Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Samira Shackle
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Funding crisis threatens aid for millions of refugees
Since the uprising against President Bashar Al-Assad began three years ago, more than 3.2 million people have fled Syria; a further 7.6 million have been internally displaced. It is a refugee crisis of a scale not seen for many years. Most of the burden has fallen on neighbouring countries....
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Poor governance and corruption among obstacles facing Iraqi military
When ISIS militants swept across Iraq this summer, seizing the key cities of Mosul, Tikrit and Fallujah, they appeared to do so with hardly any opposition from the Iraqi army. There were stories of soldiers abandoning their posts and equipment and fleeing as militants advanced. Meanwhile, the government in...
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Realpolitik at play as Iran nuclear talks are extended
Observers of the negotiations over Iran’s nuclear programme would be forgiven for feeling that history was repeating itself this week. Yet another deadline to reach an agreement to limit Tehran’s nuclear capacity was missed on 24 November. In the end, negotiators agreed to keep talking, giving themselves a further...
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Although far from perfect, Tunisia's achievements should not be sniffed at
The popular uprisings that swept across the Middle East in 2011 started in Tunisia. When the long-term President, Zine El-Abedine Ben Ali, was toppled after weeks of popular protests, people across the region were inspired to take to the streets. Amid scenes that would once have been unimaginable, leaders...
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To prevent tragedies, we must tackle injustice
Violence has been ongoing in Jerusalem and other parts of Israel for months now. But sometimes it takes an individual incident of horror to put long-running unrest back at the top of the international agenda. On November 18, two Palestinian men from East Jerusalem attacked a synagogue in the ultra-Orthodox...
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Sisi will further limit civil liberties in Egypt
When three Al-Jazeera English journalists were jailed in Egypt, it made international headlines. Australian journalist Peter Greste, Egyptian-Canadian Mohamed Fadel Fahmy, and Egyptian producer Baher Mohamed were convicted in June of aiding the blacklisted Muslim Brotherhood and of spreading false news that portrayed Egypt as being in a state...
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There's little hope for Palestinian unrest to end
Last Saturday, Khair Hamdan, a 22-year-old Israeli-Arab construction worker, was shot by Israeli police in a town in Galilee. Officers said initially that Hamdan had attacked them, wielding a knife, and that they only killed him after firing a warning shot into the air. A video of the event...
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In Gaza, the UN reconstruction plan is a symptom rather than a cure
Since 2008, Gaza has been the scene of three immensely destructive wars. A strict Israeli blockade on materials coming in and out of Gaza means that in each instance, reconstruction has been slow. After the 2008 war, a leaked UN report warned that the territory was undergoing a process...
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Is Sweden paving the way for wider recognition of Palestine?
Yesterday, Sweden became the biggest western European country to formally recognise a Palestinian state. The new Prime Minister Stefan Lofven ignored strong criticism from Israel to follow through on a promise made at his inauguration last month. In response, Israel immediately withdrew its ambassador from Stockholm “for consultation”. The country’s...
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Reports of Egyptian military campaign in Libya fuelling concerns of proxy battleground
Ever since long-time dictator Muammar Gaddafi was ousted from power in 2011, Libya has been mired in chaos. Various militias that fought to topple Gaddafi have continued to operate with impunity, while the weak civilian government has been unable to rein them in. In recent weeks, fighting between rival...
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Changing political views towards Israel in the UK
On Monday October 13, British MPs voted to recognise Palestine as a state, by 272 to 12 – a majority of 260. Ministers were told to abstain, and the vote – which was free for Tory and Liberal Democrat MPs and on a one line whip for Labour MPs...
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Despite its ambivalence. ISIS conflict will have deep impact on Turkey
The conflict between Turkey and its Kurdish population has killed 40,000 people over the past three decades. Bringing about peace in this seemingly intractable conflict was a domestic priority for President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his time as prime minister and will remain so; Turkey saw a ceasefire agreed...
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Gulf countries losing their influence in Yemen
On Wednesday, the Cooperation Council for the Arab States of the Gulf (CCASG) held an emergency meeting in Jeddah. The subject of this meeting of interior ministers from Gulf countries – Bahrain, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar and Saudi Arabia – was the instability in Yemen, where Houthi rebels...
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Despite the dangers, foreigners still flock to join ISIS
Over the past year, much has been made of the influx of foreign fighters into the conflict in Syria. According to experts, the Syrian civil war has seen more foreign fighters than any other Muslim conflict in recent history; a recent estimate puts the number at around 9,000. Although...
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Yemen is struggling with economic not just political troubles
Yemen was the only country affected by the Arab Spring to see a negotiated transfer of power, rather than a prolonged bloody uprising or civil war. However, that does not mean that things have been peaceful since long-time dictator Ali Abdullah Saleh was ousted in 2011 following an armed...
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If the MB is found to be law-abiding, then UK government should respect that
Founded in 1928, the Muslim Brotherhood is the biggest pan-Arab political and religious movement. A conservative, communitarian organisation made up of various regional affiliates that undertake social work as well as political activities, it is capable of mobilising significant support in populations across the region. Accordingly, it has long...
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Latest Israeli refuseniks reveal yet more collective punishment
Israel’s Unit 8200, known in Hebrew as Yehida Shmoneh-Matayim, is one of the country’s most prestigious military intelligence units. Many who serve in it go on to high-flying jobs after their military service, although not much is known publically about its activities. Equivalent to Britain’s GCHQ or American’s NSA,...
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Will Obama's intervention against ISIS actually work?
Ever since ISIS militants seized control of Mosul, Iraq’s second city, America and its allies in the west have struggled to come up with a coherent strategy to counter the group. Even as ISIS took control of ever-greater swaths of land, and declared a new Caliphate that stretched across...
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Yemen teeters on the brink of implosion
When the Arab Spring swept across the region in 2011, Yemen was already home to a complex web of factional and regonal tensions. In particular, a group of Zaidi Shia rebels known as the Houthis had been staging periodic uprisings since 2004, with the aim of winning greater autonomy...
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Obama's difficult balancing act in Iraq
The militant group ISIS (the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham) controls a huge swathe of territory straddling Iraq and Syria. The human rights abuses they have committed have sparked an international outcry; each day brings a new horror story. Earlier this month, the group released a video showing...
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UAE-Egypt attack on Libya aimed at Islamists
Intense fighting has been ongoing in Libya for weeks, with violence reaching such a pitch that many embassies have been evacuated. Rival militias – split into two main factions that can be crudely characterised as Islamist and nationalist – have been battling each other for control of the capital,...
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Netanyahu strikes defiant tone to placate right wing extremists
This week, violence resumed in Gaza, after the collapse of peace talks between Israel and Palestine in Cairo. Israel’s military said it carried out 92 airstrikes on Wednesday alone, in response to 137 rockets fired from Gaza. Both sides blamed each other for the breakdown of talks and the...
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Tutu pleads to Israelis, liberate yourselves by liberating Palestine
Archbishop Desmond Tutu was at the forefront of the anti-apartheid movement in his native South Africa. He won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, and has used his platform to campaign on a number of global human rights issues, including the spread of HIV/Aids, homophobia, racism and various world...
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Libya's descent into anarchy
Since the uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been mired in chaos. The country is in a state of civil war; violence between rival militias is out of control; arms proliferate; and the rule of law and order is practically non-existent. The government established after the fall...