MIDEAST: Israeli Attack Looking More Likely

The likelihood of a large-scale Israeli military operation in the Gaza Strip has crept closer as more rockets continue to land in southern Israel and another Israeli was killed by a mortar shell, further hardening attitudes amongst senior ministers against a proposed truce with Hamas.

MIDEAST: Palestinian Rivals Step Towards Reducing Rift

In the early hours of Friday morning, Israeli warplanes targeted a Hamas-run security post in the northern town of Beit Lahiya, injuring 29 Palestinian civilians, according to Gaza medical sources. In the Eastern Gaza City neighbourhood of al-Shuja'iya, a 27-year-old man was shot dead by Israeli special forces during another invasion.

POLITICS: U.S. Urged to Push Israel Harder on Gaza Students

While seven Palestinian Fulbright scholars now appear more likely to get their chance to study in the United States, hundreds of other university students who have received invitations to study abroad remain trapped at home by Israeli security restrictions, according to Human Rights Watch (HRW) and two national academic associations.

POLITICS-US: Obama Walks Fine Line at Major Pro-Israel Meet

Speaking last year at the same forum, he received scattered boos. But as Senator Barack Obama strode towards the podium Wednesday morning at the annual policy conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), he was greeted with a standing ovation.

EGYPT: Bond With U.S. Becomes a Chain

A deal brokered by Qatar last month succeeded in ending the longstanding political standoff in Lebanon - at least for the time being. Some local analysts see Qatar's success as Cairo's failure, saying Egyptian diplomacy has been hamstrung by the ruling regime's closeness to Washington.

MIDEAST: ‘Military Escalation Brewing’

After another round of Egypt-brokered talks between Israel and Palestinian resistance factions, a cessation of hostilities remains elusive as ever. According to statements by both sides, failure to achieve a degree of calm in the short term could lead instead to open confrontation.

POLITICS-US: On Middle East, McCain Vows to Stay the Course

In a major address on Middle East policy Monday, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican candidate for president, pledged to maintain the Bush administration's hard line against Iran and expressed strong scepticism about the ability of the current Palestinian leadership to reach a peace accord with Israel.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: Gaza Fulbrights, Small Yet Symbolic

Israel and the U.S. said Friday they would "revisit" a policy that prevents Palestinians from leaving the Gaza Strip to pursue their educational goals one day after a controversial State Department decision to withdraw all Fulbright Scholarships from students living in the territory.

EGYPT: Despair Over Two More Years of Martial Law

A parliamentary majority approved a two-year extension of Egypt's longstanding emergency law last week. While opposition figures and human rights groups blasted the decision, government officials justified the move by pointing to the ostensible threat of terrorism.

DEATH PENALTY-MOROCCO: Findings Provoke Calls for Guarantees

Two recently discovered mass graves and a still-secret list of five other places where victims of other alleged extra-judicial killings lie, has shocked rights activists here and raised questions about the genuineness of the process of national reconciliation which was to be crowned by the abolition of the death penalty.

MIDEAST: Cash Gifts Come Back to Haunt Olmert

Even a seasoned, street-smart political brawler like Prime Minister Ehud Olmert would require a salvage act of Houdini-like magnitude to survive his current predicament. Engulfed by a corruption scandal, his government is unravelling, his own party is beginning to turn against him and, most critically, his public support has evaporated.

RIGHTS: Cluster Bombs May Drop Out of Sight At Last

Cluster bombs should be outlawed in most of the world thanks to an agreement formally endorsed by over 100 governments in Dublin May 30.

POLITICS-US: McCain’s “Agents of Inconvenience”

As John McCain launched his presidential bid in 2007, he faced a considerable challenge to mobilise support among social conservatives within the Republican Party.

LEBANON: In Beirut, the Party Has Begun

The 'party capital' of the Middle East seems to be awakening after an 18-month slumber. As news of a political agreement between feuding Lebanese factions and an imminent presidential election circulated on Wednesday May 21, Lebanese almost immediately began to gather in the Beirut Central District while the tent city erected by the opposition was still being dismantled.

MIDEAST: A Quick Guide to Some Stumbling Blocks

Israel and Syria recently announced the renewal of talks, with the aim of reaching a comprehensive peace agreement. For now, the talks, which are being mediated by Turkey, are indirect and are aimed at preparing the groundwork for full and direct negotiations. For a peace treaty to be reached, the sides will have to successfully negotiate a series of issues.

MIDEAST: Israel Targets Iran Through Syrian Friendship

"Spin" was the chorus that predictably emanated from Israel's parliament when the office of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert announced last week that Israel and Syria had initiated talks ultimately aimed at reaching a peace agreement. But to reduce the renewal of peace talks between Jerusalem and Damascus, after an eight-year hiatus, to mere "spin" is to underestimate how it currently serves the strategic interests of both countries.

EGYPT: People Go One Way Over Israel, Regime Another

The anniversary of Israel's 60th year of nationhood this month drew hearty congratulations from capitals around the world. But in Egypt, official acceptance of the Hebrew state contrasts starkly with popular disgust over Israel's continued mistreatment of the Palestinian people.

MIDEAST: Lebanon Deal Confirms Qatar’s Honest Broker Role

While Lebanon rejoices over the power-sharing deal among its rival factions that ended 18 months of political conflict and saved it from the brink of civil war, deal-broker Qatar revels in the glory of yet another diplomatic coup.

MIDEAST: Egypt Takes a Step Back from Bush Embrace

On his trip to the region this week, U.S. President George W. Bush dismayed even his staunchest Arab allies by expressing unprecedented levels of U.S. support for Israel. In a rare sign of Egyptian displeasure with Washington, President Hosni Mubarak left a major economic summit before Bush had a chance to deliver a scheduled address.

MIDEAST: Can't Play, It Might Rain Rockets

Ruti Edri refers wryly to the upstairs floor of her home as 'The Museum'. It is an undisturbed and uninhabited space, seemingly frozen in time: the rooms are empty, the beds have no linen, the bathroom is unused, and there are no clothes in the cupboards. "We live downstairs," she says. "My children aren't prepared to come up here. They're too scared."

POLITICS-US: As Bush Policy Crumbles, Allies Pick Up the Pieces

"Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold."