Middle East Experience

‘The organization should not be viewed in isolation from federalist tendencies and Netanyahu’s pro-Druze remarks,’ says Syria and Lebanon expert, Dr. Moran Levanoni
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: New Druze military organization announced in Suwayda

A Hamas official said Israeli troops completed their withdrawal on Sunday from a strategic road cutting through the Gaza Strip, part of a fragile truce deal that Israel said it was implementing.But diplomatic tensions were high after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to suggest in an interview that a Palestinian state could be established on Saudi territory, drawing the ire of Saudi Arabia and other Arab nations.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Hamas says Israel withdraws from key Gaza road

A Thai farm worker held hostage in Gaza for more than a year said he felt "reborn" as he and four compatriots arrived home on Sunday to tears of joy from their relieved families.The five Thais smiled as they walked into the arrivals hall at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport after being freed on January 30 as part of a ceasefire deal aimed at ending the Gaza war.The five -- Watchara Sriaoun, Pongsak Tanna, Sathian Suwannakham, Surasak Lamnau and Bannawat Saethao -- were met by a small group of overjoyed relatives and officials before travelling on to their hometowns.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Thai hostage freed from Gaza says feels 'reborn' after return home

The Palestinian health ministry said Israeli forces in the occupied West Bank shot dead two women on Sunday, including one who was eight months pregnant, with the military saying it had "targeted terrorists" in a raid.It later said military police had launched an investigation into the death of the pregnant woman.Israeli forces launched an operation in the Nur Shams refugee camp, on the outskirts of Tulkarem in the northern West Bank, at dawn on Sunday, as part of an ongoing offensive in nearby camps, the military said.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Palestinians say Israeli forces kill two women in West Bank raid

Authorities in Iran ordered schools and offices in at least 10 provinces to close on Sunday to conserve energy amid a severe cold snap and heavy snowfall, state media reported.Freezing temperatures have gripped the northern half of the country over the past few days, causing a spike in energy consumption."All government offices and schools are closed on Sunday, and remote learning has been arranged for students," the state news agency IRNA announced.Among the provinces affected are Lorestan in the west, Semnan in the east and Gilan in the north.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Iranian schools and offices shut as cold snap bites

A long line of cars, tuk-tuks, small lorries and carts stretched along Gaza's Salaheddin Road on Sunday after Israel withdrew its forces from a strategic area bisecting the territory.The traffic crawled slowly along the road, where mounds of earth had been piled high by now-departed Israeli bulldozers, into the eastern part of the Netzarim Corridor, which separates the northern Gaza Strip from its south.After more than 15 months of war, a fragile truce with Hamas that went into effect last month saw Israeli forces limiting their presence in the Gaza Strip.
Source: Al Monitor
Full Article: Palestinians back on key Gaza road as Israel withdraws

The Joint Task Force October 7 will pursue criminal charges, including for capital crimes, against the perpetrators of the Hamas-led pogrom.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Trump administration establishes task force to prosecute October 7 perpetrators

Herzog did not say when or where the meetings would take place, nor did he discuss the content of the meeting.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Trump to meet with leaders of Saudi Arabia and Egypt, Herzog says

The difference in murder rates between Jews and Arabs in Israel in 2023 is about 60% greater than the difference in murder rates between black and white communities in the US.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: Arab-Israeli murder rate third highest in developed world

"I have now asked for the House authorities to conduct an investigation into how this decision was reached," said United Kingdom House of Commons Speaker Hoyle.
Source: Jerusalem Post
Full Article: UK House speaker: Investigate refusal of Holocaust exhibit at Parliament