POLITICS-US: Iran in the Spotlight at Christian Zionist Confab

The controversial Christian Zionist pastor John Hagee and thousands of supporters filled a convention centre in downtown Washington this week for his Christians United for Israel (CUFI) organisation's Washington-Israel Summit, where the "Iranian threat" was a recurrent theme.

MIDEAST: Poverty in Gaza Hits “Unprecedented” Level

In both the West Bank and Gaza, young people aged 15 to 24 are the most likely of any group to be unemployed, while the number of households in Gaza below the poverty line has reached an historic high of nearly 52 percent, according to a new report by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) issued Thursday.

MIDEAST: Palestinian 'Che' Blindfolded and Shot

A Youtube video, uploaded on the Internet this week, showing a blindfolded and handcuffed Palestinian being fired on at close range by an Israeli soldier in the presence of a Lieutenant-Colonel, has made international and regional headlines.

LEBANON: Syria Comes In From the Cold

Syrian skies seem to be finally clearing after a very long storm and the virtual shunning of President Bashar al-Assad from the international political scene for almost three years. Many may perceive the recent rapprochement between Syria and France as a mere dalliance, but others believe it can herald a new - and more peaceful - dawn in Lebanon.

MIDEAST: In Israel, Obama Looks to Votes Back Home

Lighting a remembrance flame at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. Speaking against the backdrop of a pile of empty rocket casings in the southern town of Sderot. Standing solemnly, face close to the stones of the Western Wall in Jerusalem.

LEBANON: Bodies Swap Brings Uneasy Triumph

The image of 199 coffins covered with Lebanese, Palestinian and Hezbollah flags neatly aligned in a southern Beirut compound was broadcast last week on all national Lebanese TV stations. On Tuesday this week, 144 of these remains were transferred to Syria, their final place of rest. Such images have stirred varying emotions among the Lebanese population.

MIDEAST: Roadblocks Cripple West Bank Economy

The Israeli military has erected three additional roadblocks, further blocking vehicular access on the road between the south Hebron village of At-Tuwani and the commercial hub of Yatta in the southern West Bank.

HEALTH-LEBANON: Cancer On the Rise

Reports of a rising incidence of cancer now worry many families across Lebanon. Over the past 40 years, reported cases of cancer have risen from 3,000 to about 8,000 a year.

EGYPT: Locals Step Up Fight Against Factory

Controversy continues to rise over the fate of a Canadian fertiliser plant currently under construction in Egypt's coastal province Damietta. Residents fear it could adversely affect the environment.

LEBANON: Fresh Disputes Shadow New Govt

The new government's first official snapshot taken at the presidential palace last week was certainly worth a thousand words. While 28 of the 30 cabinet ministers were dressed in the traditional white suits, two - Public Works Minister Ghazi Aridi and State Minister Wael Abou Faour - wore dark colours. Between them they emphasised some of Lebanon's eternal dichotomies.

MIDEAST: Israeli Claims over Journalist Challenged

Medical reports seen by IPS appear to confirm the testimony of IPS Gaza correspondent Mohammed Omer of physical abuse at the hands of Israelis last month.

POLITICS-US: Doves Outnumber Hawks in Jewish Community

A new poll suggests that U.S. Jews hold views about the Middle East that are considerably more dovish than frequently acknowledged, with large majorities favouring diplomacy with Iran, supporting a two-state solution in Israel/Palestine, and advocating U.S. withdrawal from Iraq.

MIDEAST: Gaza Siege Batters Women

The siege of Gaza has led to a sharp rise in the number of battered and sexually abused women and children in the Gaza Strip, say members of the Gaza Community Health Programme (GCHP).

MIDEAST: Conflict Tops Med Union Agenda

The Union for the Mediterranean, a French-led grouping of EU nations plus 16 non-European Mediterranean states, was inaugurated Sunday (Jul. 13). The launch of the forum, of which Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak is co-president, was dominated by issues related to the perennial Arab-Israeli dispute.

RIGHTS: Israeli Magnate Draws Activists’ Ire

Having successfully lobbied the U.N. Children's Agency UNICEF to stop accepting donations from Israeli billionaire Lev Avnerovich Leviev, activists are urging celebrities who have made public appearances with Leviev to cut all ties with him.

MIDEAST: Israel Targets Hamas Orphanages

Shopping malls. Schools. Medical centres. Charities, orphanages. Soup kitchens. These are the latest targets in the campaign the Israeli military is waging against Hamas in the West Bank.

MIDEAST: Hamas-Israel Prisoner Swap Remains Elusive

Despite intensive mediation efforts by Egyptian officials, a delegation from Palestinian resistance faction Hamas departed Cairo Saturday (Jul. 12) without securing a prisoner exchange deal with Israel. According to local analysts, fresh swap proposals - featuring the release of long-time Israeli captive Gilaad Shalit - continue to run up against Israeli obduracy.

LEBANON: Radical Islam Comes to Town

In the centre of one of Tripoli's squares in north Lebanon, a large statue has been erected inscribed with the word 'Allah' in Arabesque calligraphy. The statue reflects the city's reality, especially in light of the recent rise in Salafism, a radical form of Islam.

LEBANON: Not All Earthquakes Are Political

South Lebanon is reputed for orange groves and orchards lined with lush banana trees. For many around the world, it also conjures up images of a fierce battleground, where all regional conflicts come to life. In recent months, however, the region has also become known for its intense seismic activity.

POPULATION-MIDEAST: Israel Fears the Womb More Than the Bomb

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has laid it out in the starkest possible terms for his fellow Israelis. If they do not relinquish control of the occupied territories, he has warned them, Israel will ultimately cease to exist as a Jewish and democratic state.

POPULATION-MIDEAST: Time Bomb Ticking Away in Gaza

Crowded into a tiny strip of territory of 360 square kilometres, plagued by poverty, malnutrition and unemployment, Gaza's 1.5 million people face a demographic time bomb as the fragile infrastructure struggles to cope with a soaring birth rate.