Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Mustafa Fetouri
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From battlefield to boardroom: Turkey’s grip on Libya
Over the past 14 years, Turkey’s involvement in Libya has shifted from a narrowly focused military intervention to a complex, multi-layered engagement that intertwines security, economic, mediation and political interests. Initially aimed at protecting allied factions and safeguarding strategic corridors, Ankara’s approach has gradually expanded to include Libya wide energy…
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Rhetoric vs. reality: The Doha summit and the Gulf’s limits on confronting Israel
When representatives from nearly 60 Arab and Muslim countries gathered in Doha on 15 September 2025 for an Emergency Arab-Islamic Summit—hastily convened after Israel’s 9 September airstrike that targeted Hamas leaders during a meeting in the Qatari capital—observers recognised the urgency but expected little action. The bitter truth is that…
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The excruciating wait: Tripoli on the brink of a war that may never happen
In Tripoli, the tense calm feels almost unbearable—residents live under the constant threat of sudden, brutal clashes that have become part of their daily routine for years now. The sprawling capital stands precariously on the edge of renewed violence. As the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) prepares to…
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A losing battle: Israel’s struggle against genocide scholars
The resolution, on 31 August, passed by the International Association of Genocide Scholars (IAGS) that Israel’s actions in Gaza constitute genocide has comes at the time when the occupation state is further isolated on the world stage with legal proceedings already in process before the two international courts: the International…
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Yes, we kill journalists and the world can go to hell
The war in Gaza has become the deadliest conflict in modern history for its most vulnerable victims: children and journalists. The deliberate targeting of journalists is a grave breach of international humanitarian law, in direct violation of the protections afforded to all civilians under the Geneva Conventions and their Additional…
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Haftar the gambler gambles again
Haftar is known for his courage, which some describe as bordering on recklessness at times. This trait has been with him since his days under his former boss, friend, and comrade, the late Muammar Gaddafi, whom he helped bring to power in the 1969 coup. Sources and Haftar’s own interviews,…
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The broadcast war: Israel’s pride in its crimes
Even in major democracies, of which Israel considers itself one, governments committing crimes typically try to conceal them from the public eye. They do so out of fear of the backlash, embarrassment, and—above all—accountability. Not so in Israel. In its ongoing war in Gaza, Israel is doing the exact opposite.…
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The world held hostage: The price of dissent in the face of genocide
The world, since October 2023, has found itself held hostage to Israel’s narrative surrounding its actions in Gaza and the West Bank. This has created a chilling effect on global discourse, where speaking out, or even showing basic human empathy, has become a career-ending offense. An unwritten but powerful code…
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To recognise or not to recognise is not the question
This coming September, France plans to formally recognise the State of Palestine—joining several European Union countries, most recently Spain, Norway, and Ireland, as well as the United Kingdom, which is following a similar path. In total, ten EU member states now recognise Palestine based on its 1967 borders. Announcing the…
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Amman’s edge: The Kingdom’s perilous balancing act
Jordan finds itself once again at a critical juncture, attempting a delicate balancing act between escalating domestic pressures and the volatile currents of regional realignments. As the Gaza war continues to reshape the Middle East, Amman’s traditional role as a stable Western ally and custodian of holy sites is being…
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Tunisia’s slow unravelling: From Arab Spring beacon to police state
Just over a decade ago, Tunisia was the brightest light of the Arab Spring—the rare case where mass protest led to a peaceful transition and hopes for real democracy. Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in 2010 triggered a revolution that toppled Ben Ali’s regime and inspired uprisings across the region. Tunisia’s 2011…
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From free to fallen: The mysterious death of a Libyan activist
Abdelmonem Al-Marimi is dead—and Libya is left grasping for the truth. The 42-year-old activist, father, and outspoken anti-corruption voice died late on 5 July, while in the custody of the Attorney General’s office in Tripoli, shortly after prosecutors said he had been cleared for release. Surveillance footage—silent but detailed—released on…
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Wars at arm’s length: How the UAE became a shadowy power and betrayed Sheikh Zayed’s legacy
Until his death on 2 November 2004, Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan guided the UAE with a policy of neutrality, cautious diplomacy, and humanitarian aid. Known as an Arab nationalist, he prioritised pan-Arab unity and support for Palestine. After the 1973 Arab-Israeli war, he declared, “Arab oil is not…
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Emirates of chaos: How the UAE fuels war and walks free
To General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s de facto head of state and commander of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), foreign interference has been the main force prolonging his country’s brutal war. In a speech before the United Nations General Assembly last September, he pointedly stated, “Without this support… the war…
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False witness: How Europe profited from the Iran deal, then watched it burn under Trump
When the Iran nuclear deal was signed in 2015, it marked the culmination of years of painstaking negotiations involving the United States, France, the United Kingdom, Germany, the European Union, Russia, and China. They all hailed it as a landmark diplomatic achievement, one that served the interests of regional stability…
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Lost impunity: Israel’s waning global support over its genocide in Gaza
“Burning children alive can never be justified. The whole world is mobilising to stop the Israeli genocide. Please show your solidarity with Gaza” wrote British popstar Dua Lipa in May 2024. She is one of many global celebrities who have not only distanced themselves from Israel but condemned it without…
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Libya’s troubled GNU is not going just yet, further clashes are likely
Tripoli’s Government of National Unity (GNU), led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, is under immense strain, but it would be premature to consider it finished. Despite mounting unrest, the GNU remains entrenched, deploying every tool at its disposal—from subtle propaganda and financial incentives to leveraging armed militias—to maintain control. The turmoil…
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The set-up that flopped: Trump tried a Zelensky moment with Ramaphosa while targeting South Africa over Israel
When South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa arrived in the White House on 21 May to meet President Donald Trump everyone was expecting a confrontational exchange; a kind of Zelensky moment as happened last February which ended in a shouting match between Trump and Zelensky with the latter being asked to…
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Clashes in Tripoli: Causes, key players, and potential repercussions
Monday night’s clashes erupted rather suddenly in Libya’s capital, Tripoli, underscoring the fragile security situation in the country. The violence which involved heavy artillery and armed confrontations between rival factions, has highlighted, once again, concerns over the stability of Libya’s capital and the broader implications for the rest of western…
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Camp David peace treaty is the mother of all evils
The Israeli genocidal war on Gaza, which is expanding into a full-blown military occupation, has focused discussion about Egypt’s role and how much leverage it has over Israel because of the peace treaty between the two countries. Many Arab observers and global Palestinian supporters think the Camp David Accords of…
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Debunking Netanyahu’s barrage of lies
On 27 April, Benjamin Netanyahu, International Criminal Court (ICC) indicted Prime Minister of Israel, delivered one of his most comprehensive speeches on internal and regional policies of his government. His audience was, primarily, loyal members and friends of the Jewish News Syndicate (JNS). First of all, JNS is a right-wing…
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Echoes of burning flesh: From ‘The Napalm Girl’ to Hind Rajab
What happened to six-year-old Hind Rajab on 29 January, 2024, is a haunting echo of the horror that befell nine-year-old Kim Phuc in the Vietnamese village of Trảng Bàng more than half a century ago. In both cases, the victims were children — those whom international law and basic morality…
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From Vietnam to Gaza: when peaceful opposition to US foreign policy becomes an accusation
The Trump Administration’s crackdown on student communities, focusing on foreign students and higher education institutions is a serious blow to dissent in a country with a long history of conflicting polices and declared principles of free speech and open debates on major foreign policy issues. The United States has always…
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Israel has turned Gaza into a 21st century concentration camp
The basic definition of “concentration camp” is simple: a large place where a large group of people, usually civilians, are imprisoned without due process. There are various reasons as to why they are kept in confinement, including their ethnicity, religion or because they oppose the authorities ordering their imprisonment. Encyclopaedia…