Middle East Near You

The Gaza Strip has just witnessed a series of demonstrations against poor living conditions. They prompted widespread reactions critical of Hamas’s way of dealing with protesters, with some within...

Since Rami Hamdallah became prime minister of the Palestinian National Unity Government, it has been clear a senior-level official in the office of President Mahmoud Abbas. His role was...

In recent days several strong statements have been made, condemning the occupation, in the Israeli media. In the words of Israel’s Channel 13 reporter, Oshrat Kotler, “When you send...

The recent Israeli government decision to make financial cuts to the Palestinian Authority’s budget has led to some warnings of negative potential repercussions on Israeli security. Israel’s security establishment...

Relations between the Palestinians and Saudi Arabia appear to be warming up after a period of remoteness. The Palestinian Authority President, Mahmoud Abbas, met with King Salman, and Fatah...

Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh left the Gaza Strip for Egypt on 3 February on a visit that was supposed to last for several days. It is now entering its...

There has been more talk recently from the Palestinians, Israelis and Jordanians about the option of a confederation as an alternative to the two-state solution in light of the...

Israeli operations to pursue Hamas cells in the occupied West Bank, including residential areas of Ramallah and Al-Bireh, are ongoing. They take place near the Palestinian Authority headquarters and...

Immediately after the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah late last month and the growing talk within the Palestinian Authority that the future government intends to isolate Hamas in...

While I was writing this article, Hezbollah Secretary-General Hassan Nasrallah announced that any operation launched by Israel against Lebanon will be dealt with as a declaration of war. If...

The Central Elections Committee for Hamas prisoners held by Israel announced the end of the elections in late December for the senior leadership of the movement’s prisoners for 2019...

Iranian-Palestinian relations – specifically with the resistance factions led by Hamas and Islamic Jihad – are gradually growing and developing in what seems to be an attempt to make...

In its efforts to rally all Palestinians, Hamas strives to be inclusive. Over the past few years since winning control of the Gaza Strip in 2006/7, the Islamic Resistance...

Exactly six years ago, the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement — Hamas — ended its official presence in Syria due to the deteriorating security situation in the country on one...

It is no longer a secret that the efforts of the local, regional and international parties to reach a truce between the resistance and Israel are declining. This absolves...

In August 2005, the Israeli occupation forces withdrew from the Gaza Strip in a unilateral disengagement plan announced by the then Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. Although there is much...

I am writing this as Israeli missiles are destroying buildings in Gaza, killing children and frightening civilians under the pretext of tackling the issue of kites that have burned...

Israel’s press continues to write about the shape of the Palestinian Authority when President Mahmoud Abbas leaves the political arena. This comes amid speculation about his deteriorating health and...

Iran has cut the expenses of its media offices in Palestine and has not paid debts of $3 million to local television production companies for the hire of equipment...

Israel is facing the consequences of the leaks of extracts from the State Comptroller’s report on the failures of the 2014 war against the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip....

The issue of Israeli soldiers captured by Hamas in Gaza still has momentum in Israel, with various predictions of whether the two sides will get into agreement for a...

Days after the end of Fatah’s Seventh Conference, and Mahmoud Abbas’ success in excluding the team of his nemesis Mohammed Dahlan, there have been increasing rumours that the latter...

Palestinians did not really need to see Avigdor Lieberman, head of Yisrael Beiteinu, appointed as minister of defence on 25 May to be convinced that the coalition led by...

Avigdor Lieberman is a Jew from the former Soviet Union; he was born in the former Soviet Republic of Moldova. With his appointment as Defence Minister his wish has...

Palestinians and Israelis are experiencing a conflict over the Israeli army’s “pursuit” of wanted Palestinians in Area A. Meanwhile, Palestinian security agencies are asking Israelis to hand over security...

Palestinians are dependent on banks and currency exchange offices in their financial transactions, such as receiving cash transfers from employers and relatives, and perhaps even for financial transfers sent...

In an area where international and regional affairs are now often one and the same, the local dimension no longer plays a sole major role in managing events and...

The recent death of seven Al-Qassam Brigades members after the collapse of a tunnel highlighted the new combat style created by Hamas in the Palestinian territories a decade ago,...

January 1st was not a good start to the year for the Israelis, as it was the day that Palestinian Nashat Melhem carried out an armed attack in the...

Israel has shown unrivalled enthusiasm for the survival of the government currently ruling in Egypt, until further notice, at least. It may not be an exaggeration on my part...

Since the end of the 2014 Israeli war on Gaza, the enclave’s borders have been witnessing mutual mobility by the Israeli army and Hamas fighters, with each sending the...

At the climax of the intifada’s successive developments on the ground, the political position surrounding the events seem to need much clarification and reading. This is despite the fact...