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Content about Middle East

December 6, 2023

Since the "humanitarian pause" ended, Israel has focused its air-strikes on Gaza's southern city of Khan Younis—now swelled with hundreds of thousands displaced from the north of the Strip. Along with the strikes, Israeli planes are dropping leaflets on the city, warning the populace to flee further south to Rafah on the Egyptian border—despite having earlier declared the southern Strip a "safe zone." Most of the Strip's 2.3 million population has already fled to the south, and Egyptian officials believe Israel is preparing to next drive them across the border into the Sinai desert. The aim of the Khan Younis strikes is to "disrupt the mass of the population from the south and push it towards Egypt," one Cairo official told Al-Araby Al-Jadeed. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has categorically rejected a forced resettlement, and the idea is generating anger among Egyptians.

Since the “humanitarian pause” ended, Israel has focused its air-strikes on Gaza’s southern city of Khan Younis—now swelled with hundreds of thousands displaced from the north of the Strip.

November 24, 2023

As Israel crosses the genocidal threshold in Gaza, a regional summit in Riyadh protests, issuing an urgent call for a ceasefire. Yet the regional powers at that summit are guilty of equivalent crimes—Saudi Arabia in Yemen, and Iran and the Basar Assad regime in Syria. Assad's propaganda chief Bouthaina Shaaban especially decried Israel's targeting of hospitals in Gaza. Yet just last month, the Assad regime bombed hospitals in Syria's rebel-held north. Indeed, the Assad regime also savagely bombed and besieged Palestinians for months, at Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus. In Episode 200 of the CounterVortex podcast, Bill Weinberg notes with chagrin that key organizers of this month's National March on Washington for Palestine included pseudo-left "tankie" formations that actively support the genocidal Assad regime. They also now abet Russia's genocidal campaign in Ukraine, in which hospitals have been repeatedly targeted. This moral contradiction undercuts our effectiveness in advancing the demand for a Gaza ceasefire. Listen on SoundCloud or via Patreon.

As Israel crosses the genocidal threshold in Gaza, a regional summit in Riyadh protests, and issues an urgent call for a ceasefire.

October 30, 2023

With Israel intensifying air-strikes in the Gaza Strip, a northern front appears to be opening in the war.  Civilians are fleeing both north Israel and south Lebanon as Israeli and Hezbollah forces exchange fire across the border. Following Israeli air-strikes on targets in Syria, drone attacks by presumed Iranian-backed forces hit US military bases and outposts in both Syria and Iraq. The US responded with air-strikes on Iranian Revolutionary Guards positions in eastern Syria. The Iranian military has announced that it will launch large-scale maneuvers, involving infantry, air and naval forces. 

As Israel intensifies air-strikes in the Gaza Strip, a northern front appears to be opening in the war.  Escalating cross-border hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces have led to the displacement of over 4,200 peo

September 6, 2023

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met with the crown prince of Bahrain, Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, at Gudaibiya Palace in the capital Manama, to discuss boosting trade and diplomatic ties, which were first established in 2020 as part of the so-called Abraham Accords. Cohen said he hoped this would be a precedent for "normalization" of Israel's relations with other Arab states. Tellingly, the meeting came as Israel and Bahrain are each facing hunger strikes in their prisons, with political detainees protesting harsh conditions and restrictions on their basic rights.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen met Sept.

April 14, 2021

In Episode 68 of the CounterVortex podcastBill Weinberg offers a meditation on the final demise of the millennia-old Jewish community in Yemen, as the last families of Yemeni Jews are deported by the Houthi rebels that hold the capital and much of the country's north. Largely ignored by the world media amid the ongoing horrors in Yemen, this grim passage poses challenges to some fundamental assumptions of both Zionism and anti-imperialism. 

In Episode 68 of the CounterVortex podcastBill Weinberg offers a meditation on the final demise of the millennia-old Jewish community in

April 7, 2021

The Houthi rebels who control much of Yemen's north, including the capital Sanaa, deported 13 Jews from three families—effectively ending the millennia-old Jewish community in the country. One of the deportees told London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat: "History will remember us as the last of Yemeni Jews who were still clinging to their homeland until the last moment. We had rejected temptations time and time again, and refused to leave our homeland, but today we are forced." The majority of the country's Jews—some 45,000—were brought to Israel in the "Operation Magic Carpet" airlift in 1948. The Israeli operation followed local riots in which scores of Jews were killed. Yemen's Jewish community had dwindled to some 200 when a new wave of pogroms sparked a second exodus beginning 12 years ago. Since they took over Sanaa in 2014, the Houthis have been pressuring the few Jews still remaining in the country to leave.

The Houthi rebels who control much of Yemen's north, including the capital Sanaa, last week deported 13 Jews from three families—effectively ending the millennia-old Jewish community in the country. The group was reportedly transferred to Egypt as part of a deal to free Jewish prisoner Levi Salem Marhabi, who has been held by Houthi authorities for over four years.

December 3, 2020

The world is breathing a collective sigh of relief after General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy officially contacted the team of president-elect Joe Biden, marking the Trump administration's belated initiation the transition process. But along with the news of Murphy's capitulation come reports that the US has deployed heavy bombers to the Middle East, and that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a secret meeting in Saudi Arabia with Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Simultaneously, Yemen's Houthi rebels have conveniently claimed responsibility for a missile attack on a Saudi oil facility in the port of Jeddah. And this all comes just days after the disconcerting news that Trump had gathered his cabinet and advisors for a White House conclave weighing the options for military strikes on Iran's nuclear facilities. With his attempted judicial coup failing, Trump's Plan B could be postponement (read: cancellation) of the presidential transition under pretext of a world crisis of his own making.

The world is breathing a collective sigh of relief after General Services Administration chief Emily Murphy officially contacted the team of president-elect Joe Biden, marking the Trump admin

February 18, 2016

The Israeli security establishment and its neocon allies are divided between those who would destabilize Assad and those who would prop him with up as the Devil they know.

We've long noted that the Israeli security establishment and its neocon allies in Washington are divided between those who would give Bashar Assad a healthy shove and those who would prop him with up as the Devil they know.

August 29, 2015

Two months after formally recognizing Palestine, the Vatican objected to a Palestinian request for the two observer states to be allowed to raise their flags at UN headquarters.

The ongoing dilemmas over Palestinian statehood took a new turn this week as the Vatican objected to a Palestinian Authority request for the two observer states to the United Nations to be allowed to raise their flags at its headquarters. The Palestinian leadership called on the UN to adopt a resolution approving the raising

July 5, 2015

Bulldozers backed by Israeli forces destroyed the "unrecognized" Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev Desert for the 86th time in the last four years.

Bulldozers backed by Israeli forces destroyed the Bedouin village of al-Araqib in the Negev Desert on July 2 for the 86th time in the last four years.

June 18, 2015

An apparent arson attack by Jewish extremists damaged the revered Byzantine-era Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha on the shores of the Sea of Galilee.

An apparent arson attack damaged the revered Church of the Multiplication at Tabgha in northern Israel overnight, authorities said June 18.

June 9, 2015

Israeli authorities released Palestinian parliament speaker Aziz Duweik following a year in "administrative detention"—held without trial in contravention of international law.

Israeli authorities on June 9 released the speaker of the Palestinian parliament, Aziz Duweik, following a year in administrative detention. The Ahrar Center for Prisoners and Human Rights Studies said that Duweik, 67, was released from the Ofer prison near Ramallah after paying a fine of 6,000 shekels ($1,565). Duweik, who is a member of Ha

May 23, 2015

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation talks concluded at the UN without approving a final document—due to US blocking of a provision on creating a Middle East nuclear-free zone.

The 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) concluded at the UN in New York on May 22 without approving a final document—due to US blocking of a provision on creating a Middle East nuclear-free zone. The US blocked the document, saying Egypt and other Arab states tried to &quot

March 3, 2015

Netanyahu's speech before Congress was mostly controversial over its perceived meddling in US politics—not its incessant barrage of lies, distortions and double standards.

Bibi Netanyahu's polarizing speech before Congress today was basically a repeat of his 2012 performance at the UN, but with the level of doublethink considerably jacked up.

December 21, 2014

The UN General Assembly passed a resolution calling on Israel to pay Lebanon over $850 million for an oil spill caused by air-strikes on a power station during the 2006 war.

The UN General Assembly on Dec. 20 approved a resolution calling upon Israel to pay Lebanon over $850 million in damages for an oil spill caused by air-strikes on storage tanks at the Jiyyeh power station during the 2006 war. The assembly voted 170-6 in favor of the nonbinding resolution, with three abstentions.

December 17, 2014

The European Parliament passed a resolution supporting recognition of Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict.

The European Parliament on Dec. 17 passed a resolution supporting recognition of Palestinian statehood and a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The resolution also launches a "Parliamentarians for Peace" initiative to bring together MEPs and MPs from the Israeli and Palestinian parliaments. The resolution passed by 498 votes to 88, with 111 abstentions.

December 17, 2014

A supposed ISIS flyer circulating on social networks has warned 18 writers and poets in Gaza against what it calls criticizing Islam, stating that ''apostates will be punished."

A supposed ISIS flyer circulating on social networks has warned 18 writers and poets in Gaza against what it calls criticizing Islam, stating that ''apostates will be punished." In Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority responded by condemning the intimidation of Palestinian intellectuals, calling the threats a serious precedent. Hamas played down the incident.

December 9, 2014

Air-strikes on landmark civilian buildings during Israel's Gaza campaign in August amounted to war crimes, Amnesty International charges in a new report.

Air-strikes on landmark buildings at the tail end of the Israeli military's "Operation Protective Edge" in Gaza in August were a deliberate and direct attack on civilian buildings and amount to war crimes, Amnesty International charges in a new report.

November 8, 2014

The Egyptian army is destroying hundreds of Bedouin homes along the Gaza border to create a "security zone," while the Israeli army razed more Bedouin homes on the West Bank.

At Egypt's border with the Gaza Strip, local Bedouin families are emptying their homes, loading belongings into vans as soldiers look on from armored cars. At eight border villages, 680 houses—homes to 1,165 families—are being demolished to create a "security zone." Residents were ordered to evacuate on 48 hours notice.

September 19, 2014

Interior Minister Gideon Saar has ordered that the Israel's population registry recognize a separate "Aramean" identity—an apparent move to erode Palestinian identity.

The Jerusalem Post reports Sept. 17 that Interior Minister Gideon Saar has ordered that the Israel's population registry recognize a separate "Aramean" identity.

August 26, 2014

As a ceasefire went into effect, Hamas urged Gazans to take to the streets and "celebrate victory and the fulfillment of the Palestinian people's demands."

Immediately after the Gaza ceasefire went into effect the evening of Aug.

July 19, 2014

An anti-war march in Tel Aviv—under the banner “Jews and Arabs refuse to be enemies!”— was attacked by right-wing thugs chanting "Death to Arabs!" 

On the night of July 17, some 1,000 anti-war demonstrators stood in the center of Tel Aviv for hours calling for an end to the bombardment and siege of Gaza.

June 9, 2014

Reporters Without Borders said it was "outraged" by an Israeli police raid on the East Jerusalem studio of Palestine TV, in which a producer and cameraman were detained.

International media rights group Reporters Without Borders on June 8 said it was "outraged" by an Israeli police raid on the offices of a Palestinian media agency last week. On June 6, Israeli police raided the East Jerusalem studio of 

May 21, 2014

Imprisoned Palestinian leaders Marwan Barghouthi and Ahmad Saadat announced that they will go on hunger strike in solidarity with "administrative detainees" who are refusing food.

Jailed Palestinian leaders Marwan Barghouthi and Ahmad Saadat have announced that they will go on hunger strike May 21, a senior official said. Minister of Prisoners' Affairs Issa Qaraqe said that over 120 Palestinian prisoners, including the two jailed leaders, will go on hunger strike for one day in support of administrative detainees who have been refusing meals for nearly four week