Within days of the Russian invasion, Western countries invoked international law, imposed crippling sanctions, began welcoming refugees with open arms and cheered on Ukraine’s armed resistance.
The response has elicited outrage across the Middle East, where many see a glaring double standard in how the West responds to international conflicts.
Read more at:
Many in Mideast see hypocrisy in Western embrace of Ukraine | AP News
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Middle East. Show all posts
4/1/22
3/5/22
U.S. Diplomatic Push for Ukraine Falters in a Middle East Influenced by Russia -
Washington’s regional partners including Israel have so far rebuffed U.S. calls to come out against Moscow.
Read more at: U.S. Diplomatic Push for Ukraine Falters in a Middle East Influenced by Russia - WSJ
Read more at: U.S. Diplomatic Push for Ukraine Falters in a Middle East Influenced by Russia - WSJ
5/13/21
Israel-US Relations: Antony Blinken Tells Israel to 'Do Everything' it Can to Avoid Civilian Deaths in Conflict
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Wednesday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to de-escalate the violence in Gaza but reaffirmed U.S. support for Israel, the Associated Press reported.
Read more at: Antony Blinken Tells Israel to 'Do Everything' it Can to Avoid Civilian Deaths in Conflict
Read more at: Antony Blinken Tells Israel to 'Do Everything' it Can to Avoid Civilian Deaths in Conflict
5/11/21
Middle East: Israel-Gaza violence: Tel Aviv targeted with new Hamas rocket fire — live updates
Sirens rang out in Tel Aviv early Wednesday morning after the armed branch of Hamas said in a statement that it was "in the process of firing 110 rockets" toward Israel's largest city.
The Israel Defense Forces said that families in Tel Aviv had been woken up and taken to bomb shelters.
Hamas also said it had launched 100 rockets at the southern town of Beer-Sheva. The Associated Press reported that Israeli aircraft struck a high-rise building in Gaza City early Wednesday morning.
Read more at: Israel-Gaza violence: Tel Aviv targeted with new Hamas rocket fire — live updates | News | DW | 12.05.2021
The Israel Defense Forces said that families in Tel Aviv had been woken up and taken to bomb shelters.
Hamas also said it had launched 100 rockets at the southern town of Beer-Sheva. The Associated Press reported that Israeli aircraft struck a high-rise building in Gaza City early Wednesday morning.
Read more at: Israel-Gaza violence: Tel Aviv targeted with new Hamas rocket fire — live updates | News | DW | 12.05.2021
5/4/21
Middle East: Egypt and Turkey to hold two days of talks in normalisation push
Egypt and Turkey will hold two days of political consultations in Cairo on Wednesday and Thursday as part of a push to mend ties between the regional rivals, the two countries said.
Read more at: Egypt and Turkey to hold two days of talks in normalisation push | Reuters
Read more at: Egypt and Turkey to hold two days of talks in normalisation push | Reuters
4/27/21
Middle East - Israel: United Arab Emirates Asks Israel to 'Assume Responsibility,' De-Escalate Violence with Palestinians
The UAE's Foreign Ministry relayed the message to Israel on its state-run news agency due to mounting concerns over right-wing extremist groups in occupied East Jerusalem engaging in violent acts and the desire to preserve Jerusalem's history.
Israeli officials were directed by the UAE to "assume responsibility toward de-escalation and putting an end to all aggressions and practices that perpetuate tension and hostility," AP reported.
Read more at: United Arab Emirates Asks Israel to 'Assume Responsibility,' De-Escalate Violence with Palestinians
Israeli officials were directed by the UAE to "assume responsibility toward de-escalation and putting an end to all aggressions and practices that perpetuate tension and hostility," AP reported.
Read more at: United Arab Emirates Asks Israel to 'Assume Responsibility,' De-Escalate Violence with Palestinians
4/6/21
Middle East: Iran nuclear deal: US joins Vienna talks aimed at reviving accord
The United States has joined talks in Vienna aimed at reviving the Iran nuclear deal, which the Trump administration abandoned in 2018.
President Joe Biden has said he wants to return to the landmark accord.
But the six remaining state parties need to find a way for him to lift the sanctions imposed by his predecessor and for Iran to return to the agreed limits on its nuclear programme.
Read more at: Iran nuclear deal: US joins Vienna talks aimed at reviving accord - BBC News
President Joe Biden has said he wants to return to the landmark accord.
But the six remaining state parties need to find a way for him to lift the sanctions imposed by his predecessor and for Iran to return to the agreed limits on its nuclear programme.
Read more at: Iran nuclear deal: US joins Vienna talks aimed at reviving accord - BBC News
3/7/21
Iraq's top Shia cleric welcomes Pope into his home for talk on peaceful coexistence
Pope Francis and Iraq's top Shia cleric delivered a powerful message of peaceful coexistence on Saturday, urging Muslims in the war-weary Arab nation to embrace Iraq's long-beleaguered Christian minority during a historic meeting in the holy city of Najaf.
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said religious authorities have a role in protecting Iraq's Christians and that Christians should live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis. The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having "raised his voice in defence of the weakest and most persecuted" during some of the most violent times in Iraq's recent history.
Reas more at: Iraq's top Shia cleric welcomes Pope into his home for talk on peaceful coexistence | CBC News
Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani said religious authorities have a role in protecting Iraq's Christians and that Christians should live in peace and enjoy the same rights as other Iraqis. The Vatican said Francis thanked al-Sistani for having "raised his voice in defence of the weakest and most persecuted" during some of the most violent times in Iraq's recent history.
Reas more at: Iraq's top Shia cleric welcomes Pope into his home for talk on peaceful coexistence | CBC News
2/24/21
Middle-East Syria war: Russian jets 'bomb IS positions in desert region'
Russian warplanes have carried out dozens of air strikes on the Islamic State (IS) group's positions in the Syrian Desert, activists say. IS militants have carried out a string of deadly ambushes and hit-and-run attacks in the region recently.
The latest, on Wednesday, reportedly killed nine soldiers and militiamen.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria via a network of sources, said three others had died on Tuesday when a landmine planted by IS exploded in the desert near al-Mayadeen, in south-eastern Deir al-Zour province.
Read more at: Syria war: Russian jets 'bomb IS positions in desert region' - BBC News
The latest, on Wednesday, reportedly killed nine soldiers and militiamen.
The UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors the war in Syria via a network of sources, said three others had died on Tuesday when a landmine planted by IS exploded in the desert near al-Mayadeen, in south-eastern Deir al-Zour province.
Read more at: Syria war: Russian jets 'bomb IS positions in desert region' - BBC News
2/6/21
Saudi Arabia faces a new geopolitical landscape with Biden in the White House - by Katie McQue
Saudi Arabia's global influence is expected to weaken following the end of Donald Trump's presidential term, as the US places a greater focus on climate policies, as well as pressing domestic and foreign affairs. This is leading the kingdom, which wields its status as the world's largest crude exporter to support its policy aims, to reposition itself geopolitically to garner favor with the incoming administration of Joe Biden.
Read more at: Saudi Arabia faces a new geopolitical landscape with Biden in the White House | S&P Global Platts
Read more at: Saudi Arabia faces a new geopolitical landscape with Biden in the White House | S&P Global Platts
2/5/21
Middle East: COVID-19 vaccines as ′biological warfare′ in Middle East?
Aid and human rights organizations say they fear that the COVID-19 vaccine could become a tool for governments, rebel groups and other fighters involved in conflicts in the Middle East to advance their own goals.
Using vaccines this way "is a form of indirect, passive biological warfare," Annie Sparrow, a public health expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, told DW.
It has happened before and it has been very deliberate, Sparrow said. Near the beginning of the Syrian civil war, in 2013, a disease the world had mostly eradicated broke out in Deir ez-Zour. The country officially eliminated polio in 1995. But medical researchers say that in 2012, Bashar al-Assad's government deliberately excluded the area, controlled by fighters who oppose it, from earlier routine vaccination drives. "This was a man-made outbreak," Sparrow wrote at the time.
Read More at: COVID-19 vaccines as ′biological warfare′ in Middle East? | Middle East| News and analysis of events in the Arab world | DW | 05.02.2021
Using vaccines this way "is a form of indirect, passive biological warfare," Annie Sparrow, a public health expert at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, in New York, told DW.
It has happened before and it has been very deliberate, Sparrow said. Near the beginning of the Syrian civil war, in 2013, a disease the world had mostly eradicated broke out in Deir ez-Zour. The country officially eliminated polio in 1995. But medical researchers say that in 2012, Bashar al-Assad's government deliberately excluded the area, controlled by fighters who oppose it, from earlier routine vaccination drives. "This was a man-made outbreak," Sparrow wrote at the time.
Read More at: COVID-19 vaccines as ′biological warfare′ in Middle East? | Middle East| News and analysis of events in the Arab world | DW | 05.02.2021
12/19/20
Middle East: Donald Trump’s Final Act: Snuffing Out the Promise of Democracy in the Middle East - by Vijay Prashad
Ten years ago, a hawker in Tunisia set himself on fire, which spurred on people along the entire Mediterranean Sea—from Morocco to Spain—to rise up in revolt. They took to their squares indignant at the terrible conditions in which they had to make their lives.
Little of their agenda has been advanced in the past decade. Governments of the southern European states have one by one betrayed the aspirations of the people; the most dramatic such failure was of the Syriza government in Greece, which won a mandate against austerity and then surrendered before the troika (the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund) in 2015.
Uprisings in northern Africa ended with the return of the generals (as in Egypt), the destruction of states (as in Libya), and the assertion of the Arab monarchies (from Morocco to Saudi Arabia).
A decade later, U.S. President Donald Trump carved the obituary on the tombstone of that “Arab Spring” rebellion when he used the immensity of U.S. power to strengthen U.S. allies—such as the Arab monarchies and Israel—to the detriment of the people of the region.
What remains of the Arab Spring is a distant memory of the crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square; a better image of the present is that of the monarchs of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) kissing up to Israel to please the United States.
Read more at: Donald Trump’s Final Act: Snuffing Out the Promise of Democracy in the Middle East - CounterPunch.org
Little of their agenda has been advanced in the past decade. Governments of the southern European states have one by one betrayed the aspirations of the people; the most dramatic such failure was of the Syriza government in Greece, which won a mandate against austerity and then surrendered before the troika (the European Central Bank, the European Commission, and the International Monetary Fund) in 2015.
Uprisings in northern Africa ended with the return of the generals (as in Egypt), the destruction of states (as in Libya), and the assertion of the Arab monarchies (from Morocco to Saudi Arabia).
A decade later, U.S. President Donald Trump carved the obituary on the tombstone of that “Arab Spring” rebellion when he used the immensity of U.S. power to strengthen U.S. allies—such as the Arab monarchies and Israel—to the detriment of the people of the region.
What remains of the Arab Spring is a distant memory of the crowds in Cairo’s Tahrir Square; a better image of the present is that of the monarchs of Morocco and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) kissing up to Israel to please the United States.
Read more at: Donald Trump’s Final Act: Snuffing Out the Promise of Democracy in the Middle East - CounterPunch.org
11/27/20
Saudi Arabia: Human Rights Violations: Saudi activist's trial moved to specialized terrorism court following rare court appearance
The trial of Saudi activist Loujain Alhathloul has been transferred from Saudi Arabia's criminal court to a court specializing in terrorism charges, according to her family.
The move, which has been decried by human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, is the latest development in the case, which has been back in the spotlight following the G20 conference in Riyadh. The referral is a setback for efforts to push for her swift release and means she will face charges related to terrorism and national security.
Alhathloul, 31, earned a degree from the University of British Columbia and lived in Vancouver for five years before being arrested in May 2018 along with nine other prominent women's rights activists.
Anoter example of scandalous misbehavior re: human rights violations of Saudi Arabia.
Read more at: Saudi activist's trial moved to specialized terrorism court following rare court appearance | CBC News
The move, which has been decried by human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, is the latest development in the case, which has been back in the spotlight following the G20 conference in Riyadh. The referral is a setback for efforts to push for her swift release and means she will face charges related to terrorism and national security.
Alhathloul, 31, earned a degree from the University of British Columbia and lived in Vancouver for five years before being arrested in May 2018 along with nine other prominent women's rights activists.
Anoter example of scandalous misbehavior re: human rights violations of Saudi Arabia.
Read more at: Saudi activist's trial moved to specialized terrorism court following rare court appearance | CBC News
11/17/20
Turkey: How Turkey’s use of military power furthers Erdoğan’s ambitions - by Scott Peterson
The cease-fire agreement ending six weeks of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh was greeted in Turkey as a “sacred success” for “brotherly Azerbaijan” in its fight with Armenia.
For Turkey, the outcome was also the latest successful example of its assertive and game-changing use of military hard power, which has so far redrawn geopolitical realities from Libya and Syria to the southern Caucasus.
Read more at: How Turkey’s use of military power furthers Erdoğan’s ambitions
For Turkey, the outcome was also the latest successful example of its assertive and game-changing use of military hard power, which has so far redrawn geopolitical realities from Libya and Syria to the southern Caucasus.
Read more at: How Turkey’s use of military power furthers Erdoğan’s ambitions
11/13/20
Middle East - The Red Sea Region: ‘A vital artery for the world economy’ - note EU-Digest - "but also more than that" - by Alex de Waal
From the Suez Canal that links it to the Mediterranean, to the straits of the Bab al Mandab that connect it to the Indian Ocean, the Red Sea is a vital artery for the world economy. Upwards of 10% of seaborne cargo sails through its waters every year including the majority of Asian trade with Europe.
For any navy aspiring to transoceanic reach, the Red Sea is a crucial chokepoint, and it is no accident that China chose to establish its first overseas naval facility at Djibouti. Fifteen years ago, the upsurge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean led to an international maritime police operation.
Note EU-Digest: Armageddon as predicted in the Bible, could well take place in this area.Professor Tom Meyer, who memorised more than 20 books from the Bible, said: "The Rapture, which is the first event that kicks-off the beginning of the end, has no signs that precede it. The truth is that Christ also gave a chronological order of end times events, or signs of the times, for the seven-year tribulation, also called the 70th week of Daniel, but these events do not begin until sometime after the Rapture of Christians."
Read more at: The Red Sea: ‘A vital artery for the world economy’
For any navy aspiring to transoceanic reach, the Red Sea is a crucial chokepoint, and it is no accident that China chose to establish its first overseas naval facility at Djibouti. Fifteen years ago, the upsurge in piracy in the Gulf of Aden and the western Indian Ocean led to an international maritime police operation.
Note EU-Digest: Armageddon as predicted in the Bible, could well take place in this area.Professor Tom Meyer, who memorised more than 20 books from the Bible, said: "The Rapture, which is the first event that kicks-off the beginning of the end, has no signs that precede it. The truth is that Christ also gave a chronological order of end times events, or signs of the times, for the seven-year tribulation, also called the 70th week of Daniel, but these events do not begin until sometime after the Rapture of Christians."
Read more at: The Red Sea: ‘A vital artery for the world economy’
9/29/20
Middle East: Turkey accused of deploying jihadists from Syria to Azerbaijan as World Peace Council calls for immediate ceasefire
The World Peace Council has called for an immediate ceasefire following a second day of fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
And Iranian peace campaigners said that Turkey had reportedly transferred jihadists from Syria to fight for Azerbaijan in the conflict, echoing its intervention in the Libyan civil war.
The council said that peace campaigners in both countries needed to mobilise to counter “war hysteria” over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan but self-governed as the Armenian-majority Republic of Artsakh since the early 1990s.
Dozens have been reported killed and wounded since clashes broke out at the weekend, with Armenia and Azerbaijan disputing each others’ claims.
Association for Defence of Peace, Solidarity & Democracy-Iran convener Payam Solhtalab condemned Turkey’s intervention in the conflict in support of Azerbaijan.
“Turkey, a member of Nato, has territorial ambitions in the region which would be detrimental to regional stability and world peace,” he said, expressing “concern” at Turkey’s reported deployment of jihadists it had sponsored in the war to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria. Turkey has vocally backed Azerbaijan since fighting broke out, while Russia, which has close ties to Armenia, says it is seeking to defuse tensions.
Read more at:
Turkey accused of deploying jihadists from Syria to Azerbaijan as World Peace Council calls for immediate ceasefire | Morning Star
And Iranian peace campaigners said that Turkey had reportedly transferred jihadists from Syria to fight for Azerbaijan in the conflict, echoing its intervention in the Libyan civil war.
The council said that peace campaigners in both countries needed to mobilise to counter “war hysteria” over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory recognised internationally as part of Azerbaijan but self-governed as the Armenian-majority Republic of Artsakh since the early 1990s.
Dozens have been reported killed and wounded since clashes broke out at the weekend, with Armenia and Azerbaijan disputing each others’ claims.
Association for Defence of Peace, Solidarity & Democracy-Iran convener Payam Solhtalab condemned Turkey’s intervention in the conflict in support of Azerbaijan.
“Turkey, a member of Nato, has territorial ambitions in the region which would be detrimental to regional stability and world peace,” he said, expressing “concern” at Turkey’s reported deployment of jihadists it had sponsored in the war to overthrow the Bashar al-Assad government in Syria. Turkey has vocally backed Azerbaijan since fighting broke out, while Russia, which has close ties to Armenia, says it is seeking to defuse tensions.
Read more at:
Turkey accused of deploying jihadists from Syria to Azerbaijan as World Peace Council calls for immediate ceasefire | Morning Star
9/18/20
MIDDLE eAST: Progress, not peace: Breaking down the Trump-brokered deals between Israel, Arab states - by Adela Suliman
As dignitaries gathered on the White House South Lawn on Tuesday to witness the signing of U.S.-brokered deals between Israel and two Gulf Arab states, the situation thousands of miles away on Israel's doorstep was less serene.
Some 15 rockets were launched from Gaza into southern Israel, the Israel Defense Force said, prompting the country's air force to retaliate with a strike on targets in the Palestinian enclave.
he signing of the accords was greeted by angry protests by Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.
Pictures of President Donald Trump, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin
Netanyahu and the leaders of the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain were
trampled and flags set on fire. More protests were underway on Friday.
Read more at:
Progress, not peace: Breaking down the Trump-brokered deals between Israel, Arab states
9/9/20
Middle East - Iraq: US to pull back 2,200 troops from Iraq, Pentagon confirms…but several thousand more still to stay - by Jennifer Griffin
The drawdown in Iraq was long unticipated and likely to be confirmed
soon by Donald Trump along with a similar move in Afghanistan. The US
president has long expressed desire to reduce foreign deployments. He
reiterated the promise to reduce military presence in Iraq last month
during a visit to the country.
The announcement is likely to fuel heated political debate in the US, where Trump stands accused of being disrespectful to the national military. Last week a story in the Atlantic magazine claimed he called American soldiers killed in World War I “losers” and “suckers” as he refused to visit a military cemetery in France.
Trump angrily rejected the accusations and went on an Eisenhower-esque verbal attack against top military commanders accusing them of cozying up to defense contractors.
Read more at: US to pull back 2,200 troops from Iraq, Pentagon confirms…but several thousand more still to stay — RT World News
The announcement is likely to fuel heated political debate in the US, where Trump stands accused of being disrespectful to the national military. Last week a story in the Atlantic magazine claimed he called American soldiers killed in World War I “losers” and “suckers” as he refused to visit a military cemetery in France.
Trump angrily rejected the accusations and went on an Eisenhower-esque verbal attack against top military commanders accusing them of cozying up to defense contractors.
Read more at: US to pull back 2,200 troops from Iraq, Pentagon confirms…but several thousand more still to stay — RT World News
9/4/20
Middle East: Turkey Greece RelationsNATO signals Turkey-Greece breakthrough, Athens denies deal
Hopes for a breakthrough in quelling the rising tensions in the eastern Mediterranean Sea dimmed on Thursday after Greek officials denied that they'd agreed to talks with regional rival Turkey.
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced that the two sides had agreed to "technical talks" to avoid accidental military clashes in the region.
"I remain in close touch with all concerned Allies to find a solution to the tensions in the spirit of NATO solidarity," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Read more at:
NATO signals Turkey-Greece breakthrough, Athens denies deal | News | DW | 03.09.2020
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg announced that the two sides had agreed to "technical talks" to avoid accidental military clashes in the region.
"I remain in close touch with all concerned Allies to find a solution to the tensions in the spirit of NATO solidarity," he said in a statement posted on Twitter.
Read more at:
NATO signals Turkey-Greece breakthrough, Athens denies deal | News | DW | 03.09.2020
9/2/20
Middle East- Turkey: Dial “M” for Murdoch -by Alexei Bayer,
It is pretty self-evident why Vladimir Putin would want to hollow out the United States as much as he can. And indeed, in Donald Trump, Putin has got a nifty ex-sleeper agent in place who does his destructive bidding from the White House with great dedication.
What is much more difficult to figure out is why News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch is so keen on tearing down the United States. To begin with, the United States is the country that made him very rich.
Murdoch moved to New York in 1974, when the city was at an absolute low point, crime-ridden and depressed. The New York Post, the nasty tabloid he purchased, became a loud-mouth carnival barker covering the successive crime waves that ravished the United States’ greatest city.
Read more at:
Dial “M” for Murdoch - The Globalist
What is much more difficult to figure out is why News Corp owner Rupert Murdoch is so keen on tearing down the United States. To begin with, the United States is the country that made him very rich.
Murdoch moved to New York in 1974, when the city was at an absolute low point, crime-ridden and depressed. The New York Post, the nasty tabloid he purchased, became a loud-mouth carnival barker covering the successive crime waves that ravished the United States’ greatest city.
Read more at:
Dial “M” for Murdoch - The Globalist
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