Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Ahmed Al-Burai
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Palestinian Jerusalemites shouldn’t be left alone to face the Israeli bulldozers
According to a local information centre, in the past decade alone, Israel has demolished 200 housing units in occupied East Jerusalem leaving 440 Palestinians homeless. In the cruellest and most vicious way, the occupation forces obliged the owners of these houses to demolish their own properties or be charged...
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A cold war is brewing in Jerusalem between Turkey and an Israel-Saudi alliance
Back in 2017, two Israeli advisors to the Jerusalem Municipality, David Koren and Ben Avrahami, shared their concerns about Turkey’s increasingly visible role in the Holy City. These two figures oversee all of the municipality’s interactions with Muslims and Christians in Jerusalem. They are fully aware of the fine...
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Black Americans and Palestinians ‘can’t breathe’ because of injustice
Over the past week, two brutal events added more sadness to the morbid climate of the coronavirus pandemic. In Minneapolis, a black American citizen was killed by a police officer, and then an unarmed 32-year-old Palestinian man with special needs was shot and killed by an Israeli police officer...
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Turkey’s strategy against the Saudi-UAE bloc is conciliatory — so far
The antagonism of Saudi Arabia and the UAE against Turkey has been incremental and provocative. Nevertheless, Turkey is maintaining its de-escalation strategy with a conciliatory approach. For how long, though? Can Turkey remain tolerant? What cards can it play against the reckless calculations of some of the Gulf monarchies?...
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Media bias is politicising the coronavirus pandemic coverage
Slanted news coverage has a major impact on public perceptions of the topic in question. Media bias doesn’t exclusively mean content bias, though; the presentation style of the report could also create prejudice. This includes the placement of the story and its size. For example, a front-page story receives...
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Lessons to be learnt from the battle of Idlib
The crisis in Idlib has undoubtedly been the most serious test for the resilience of Turkey-Russia relations. The military calculus and political dynamics of both sides are highly complicated and multidimensional. Turkey can’t abandon Idlib province to the far from tender mercies of the Assad regime for two reasons:...
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As the refugee crisis in Syria worsens, history will record the failures of great democracies
Following the killing of Turkish soldiers in Syria’s Idlib province and the dramatic rise in atrocities, Turkey has allowed more than 100,000 migrants and refugees across its border with Greece. The Greek government has taken a number of tough measures to keep the refugees out as they amass at...
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Does the Palestinian Authority really oppose Trump’s deal?
Reacting to Donald Trump’s “deal of the century”, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas said that “Jerusalem is not for sale”. On Saturday, the Arab League completely rejected Trump’s plan during an emergency meeting in Cairo, saying it would not lead to a just peace. During the meeting, Abbas reiterated vehemently...
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Are Turkey, Russia possible peace brokers for the Palestine-Israel conflict?
The Palestinians have realised that American President Donald Trump is seeking to solely bolster Israel and to utterly isolate the Palestinian Authority and the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). When the Trump administration closed the Palestinian mission in Washington in 2018, Palestinian leaders described the decision as “a declaration of...
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How should we interpret Hamas’ attendance at the funeral of Iran’s general?
The Iranian assassinated military commander, Qasem Soleimani, was carried to his final resting place on the shoulders of huge crowds packing the streets of the Iranian capital, Tehran. Speakers hailed the general as an Iranian national hero and the “martyr of Jerusalem”. It was Ismail Haniyeh, the former Palestinian...
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Will Egypt fight Turkey in Libya?
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced recently that Turkish troops have begun moving into Libya after Turkey’s parliament approved the deployment last week. The move comes after Ankara and Tripoli struck a deal which enables the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the Libyan capital to request vehicles and weapons...
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Saudi Arabia should ‘look in the mirror’ before criticising Turkey’s operation in Syria
When Turkey’s third cross-border operation in Northern Syria started on 9 October, condemnation of the Turkish “invasion” came from around the world, as well as calls for it to be stopped. The next day, five member states in the European Council — France, Germany, Belgium, Britain and Poland —...
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Unexplainable German double standards with Turkey and Egypt
The war of words between Turkish and German officials and diplomats started when Germany prevented Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag from holding a rally in Germany. The minister headed to Germany as part of a mobilisation and awareness campaign that started prior to the pending constitutional referendum that is...
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Is there an imminent thaw between Sisi and Hamas, or is it a coercive détente?
Ever since the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi, Hamas has found itself in Egypt’s crosshairs. The regime of Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi has opted for a multifaceted retributive strategy toward the Hamas-run Gaza Strip. Post-2013 coup, the state media began running an insidious propaganda campaign intended to demonise the Palestinians...
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If you want to know what’s going on in the Middle East, look at the gas deals
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told reporters at Ankara’s Esenboga Airport before leaving for Pakistan: “They have also appointed their envoy. I believe they start their duty today.” Turkey, he added, is appointing Kemal Okem as ambassador to Tel Aviv. The exchange of the ambassadors came days after the Turkish...
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Turkey is in Mosul to protect its interests, not for imperialist purposes
The Arabs have long been indoctrinated that the Ottomans were foreign invaders who occupied Arab lands, while Turks were taught that “Arabs betrayed our ancestors”. Were our history lessons merely propaganda to distort history or an irrefutable truth? “I wonder why someone would feel offended when I say that...
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Has Turkey relinquished Gaza or simply bent before the rising tide of Israeli influence?
Did Erdogan, symbolically the only leader ready to stand up to Israeli arrogance, make a pragmatic U-turn in his country’s relations with Israel at the expense of the Palestinians?...
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The rise of the new Ottomans
Erdogan is not only proud of his country’s past, but he also tries to attach his name as a sequel to the Ottoman civilisation...
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Does Erdogan’s purge provide Islamists with an opportunity to eradicate secularism?
The Turkish government embarked legally on an operation against insurgents in 2013 when their dirty games emerged; the latest coup attempt will boost the government’s efforts to purge the army of mutineers and traitors...
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Why Hamas’ five fatal flaws were unavoidable
Recently, there have been genuine calls by intellectuals in Islamic movements in the Arab world for the recalibration and reassessment of strategies, ideologies, paradigms and tactics. Some even called for an entire shift from religion to politics. Hamas, as a pivotal movement which pioneered and inspired Islamic movements, maintains...
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Lieberman, Israel's belligerent nightclub bouncer who tore the mask off 'Beautiful Israel'
Politically, Netanyahu and his narrow coalition was about to accomplish a Turkish-Israeli compromise to warm up relations with Turkey after sever intensions. The sudden invitation to Lieberman, however, most likely blows away previous efforts and agreements....
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Is there a change in Obama’s no-bluffing policy in Syria?
Obama’s allies in the region, explicitly Turkey, repeatedly offered him options which avoided a full-scale offensive. People are striving for feasible solutions such as a no-fly zone for refugees....
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The motives and repercussions of Davutoglu’s resignation
Turkey’s Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said that he is “ready to concede all positions in order not to inflict any harm to our party’s cause or to my companions.” He made the claim confidently in a press conference held to announce the date of the ruling Justice and...
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The island issue shows Egypt’s gratitude to Saudi Arabia blessed by Israel
Egyptian anger at the government’s handover of two islands in the Gulf of Aqaba to Saudi Arabia is palpable. “The outrage of the Egyptian activists and bloggers is utterly unjustified,” said one man in a café, sarcastically. “The islands of Tiran and Sanafir were not relinquished, they were gifted...