All Stories Archive

By Renee Bowyer I visited the family of a twelve year old boy arrested on a Sunday morning. They lived in a small room on the outskirts of Balata refugee camp bordering the city of Nablus. The mother of Salim spoke to me first reminding me how the last...

By Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban At last, it has been acknowledged that Western intelligence agencies tortured innocent people for years in the notorious Guantanamo prison. The admission came through the British government's decision to pay compensation to 16 Muslims arrested without charges in Guantanamo. They suffered all forms of brutal torture since...

By Frank Barat and Michael Mansfield QC Countless United Nations Security Council and General Assembly resolutions have been passed and violated; The Goldstone Report has been attacked and dismissed and the recent UNHRC fact finding Mission on the Freedom Flotilla incident, condemning Israel's actions in the strongest possible terms,...

By Khalid Amayreh 7 November, 2010 The Israeli government is exerting tremendous pressure on the UK to amend British laws allowing for the arrest and prosecution of suspected war criminal. British Foreign Secretary William Hague reportedly was being 'ambushed' by Israeli officials during his recent visit to the de...

By Sir Cyril Townsend It is almost a year since the publication of the UN's Goldstone Report on Israel's war against Gaza in December 2008 and January 2009. The Committee which prepared the 525 page Report concluded that Israel attacked civilians, police stations, government ministries, food factories, sewage plants...

Foreign Secretary, William Hague, made an unannounced appearance at this year's Conservative Friends of Israel (CFI) annual delegates' reception. His appearance was met with raucous applause from majority of the 200-strong audience. Hague praised Mr Alistair Burt, Minister of State for the Middle East, who was also in attendance,...

Nick Clegg, the coalition's Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, attended the Liberal Democrats Friends of Israel fringe meeting on Monday 20 September alongside LDFI President Sir Alan Beith MP, the President of the New Israel Fund, Professor Naomi Chazam, and the new Deputy Israeli Ambassador...

By Lauren Booth3 September 2010 Dear Tony, Congratulations on your political memoir becoming an instant bestseller. I'm in Iran and have the only copy in the country. I can tell you, it's so fiercely fought over, it's worth its weight in WMD's. Note to Random House; have 'A Journey' translated...

Máiread Maguire was the youngest recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, jointly awarded to her in 1976. She is a committed peace activist and has long been a supporter of the poor and the oppressed, including the Palestinians. Máiread Maguire has an internationally renowned reputation for peaceful activism and...

By Yvonne RidleyEver since a group of ordinary people from more than 40 different countries came together and set sail for Gaza have we seen various world leaders scramble to persuade Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza. Why? To honour the memory of those martyred by Israeli soldiers...

Middle East editor defends his reporting on Israel after BBC Trust finds him guilty of inaccuracies. By Maggie Brown Jeremy Bowen has attacked the BBC Trust ruling that found him guilty of inaccuracies in a report about Israel last year. The BBC's Middle East editor, speaking at the University...

By Kalid Shamt – Berlin A German MP has claimed that the number of people killed by Israel in its attack on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla was nineteen, and not nine as is now widely accepted. Ange Hogger MP was among those involved in the flotilla when it was...

By Omar Radwan Following Israel's murderous attack on the Freedom Flotilla taking humanitarian aid to Gaza, it is hard not to conclude that sections of the media in Britain and other Western countries have been desperate to find ways to justify the crime. On the BBC and Sky News,...

By Mehmet Nedim Aslan Before the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government was formed in Britain, Israel's Yediot Aharonot newspaper carried an article voicing concerns about LibDem leader Nick Clegg's stance on the policies of the Jewish state. Clegg called for an arms embargo during the Israeli assault on Gaza last...

By Furkan Torlak "Even if Turkey's Hamas policy has some common ground with European Union countries, it has differences when we consider it in the context of the Middle East peace process and Arab-Israel conflict." The officials and politicians behind Turkey's foreign policies believe that Hamas came to power...

By Omar RadwanIn the run-up to the British General Election on 6th May, the Conservative Party has taken out a full page advertisement in the Jewish Chronicle, aimed at the...

By Yvonne Ridley Bradford: demons of apartheid South Africa It was a Charles Dickens' character from the book Oliver Twist who called the law an ass. However, quite often it's not the law that's at fault but those who sit in judgment and interpret the law – they are...

By Dr Abdullah Al-Ash'al It is indisputable that the Turkish government of the Justice and Development Party (JDP) is a model modern state that has applied the principles of Islam beyond semantics. It has been committed to the principle of effectiveness, as was the government of Mahathir Muhammad in...

By Khalid Amayreh in occupied JerusalemLast week, a few Palestinian journalists and I had the opportunity to meet with Martin Day, a spokesman of the British government. The meeting, which was hosted by the Arabic Media Internet Network (AMIN), took place in Ramallah. In his introductory remarks, Day gave...

By Abdel Bari AtwanThe assassination of Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh, widely assumed to have been carried out by Mossad, exposed not only some of the security services in the Palestinian Authority and their collaboration with Israeli intelligence, but has also some European countries and their collusion with Israeli terrorism. The silence...

INTERPOL issues Red Notices to assist in identification of 11 Dubai murder suspects LYON, France – INTERPOL has issued Red Notices for 11 internationally-wanted individuals who have been charged by UAE/Dubai authorities with co-ordinating and committing the murder of Palestinian national and Hamas commander Mahmoud al-Mabhouh in Dubai on...

By Dr. Jonathan Githens-Mazer and Dr. Robert Lambert Stiff prison sentences being handed down to Muslim protesters who took part in London demonstrations during Israel's military operation in Gaza last year contribute to an atmosphere that is having an adverse impact on the Government's strategy to bring alienated young...

By S.M. Mohamed IdrisIt is outrageous that the German Cabinet chose to hold a joint meeting last week with the Israeli Cabinet in Berlin at a time when the Israeli government is oppressing the Palestinians in a way that has been likened to what the Nazis did to the...

By Omar Radwan This month has seen the first anniversary of Israel's assault on Gaza in which more than 1,400 Palestinians – one third of them children – were killed; war crimes were committed and apologists for the state of Israel have a serious PR problem. British Muslims have...

The Israeli government has bowed to Turkish threats and made an official written apology to the Turkish ambassador in Tel Aviv for the insults he was subjected to earlier this week by Danny Ayalon, Israel's Deputy Foreign Minister. Ayalon had humiliated the ambassador while he complained about some Turkish...

By Yvonne RidleyI am beginning to ask myself, "What's the point of David Miliband?" – a question I've no doubt Gordon Brown posed just a few days ago following the failed attempt to have the Prime Minister ousted. Miliband has drawn fire from angry Labour backbenchers who felt that...

By Omar Radwan The relationship between Turkey and Israel, which was severely tested following Israel's assault against the Gaza Strip one year ago, has deteriorated yet further in the past few days. Last Friday, Turkish President Abdullah Gul met with his Israeli counterpart, Shimon Peres, and the two leaders...

By Mehmet Nedim Aslan Turkey's Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoğlu, has made his strongest criticism yet of Israel and its policies. After talks with his British counterpart David Miliband at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London, the two ministers held a joint press conference during which Mr Davutoğlu answered...

The last few days have seen an uproar emanating from Whitehall, including both the British and Israeli media. The furore surrounds the issuing of an arrest warrant for former Israeli foreign minister, Tzipi Livni and the subsequent responses from the government. Human rights lawyers representing Palestinian victims of the Israeli...

By Dr Daud Abdullah, for Al Jazeera English Director of the Middle East Monitor David Miliband, the UK's foreign secretary, has apologised to his Israeli counterpart, Avigdor Lieberman, after the humiliation and embarrassment caused by the issuing of a warrant for the arrest of Tzipi Livni, the former Israeli...

By Furqan KayaTurkey is a significant actor in its region, even if the West is split over what region the country actually belongs to; a member of NATO and, bizarrely, (like Israel) playing football in European competitions but not accepted as a member of the EU. Nevertheless, Turkey's geopolitical...

Before it even aired last night, the Channel 4 Dispatches documentary "Britain's pro-Israel Lobby" had created shockwaves. Produced by Peter Oborne and James Jones their investigation bravely examines a subject that too few journalists are willing to risk their careers to tackle. Oborne and Jones, however, do not shy away...

By Dr Daud Abdullah No war has tarnished the image of Israel and damaged its vital international relationships as the "Operation Cast Lead" it waged on Gaza last winter. There are times when a single event can change the history of nations. Many, including Israeli supporters, view the Gaza...

At least a quarter of a million Israelis protested in August over the cost of living. In Tel Aviv alone, 200,000 people took to the streets. The protests, however, were over more than simply against the high cost of basic essentials and housing: "The people demand social justice!" they...

The recent call by U.S. Senator Charles Schumer for increased rail safety funding and the creation of a "no-ride" list for Amtrak trains is yet another reminder of just who is stoking fear of Muslims in America. In an interview last year with a Jewish radio talk show in...

By Franklin Lamb, Beirut Ever so slowly over the past two decades, with growing momentum since Israel's April 2002 destruction of the Jenin refugee camp, American attitudes towards Israel appear to be changing, according to some public opinion analysts. The American Public Opinion and U.S. Foreign Policy polling unit...

By Mark Perry A legendary story from our early history has it that Thomas Jefferson so hated John Jay that he ordered Pierre L'Enfant — the civil engineer who designed our capital city — to excise any reference to Jay (including "J Street") from his plans. The story is...

Why America will come to regret the craven deal Obama is offering Netanyahu. By Christopher Hitchens Those of us who keep an eye on the parties of God are avid students of the weekly Sabbath sermons of Rabbi Ovadia Yosef. In these and other venues, usually broadcast, this elderly...

By Paul Woodward Eight months after the murder of the Hamas commander, Mahmoud al-Mabhouh, in Dubai, two reports in the last few days present intriguingly contradictory pictures. First came a Wall Street Journal report on Friday with the headline, "In Global Hunt for Hit Men, Tantalizing Trail Goes Cold."...

By Khalid AmayrehDespite President Obama's efforts to assure the pliant Ramallah leadership of his continued commitment to a notoriously disingenuous peace process, especially the creation of a Palestinian state, though one of amorphous and uncertain features, it is amply clear that the President has effectively succumbed to Netanyahu's insolence...

By Maidhc Ó Cathail It would be hard to think of anyone who has done more to undermine American freedoms than Joseph Lieberman. Since 9/11, the Independent senator from Connecticut has introduced a raft of legislation in the name of the "global war on terror" which has steadily eroded...

The attack on the Gaza relief flotilla jeopardizes Israel itself. By John J. Mearsheimer Israel's botched raid against the Gaza-bound humanitarian flotilla on May 31 is the latest sign that Israel is on a disastrous course that it seems incapable of reversing. The attack also highlights the extent to...

US Secretary of State John Kerry has been preoccupied with the Middle East recently. After visiting Egypt and Saudi Arabia in order to repair damaged relations, he headed to Geneva to participate in the talks amongst the 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council, along with Germany, to...

The United States of America continues to play its role as the world's policeman despite the huge financial crisis it is suffering and sharp internal polarisation. We were reminded of the fragile state of this "policeman" when the US Congress basically shut-down governmental services for two weeks and threatened...

The fall of the Soviet Union pleased America immensely, but the return of its ghost in Russia as a major player on the international stage is a concern. Post-Cold War, the US president could strut the stage at the head of the world's only superpower, able to threaten and...

In a matter of days, US President Barak Obama will seek authorisation from Congress to begin airstrikes against Syria. The members of Congress are being asked to approve "limited" intervention aimed at "deterring" President Basher Al-Assad from using chemical weapons. The resolution allows for a 60 day window for...

As the news of the Connecticut school massacre sinks in, it would take a hard-hearted person not to feel for the parents, families and friends of the victims. It is the sort of event which most of us will not experience first-hand, but some of us may know someone...

The phone hacking scandal which has hit Rupert Murdoch's publishing company News International is getting bigger every day and shows no signs of dying down. The effect on British politics has been compared to a revolution, albeit a very quiet one, and the term "British Spring" has been used.   British...

Sheikh Raed Salah, a political leader of the Islamic Movement in Israel and three times elected mayor of the Palestinian city of Umm al-Fahm, was arrested last week from a London hotel.  Normally, you would think one would have to commit a crime, or at least be suspected of...

I was deeply disturbed to learn Sheikh Raed Salah is under threat of deportation on grounds that this action would be "conducive to the public good" (Inquiry after banned Palestinian enters UK, 30 June). On the contrary, it would be very harmful to the public good, at least if...