Middle East Experience

US President Donald Trump's idea to rebuild the Gaza Strip as a swanky riviera is unacceptable unless it is for Gazans themselves to live in, a Palestinian minister said on Friday."It's very good to rebuild Gaza as a riviera -- but with its people in it," said Palestinian minister of state for foreign affairs Varsen Aghabekian.Trump's vision for Gaza involves the United States taking over the occupied Palestinian territory, resettling its Palestinian inhabitants elsewhere and transforming the war-ravaged strip into a riviera for "world people".
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Trump's Gaza 'riviera' should be for Gazans, says minister

Israel has publicly declared its mistrust of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), the Islamist faction that led the campaign that toppled Assad.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel lobbies US to keep Russian bases in a 'weak' Syria, sources say

The surviving Bibas patriarch told Sinjilawi how important it was to him that a Palestinian came to visit
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Former Palestinian prisoner visits Bibas family, asks for forgiveness

Amid fragile ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon and shifting dynamics for Iran, Syria and others, the region is preparing for the Islamic holy month of Ramadan.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Muslims across Middle East welcome Ramadan despite war, inflation

The first phase of the Israel-Hamas truce is drawing to a close on Saturday, but negotiations on the next stage, which should secure a permanent ceasefire, have so far been inconclusive.The ceasefire took effect on January 19 after more than 15 months of war sparked by Hamas's October 7, 2023 attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country's history.Over the initial six-week phase, Gaza militants freed 25 living hostages and returned the bodies of eight others to Israel, in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners held in Israeli jails.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Uncertainty looms as first phase of Gaza truce due to expire

Outlawed Kurdish militants on Saturday declared a ceasefire with Turkey following a landmark call by jailed PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan asking the group to disband and end more than four decades of armed struggle. It was the first reaction from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after Ocalan this week called for the dissolution of the group and asked it to lay down arms.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: PKK declares ceasefire with Turkey after 40 years of armed struggle

Israel must take note as it navigates complex foreign policy challenges, it cannot assume that traditional diplomatic norms remain intact.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Israel must learn Trump's altered rules of diplomatic discourse from Zelensky meeting

The video shows the Horn brothers hugging and saying their goodbyes a day before Iair's release, in Hamas's underground tunnels.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: 'Don't destroy our lives': Hamas propaganda video shows Iair, Eitan Horn prior to separation

The writers of the book have featured anti-Israel sentiments on their social media pages, including the celebration of terrorists.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: ‘Understanding Hamas’: LSE to host launch of book claiming Hamas ‘demonized,’ ‘vilified’

Shiloh and Jerusalem represent two complementary forces – engagement with the world and preservation of identity – that drive our journey toward redemption.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: A profound holy distinction: Shiloh vs Jerusalem