Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Samira Shackle
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The pitiful response of developed countries to the Syrian refugee crisis
In January, Syria crossed another milestone: the country overtook Afghanistan to become the biggest source of refugees in the world. After four years of civil war, more than 200,000 people have been killed, and ten million have been displaced. More than three million have exited Syria’s borders, staying mostly...
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Palestinian membership of the ICC is a positive step towards justice
Ever since Palestine made moves towards joining the Hague-based International Criminal Court (ICC) in early January, it has faced a major backlash. Israel has withheld millions of dollars in Palestinian tax revenues, worsening the economic crisis in the occupied territories, while America has threatened to make its aid to...
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After all the fuss, Netanyahu said nothing new
Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to accept a Republican invite to address Congress without consulting the White House plunged US-Israel relations to new lows. More than 50 Democratic lawmakers, outraged at the clear snub to the Obama administration, were expected to boycott the event. Those refusing to attend included high profile...
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Israel and the PA in an enduring unbalanced relationship
The relationship between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) has never been an easy one, but has been in a particularly bad state since last April, when Mahmoud Abbas’s Fatah party signed a reconciliation agreement with Hamas, the militant party that controls Gaza. Israeli anger at the decision led...
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As the president and Houthis square up, stability cannot come soon enough for Yemen
When the Zaidi Shia militia group of Houthi rebels seized control of Yemen’s presidential palace last month, it was looked upon as a coup d’état. President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi tendered his resignation as his residence was besieged. He remained under house arrest as the Houthis controlled the capital...
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Libya has become a battleground for regional struggles
Ever since Muammar Gaddafi was deposed in 2011, rival militias have been battling for control of Libya. In recent days, the long-running crisis has deepened. On Monday 16 February, Egyptian forces bombed alleged Islamic State targets in Libya, after a video was released online, appeared to show militants beheading...
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Despite allegations of corruption, Netanyahu is still on course to win the election
With an election looming, the last thing any politician wants is an expenses scandal. Yet that is exactly what has happened in Israel, where a damning report into Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s spending has been released, just a month before the election. The report, prepared by Israel’s state comptroller,...
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Western powers accept Assad as the lesser of two evils
This March will be the fourth anniversary of the civil war in Syria, which has seen more than 200,000 people killed and 9 million displaced. World leaders called for President Bashar al-Assad to step down back in August 2011. Today, he remains at the helm, and is as intransigent...
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Netanyahu’s dangerous liaison with the Republicans: A step too far?
Israel and the US have a longstanding alliance; political leaders from both countries regularly visit the other for talks and to make speeches. But a speech by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Congress, scheduled to take place next month, has caused huge controversy in the US. The reason?...
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Iraq must unite to overcome ISIS
When the Islamic State militant group (ISIS) seized control of huge swathes of Iraq last summer, it was hoped that this grave threat to the country’s security might lead to Iraq’s sectarian tensions being put aside, at least temporarily. It was not so. As Iraq’s second city of Mosul...
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Yemen's complex politics pose a major problem for the US and Saudi
The political situation in Yemen has been declining steadily for some months now. On Thursday, 22 January, it collapsed, with the Houthi rebels effectively seizing control of the government in the capital Sana’a. The entire government of Western-backed President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi resigned; power was basically handed over...
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Davos endorses Egypt for help in 'fight against terror'
At last week’s World Economic Forum in Davos, the Egyptian president, Abdul Fatah al-Sisi made a speech about the need for world leaders to unite against the global threat of terrorism. “The whole world, not just Muslims, needs to stand and review many points that provoke the feelings of...
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US realpolitik means 'mass murderer' Assad looks safe… for now
From the very early days of the Syrian war, the American government – along with other western administrations – has taken a strong position on the conflict. It called for President Bashar Al-Assad to stand down, a line which has been maintained ever since, but could that position now...
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No one has been able to find a solution for the Yemeni problem
Is Yemen undergoing a coup? That’s what government officials in the country have alleged after a heavy outbreak of fighting in the capital Sanaa. The mainly Shia rebel group, the Houthis, have seized control of the country’s state news agency and television stations. Meanwhile, street battles between rebels and...
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For every Raif Badawi flogged in Saudi dozens are silenced
Raif Badawi is a liberal from Saudi Arabia. In 2006, he started a website, Free Saudi Liberals. Intended as a platform for serious political and social debate, it published articles critical of senior religious figures, and the kingdom’s Wahabbi Islam and religious authorities. Badawi endorsed a separation of religion...
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How do we put an end to the crisis in Syria?
The Syrian civil war has now been raging for nearly four years. The conflict has killed more than 200,000 people and has displaced nearly half the population of Syria; yet it seems a political settlement is no closer. The American-led push for peace, known as the Geneva Process, is all...
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The plight of Syrian refugees deepens in Lebanon and abroad
In the four years since the Syrian civil war began in 2011, millions of Syrians have been forced to flee their homes, causing one of the biggest refugee crises the world has seen for years. One-third of the country’s 23 million inhabitants have been displaced, within which at least...
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If terrorist groups are to be defeated, Saudi Arabia must stop funding those it favours
Ever since ISIS captured land across Iraq and Syria last year, and announced a “new caliphate” across the two nations, other countries in the region have been concerned about an increase in terror attacks. That worry is particularly acute amongst the five Arab partners in the US-led coalition fighting...
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Yemen's descent into chaos affects all of us
When the Arab Spring protests swept the Middle East in 2011, Yemen was among the first countries to see a popular uprising against a long-entrenched dictator. The revolution was plagued by violence from the outset, which was unsurprising given that Yemen is home to a complex web of regional...
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In Palestine, there is no dignity without justice
A former head of Mossad, the Israeli spy agency, is not a person you would expect to recommend a more conciliatory approach towards the Palestinians. But that is exactly what Efraim Halevy has done. In a wide-ranging interview with the Times of Israel, Halevy, who was Mossad head from 1998-2002...
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Media freedom is a victim of Erdogan's struggle against Gülen
The Turkish government does not have a great record on media freedom. Earlier this year, leaked phone recordings revealed the president (he was prime minister at the time), Recep Tayyip Erdogan, giving directions to a board member of a national media network about its television and newspaper coverage. Several...
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A Palestinian move for UN membership makes waves in Israel and America
Over the past year, coverage of the conflict between Israel and Palestine has been dominated by news of peace talks falling apart, the battle between Israel and Hamas in Gaza over the summer, and ongoing clashes in Jerusalem. In the background, though, the Palestinian Authority has been continuing its...
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Muted response to minister's killing confirms that Palestinian lives don't matter
On Wednesday 10 December, a protest took place in the West Bank village of Turmusiya, near Ramallah. Dozens of foreign and Palestinian activists were demonstrating against land confiscations by Israel. They planned to plant olive tree saplings near the illegal Jewish settlement of Shiloh, on a patch of land...
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"Business as usual" in Egypt?
When Muslim Brotherhood president Mohamed Morsi was ousted from power in 2013, western powers did not know how to react. They were instinctively suspicious of Morsi, an Islamist politician, and his failure to act in a pluralistic manner in government did not ease these concerns. Yet the takeover was...
