News related to
Gaza

Saudi, Iran Détente Sparks Potential Paradigm Shifts In Middle East Politics

Palestinian fishermen collect dozens of manta rays washed up on Gaza

LONDON: Palestinian fishermen collected dozens of manta rays that washed up on a beach in Gaza City on Sunday. “These manta rays have been washing up for years now,” fisherman Bashir Shuwaikh told

Israel-Palestine conflict: Why Benjamin Netanyahu is yet to launch a

Though Israel’s past wars on Gaza have often been justified by Tel Aviv as a response to Palestinian rockets or, generally, as acts of self-defense, the truth is different. Historically, Israel’s

Under PM Narendra Modi, India Resiles Itself From Palestinian Cause

Gulf Security In Peril, With Or Without Nuclear Deal With Iran

Palestinian Authority urges Palestinians not to use Israeli airport

GAZA: The Palestinian Authority urged Palestinians not to take advantage of concessions promised by Israel that would allow them to travel through Ramon aiport in southern Israel, saying they should

Iran Guards say Israel facing ‘heavy price’ for attacks in Gaza

DUBAI: The commander of Iran’s elite Revolutionary Guards said on Saturday that Israel would pay a high price for its latest attacks on the Palestinians in Gaza, Iranian state TV reported.“The

Israel arrests four Palestinian fishermen off Gaza coast

GAZA: Israel arrested four Palestinian fishermen off the Mediterranean coast of Gaza on Saturday, Palestinian and Israeli sources said. The Israeli military said it apprehended four suspects after

Hamas eyes Malaysia as new operational base

James M Dorsey Malaysia has emerged as a potential external operations base for Hamas, the Islamist group that controls the Gaza Strip if Turkey expels or restricts the group’s movements as a part of its rapprochement with Israel. Turkey has in recent months deported Hamas activists or refused them entry into the country as it sought to improve its troubled relations with Israel, according to Israeli press reports. […]

Putin hums ‘Georgia on my mind’

By James M Dorsey What did Russian President Vladimir Putin think when he ordered his troops into Ukraine? Ray Charles’ ‘Georgia on mind’ must have been humming in his head. A slightly altered version, ‘Palestine on my mind,’ was undoubtedly on Egyptian athlete Ali Farag’s mind when he condemned the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Sunday as he won Britain’s Optacia squash championship. “We’ve never been allowed […]

For Israel food could do what diplomacy can’t

By James M Dorsey Food, far more than diplomatic relations with Arab states, could be turning Israel into a state rooted rather than implanted in the Middle East even if Palestinians are likely to continue to look at the Jewish state as an implant and usurper for generations to come. Israel’s conversion is as much a domestic revolution as Palestinians perceive it to be an extension of […]

Qatar World Cup sparks culture controversies

By James M Dorsey Footballers with diametrically opposed views on homosexuality and alcohol consumption have sparked heated controversy about Islamic mores and human and workers’ rights in Qatar’s final stretch in the run-up for next year’s FIFA World Cup. Two things stand out in the controversy beyond the specific arguments put forward by opposing camps. First, some fault lines cut across community lines rather than pit one […]

Headwinds in UAE nation branding campaign

James M Dorsey For at least the last two decades, the United Arab Emirates, aided by some of the world’s foremost consulting and public affairs companies, has waged one of, if not the Middle East’s most successful nation branding campaign. The campaign has been supported by cutting edge technological and economic initiatives; a bold and assertive foreign policy backed by the UAE’s financial and military muscle; a […]

UAE-Israel relations risk being built on questionable assumptions

James M Dorsey A year of diplomatic relations between the United Arab Emirates and Israel has proven to be mutually beneficial. The question is whether the assumptions underlying the UAE’s initiative that led three other Arab countries to also formalise their relations with the Jewish state will prove to be correct in the medium and long term. UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed laid out the strategic […]

Israeli bid to allay diaspora fears

James M Dorsey Israel’s first post-Netanyahu government is seeking to rebuild fractured relations with the Jewish Diaspora and rebrand the country as a liberal rather than an illiberal democracy against the backdrop of uncertainty about future US policy towards the Middle East and continued unconditional backing of the Jewish state. Uncertainty about US reliability has been reinforced by the US negotiation with the Taliban and subsequent withdrawal […]

US, China misguided approach in Middle East

James M. Dorsey A recent analysis of Middle Eastern states’ interventionist policies suggests that misguided big power approaches have fueled a vicious cycle of interference and instability over the last decade. Those approaches are abetted, if not encouraged by US and Chinese strategies that are similar, if not essentially the same, just labelled differently. The United States has long opted for regime stability in the Middle East rather than […]

Fuel divide among Gulf states

by James M. Dorsey Personality as well as the conflation of genuine national interest with personal ambition contribute to the widening gap between Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. It was only a matter of time before Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman would want to come out on his own and no longer be seen as the protégé of his erstwhile mentor and Emirati counterpart, […]

Pak PM’s ultra-conservative inklings

By James M Dorsey Widely seen as a populist with ultra-conservative inklings, Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan increasingly appears to reinforce widespread traditionalist attitudes that reject religious tolerance as well as the rights of women and minorities. In doing so, Mr. Khan is aligning Pakistan in religious and social terms closer to Turkey than his country’s traditional allies, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Turkish President […]

Palestinian Islamic Jihad turned out to be a Dark Horse

By Manish Rai Fresh round of escalation between Israel and armed groups from Gaza has just completed. In this round, thousands of rockets are being fired towards Israeli cities and Israel Defence Forces (IDF) responded with overwhelming airstrikes. The biggest group and de-facto ruler of Gaza, Hamas got much of the attention in this flare-up. But it was a relatively much smaller Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) turns out […]

Manila suspends departure of Filipino workers to Israel over Gaza

MANILA: The Philippines on Thursday announced it was temporarily suspending the deployment of workers to Israel due to the ongoing Gaza conflict. Israeli forces have continued to bomb Gaza with Prime

In devastated Gaza, fear of bombs outweighs coronavirus risk

GAZA CITY, Dubai: Like thousands of others in Gaza, Umm Jihad Ghabayin fled home with her children from Israeli bombardment without taking any essentials — let alone a facemask against the raging

WHO appeals for humanitarian pause to gain access to Gaza

CAIRO: World Health Organization officials called on Thursday for a humanitarian pause in Israel’s bombardment of Gaza to allow access for aid as the health system in the Palestinian enclave faces

Gaza facing water, power crisis after deadly Israeli attacks lift

GAZA CITY: Residents of the Gaza Strip were awakened in the early hours of Monday by the heaviest Israeli bombardment since the conflict escalated a week ago as residential buildings were hit and

Will truth become a casualty of the Israel Gaza war?

DUBAI: Amid the scenes of horror and human suffering unfolding in the Gaza Strip in recent days, one series of images stands out. Shortly after 3 p.m. local time on Saturday, a salvo of rockets fired