Q&A: 'Without Loyalty, No Citizenship'

Arab Israeli lists Balad and Ta'al might not be allowed to take part in the upcoming elections. Last Monday, representatives from all major parties voted for the exclusion of the lists. Danny Hershtal, candidate of main instigator Yisrael Beitenu explains why his party considered such a move necessary.

MIDEAST: A ‘Police State’ Celebrates

The Israeli government is stepping up efforts to suppress dissent and crush resistance in the streets. Police have been videotaping the demonstrations and subsequently arresting protesters in large numbers.

MIDEAST: Gaza War Divides Arab Governments From People

Street protests against Israel's assault on Gaza continue to be held almost daily. The anger has not ended with the ceasefire called.

MIDEAST: Ceasefire of Sorts Agreed, For Now

One Palestinian civilian died and over a dozen rockets hit southern Israel early Sunday morning just hours after Israel implemented a unilateral ceasefire halting its three-week military incursion into Gaza.

MIDEAST: Shock, Awe, and a Belated Soul-Search

"If only my three daughters will be the last victims of this horrible conflict," wept Dr. Ezzadin Abu Al-Aish, a Palestinian gynaecologist recovering from his wounds in Tel Aviv's Tel Hashomer hospital. An Israeli tank shell killed three of his nine children aged 20, 15 and 14 as well as a 14-year-old niece in their home in the Jebaliya refugee camp Saturday. Israel says its forces were responding to sniper fire.

MIDEAST: Resistance Rejects International Gaza Force

Since the outset of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip, calls have been renewed for an "international force" to protect the civilian population. But Palestinian resistance factions, chief among them Hamas, reject the idea outright.

MIDEAST: Coming Up to Crunch Time

"The war isn't yet over, but it's the beginning of the final chapter," said Eytan Ben-Eliyahu, former Israeli air force chief, on Israel Television Wednesday night. "This is the crunch moment," he added.

MIDEAST: Olmert Piles Up the Pressure

In the face of U.S. denials, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's office confirmed Wednesday that he personally intervened to ensure that the U.S. abstained from voting on UN Security Council Resolution 1860 last week.

MIDEAST: Anger Begins to Knock at the Borders

A number of armed attacks have taken place on Israel's borders with Palestinian territories in the last six days as Arab public anger over the death and destruction wrought on Gaza spills over from massive street demonstrations.

MIDEAST: Ceasefire Moves Fading Away

A week after the unveiling of a Franco-Egyptian ceasefire proposal aimed at stopping the bloodshed in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian resistance faction Hamas and on the face of it Israel, are still discussing the fine print of an agreement.

MIDEAST: Israel in No Mood to Brook Dissent

The war on Gaza is widening. Not so much on the battleground inside Gaza as inside Israeli society. The Israeli army continues the battering of Hamas, but on another front Israelis are firing on their own democracy - and from within the very halls of democracy itself.

MIDEAST: Israelis Rain 'Phosphorous Bombs' Over Gaza

"There is no doubt that Israel is using phosphorous bombs over Gaza. Israel is flagrantly violating the Fourth Geneva Convention," says Raji Sourani, head of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights (PCHR) in Gaza.

MIDEAST: Some Israelis Cry Out for Peace

Another peace rally Saturday night brought together about a couple of thousand Israelis to demand an immediate end to the ongoing assault in Gaza. The demonstration was held in front of the Hakirya, the central command of the Israeli Defence Forces and the Ministry of Defence in the heart of Tel Aviv.

MIDEAST: Israel at Crossroads Between Ceasefire and Occupation

Into the third week of its war on Gaza, Israeli leaders are convinced they're still calling the shots. But, without a suitable diplomatic exit soon, the military "successes" could quickly begin to unravel, some sobering Israeli voices have cautioned.

MIDEAST: Brothers in Thought, Not in Arms

Egypt's official press has recently alleged an "organisational relationship" between the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood (MB) opposition movement and Palestinian resistance group Hamas, currently facing the brunt of Israel's war on the Gaza Strip. MB spokesmen, however, say their relationship with Hamas is purely ideological.

MIDEAST: Israel Fighting Also the UN

A United Nations report that Israel ordered civilians into a building and then shelled it marks yet more evidence of widespread targeting of civilians in the Gaza assault.

MIDEAST: Gaza, and Israel’s Wars of Forced Regime Change

The war that Israel launched on Gaza Dec. 27 is the seventh war of choice Israel has launched against its neighbours since 1973, the last year in which it fought a war that was forced upon it.

MIDEAST: Lebanon War More Than a Shadow

The eerie calm reigning on the green hills of south Lebanon was broken Thursday by the sound of explosions as three Katyusha rockets were launched into Nahariya and Western Galilee areas in Israel.

MIDEAST: Egypt Pulls Down the Shutters on Aid

Egyptian authorities have almost fully sealed the border with Gaza, preventing delivery of desperately needed humanitarian aid.

MIDEAST: Children Found Starving

An international chorus of condemnation has blasted Israel over its human rights abuses in Gaza. Operation Cast Lead, into its 12th day, has now claimed the lives of over 700 Palestinians.

MIDEAST: Claiming Impartiality, Europe Leans Towards Israel

In carefully crafted official statements, diplomats have portrayed the European Union as something of an honest broker in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Yet even though almost all of the people killed over the past fortnight have been Palestinians, some top-ranking leaders in the 27-country bloc have tacitly offered their support for Israel's bombing and invasion of Gaza.