on Gaza

Nine NATO member states agreed last month to utilise naval, intelligence and diplomatic resources to combat the alleged flow of arms into the Gaza Strip. Some Egyptian commentators see the move as a surreptitious means of cementing foreign control over the region.

MIDEAST: All Unclear Over Israeli Policy

How genuine is Israel's new leadership about peace when the Prime Minister says that he will go a long way towards striving for a settlement with the Palestinians, but purposefully omits to endorse an independent Palestinian state; and, when his foreign minister warns, "If you want peace, prepare for war", a blunt statement on which the prime minister stays studiously silent?

MIDEAST: Israeli Military Cloaks Abuses

The Israeli army's Advocate General has summarily closed an internal investigation into allegations stemming from accounts by soldiers of abuses against Palestinian civilians committed during Israel's recent war on Hamas in Gaza.

EGYPT: Camp David Accord Unacceptable to Many

Egyptian and Israeli officials celebrated the anniversary of the Camp David peace agreement last week. The agreement normalised relations between the two former adversaries 30 years earlier on Mar. 26. Opposition leaders, however, are calling for a suspension of the treaty, which they say fails to serve Egyptian interests.

MIDEAST: All Change, and Nothing Changes

In the Middle East this week it's all change. In fact, it's all diplomatic stasis. Neither Monday's Arab League summit in Doha nor Tuesday's induction of a new Israeli government in Jerusalem is likely to break or even ease the conflict deadlock that grips the region.

Q&A: Sacked for Writing Against the Egypt Regime

For years, Abdelhalim Kandil has been one of Egypt's most high-profile opposition journalists, known for writing hard-hitting articles critical of the ruling regime of President Hosni Mubarak.

MIDEAST: To be an Arab, and an Israeli

The cluster of blue-and-white Stars of David - Israel's national flag - had seen better days. In the wake of unseasonably heavy rain, they looked limp, anything but proud - in direct contrast to the mark their bearers hoped to make.

MIDEAST: Israel Under Pressure Over Divided Jerusalem

By late Saturday afternoon hundreds of heavily armed Israeli security forces on horseback and on foot had arrested over 20 Palestinians, assaulted a handful of people, and prevented numerous festivities from taking place.

EGYPT: Pyramids may Rise Above the Recession

When tourism officials met at the start of the year to discuss the impact of the global financial crisis on Egypt's tourism industry, the prognosis looked bleak. But now, three months into 2009, a better picture is emerging - and some experts believe the battened-down sector can weather the storm.

MIDEAST: Disputes Coming to a Head

Key issues in conflict between Israelis and Palestinians are all coming to a head. But, even if these immediate issues are resolved, in any event, the conflict itself and an overriding diplomatic paralysis threaten to take long-term hold and to stymie all efforts to move the conflict onto a peace track any time soon.

MIDEAST: Israeli Soldiers Expose Atrocities in Gaza

Based on testimony from Israeli soldiers who took part in the recent war in Gaza, Israel is being confronted directly with the serious charge that permissive rules of engagement allowed for the killing of Palestinian civilians and widespread destruction of Palestinian property.

MIDEAST: Israelis Using ‘Excessive’ Force Against Protesters

The critical wounding of a U.S. activist has highlighted the excessive use of force by Israeli forces.

MIDEAST: Palestinians Failing to Stitch the Split

Reconciliation talks between rival Palestinian factions Hamas and Fatah in Cairo this week yielded an agreement to hold national elections early next year. The two sides, however, remain deadlocked over the proposed terms of a national unity government.

MIDEAST: Gazans Struggle for Clean Drinking Water

As environmental experts, NGOs and government officials gather in Istanbul this week to attend the Fifth World Water Forum, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has drawn attention to the critical water situation in Gaza.