Just weeks after ferociously labelling Israel “a malignant cancer” that must “be removed and eradicated,” Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, dialed down his rhetoric. In a series of recent tweets from his official website, he wrote that Israel’s protracted struggle with the Palestinians should be resolved peacefully rather than through war. “To define Palestine’s […]
For about the past two months, the Palestinians of the Gaza Strip have turned to a new yet primitive weapon, incendiary kites, to harass and harm neighboring Israel. Comparatively small in size, cobbled together with transparent plastic wrapping and carrying flammable materials, they set fire to nearby agricultural fields, grasslands, and nature reserves. By Israeli Defence Minister […]
Hard on the heels of the United States’ withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu visited Germany, France and Britain this week in an attempt to persuade them to pull out of the landmark accord. Acknowledging that Iran had complied with the agreement, but complaining that Tehran had violated its […]
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres performed a valuable public service recently when he urged Hezbollah, the Lebanese militia and political party, to cease military activities and disarm. As well, he called upon Lebanon and the Lebanese armed forces to prohibit Hezbollah from acquiring weapons and building a military capacity outside the framework of the […]
It appears that Israel’s concerns about an Iranian military presence in Syria are being seriously addressed by Russia, Syria’s longtime ally. The issue, considered of the utmost importance by Israel, has topped Israel’s agenda for months now. In February, in an unprecedented incident that sent shock waves through the Middle East, Israel shot down an […]
On May 28, Syria assumed the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, a non-governmental organization which, among other achievements, was instrumental in the promulgation of the Chemical Weapons Convention, an arms-control treaty that prohibits the use, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons. The presidency is rotated among its 65 members, and now it is Syria’s turn […]
Is bipartisan support for Israel in the U.S. Congress slipping? This appears to be the case, judging by a series of recent events. A festive ceremony in Jerusalem on May 14 marking Israel’s 70th anniversary of statehood and the opening of the American embassy in Jerusalem attracted a small delegation of Republicans from the Senate […]
Once again, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is shooting from the hip, creating a diplomatic crisis with one of Turkey’s most important neighbors. The volatile and authoritarian Turkish president did it again this week when he denounced Israel as a “terror state,” reiterated his allegiance to the Palestinian cause and downgraded Turkey’s loveless relationship with Israel, at […]
Tellingly enough, Russia refrained from condemning Israel after it carried out massive air strikes in Syria against Iranian and Syrian targets on May 10. Russia, which has cordial relations with both Israel and Iran and a special relationship with Syria, issued an innocuous statement rather than a condemnation after Israel’s ferocious attack. Its deputy foreign minister, Mikhail […]
It was a day of jubilation and bloodshed, a surrealistic commingling of events. As the United States officially opened its embassy in Jerusalem on May 14, thereby fulfilling President Donald Trump’s campaign promise, Israeli troops, acting in self-defence, killed 60 Palestinians and wounded more than 1,300 from the Gaza Strip who had charged toward Israel’s […]