LABOUR: 26 Percent Unemployment in Palestinian Territories

The Palestinian National Authority, the Israeli government, and the international community must make every effort to help ensure decent jobs for the men and women in the occupied Arab territories, recommends a new report by the International Labour Organisation (ILO).

DISARMAMENT: Israeli Arsenal Vexes Nuclear Negotiators

The U.S. administration has sought to keep a tight focus on the suspected nuclear activities of Iran and North Korea at month-long talks here on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But other countries also have highlighted the impact of Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal on efforts to establish a Middle East nuclear-free zone.

MIDEAST: Gaza Moves Into Unsettling Times

Israel's government last week postponed the implementation of its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip for three weeks, ostensibly to take into account an annual Jewish period of mourning.

MIDEAST: Political Tsunami Hits Lebanon

Lebanon closed a chapter in its bloody civil war Saturday with the return of army general Michel Aoun from 14 years of forced exile in France.

MIDEAST: Poll Dampens Militant Group

Fatah maintained its position this week as the largest party by far in the Palestinian territories, despite earlier signs of weakness and a strong showing by the militant Hamas movement in the municipal elections.

EGYPT: Tourists Keep Up the Lifeline

Despite the initial apprehension of local hotels and travel agencies following the April 7 attack on tourists in Cairo's historic al-Azhar district, the effect on Egypt's vital tourism industry has been slight.

MIDEAST: Syrian Departure Lifts a Depression

The Syrian military and intelligence withdrawal from Lebanon finalised this week following intense international pressure marks the beginning of a new era.

MIDEAST: Israelis Resist the Arabs in Their Midst

More than four years of violence between Israelis and Palestinians may have abated at least temporarily but its effect is still being felt on relations between Jews and Arabs inside Israel. A string of recent polls, events and policy issues shows that both popular and official attitudes towards the country's Arab minority remain problematic.

MIDEAST: Not So Fast Out of Gaza

Two dates in the Middle East that once seemed set in stone are now being challenged as Israel considers delaying its Gaza disengagement and Palestinians mull over postponing their elections.

MIDEAST: Israel Faces Signs of ‘Civil War’

Anti-pullout protesters blocked a major highway near Tel Aviv, disrupted an Israeli army graduation ceremony for new officers, and tried to march on a highly sensitive religious site in Jerusalem this week. The three protest actions were launched in just three days by opponents of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to evacuate all 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip and four in the northern West Bank.

EGYPT: Uneasy Warmth Grows with Israel

In another reflection of warming diplomatic ties, Israeli foreign minister Silvan Shalom - a member of Israel's right-wing Likud Party - visited Cairo Tuesday to hold discussions with President Hosni Mubarak, his Egyptian counterpart Ahmed Aboul Gheit and intelligence chief Omar Suleiman.

MIDEAST: That Wartime Feel Returns to Lebanon

Lebanon's recent string of bomb attacks directed against Christian areas around Beirut has resulted in a war-weary population returning to old behavioural patterns.

MIDEAST: Palestinian Women Become Victims Three Times Over

Palestinian women are becoming victims three times over in the Middle East conflict, Amnesty International researchers say.

MIDEAST: Lebanon Fears, and Hopes

The political upheaval which has engulfed Lebanon following the assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri has given rise to fears of renewed sectarian bloodshed - and hopes that it can be avoided.

POLITICS-MIDEAST: Rehearsals for the Rapture

In mid-February, Israel's parliament backed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and four West Bank settlements.

MIDEAST: Gaza Pullout Faces Rising Hurdles

Opposition leader Joseph "Tommy" Lapid recently bragged that he had been receiving calls from senior U.S. officials asking him to throw the weight of his 14-member Shinui party behind the government's budget for 2005. "I don't know whether this pressure is from the U.S. administration or if Sharon's office asked the U.S. to put pressure on us," Lapid said, referring to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.

MIDEAST: Israeli Euphoria Over Lebanon Wearing Off

The initial reactions bordered on the euphoric. Lebanese citizens were pouring into the streets of Beirut in open defiance of Damascus, and Israelis were cheering. Talk in Israel of a democratic, Syria-free neighbour to its north abounded. Some even speculated Lebanon might be the next Arab country - after Egypt and Jordan - to forge a peace treaty with Israel.

MIDEAST: Hariri’s Legacy Includes a Massive Debt

Former prime minister Rafik Hariri left a controversial economic legacy, and his killing has put a question mark over the future of the troubled country's finances.

MIDEAST: Lebanese Movement Sets Its Own Agenda

The assassination of former premier Rafik Hariri proved a catalyst for the unfurling of exceptional public protest in Lebanon. Within 24 hours of the attack, a vigil was held at the site of the blast on Beirut's seafront. From there on, public mobilisation escalated to daily demonstrations and a permanent sit-in at Martyrs' Square in the heart of the Lebanese capital, next to the burial site of the slain Sunni leader.

MIDEAST: Without a Government, Lebanon Waits

Syrian President Bashar Assad's announcement that Syria will soon pull back its troops from Lebanon may have eliminated some concerns about Syria's overall plans, but has done little to solve its internal crisis.

MIDEAST: Beirut Square Stands Firm Against Syria

Syrian President Bashir al-Assad's much anticipated speech before parliament Saturday on the status of the Syrian presence in Lebanon drew mixed reactions from the Lebanese.