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Middle East

Parliamentary Motion Leaves Canadian Mideast Policy Mostly Intact

A non-binding motion in support of peace in the Middle East was endorsed by Canada’s parliament on March 18 by a margin of 204-117. Brought to the floor by the left-wing New Democratic Party, it could hardly be described as a seismic shift in Canadian policy. Acknowledging its toothless character, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said […]

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Middle East

Israel Has No Choice But To Invade Rafah

Israel has no alternative but to invade Rafah, Hamas’ last urban bastion in the Gaza Strip, despite objections from its chief ally, the United States. Having successfully decimated or disabled nearly all of Hamas’ 24 battalions since the start of its ground offensive on October 27, the Israeli government is obligated to finish the job. […]

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Middle East

Gaza War Exposes U.S.-Israel Disagreements

The rift between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu over the Israel-Hamas war is growing wider and is looking increasingly worrisome from Israel’s perspective. The tensions that have erupted in the last few months feel like a replay of Israel’s duels with the United States over the past six decades. David Ben-Gurion and Dwight Eisenhower clashed […]

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Middle East

Turkey’s Erdogan — A Hopeless Case

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is a hopeless case as far as Israel is concerned. Turkey’s impetuous president is and has been extremely and unfairly critical of Israel since gaining national office in 2003. Time and time again, he has hurled gratuitous insults at Israel to satisfy his Islamic base at home, curry favor with the Palestinians, […]

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Middle East

Gantz’s Trip Exposed Israel-U.S. Tensions Over Gaza

Benny Gantz’s unauthorized visit to the United States earlier this week is likely a reflection of the growing tensions between President Joe Biden and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the ongoing Israel-Hamas war and the future of the Gaza Strip. Gantz, a member of Israel’s war cabinet, the leader of the centrist National Unity Party, […]

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Middle East

Israel’s Gaza Campaign: A War In Progress

Israel’s ongoing military campaign in the Gaza Strip has evolved into a classic textbook example of how a well-trained, superbly equipped modern army conducts intensive urban warfare in a densely-populated area whose 2.3 million residents have often been cynically used by the governing authority as human shields. Israel’s air, land and sea offensive has been […]

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Middle East

Netanyahu’s Postwar Gaza Plan Runs Into Flak

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finally released a plan for post-war Gaza on February 23, but it was like old wine in a new bottle. Nearly four months after Israel launched a ground invasion of the Gaza Strip, following Hamas’ massacre of 1,200 Israelis and foreigners in southern Israel on October 7, Netanyahu belatedly laid out […]

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Middle East

The Israel-Hezbollah War Grinds On

Iran has reportedly warned its chief proxy in the Middle East, Hezbollah, not to escalate its low-intensity war with Israel along the Lebanese border. According to The Washington Post, Iran told its leader, Hassan Nasrallah, that an escalation would play into Israel’s hands and nullify the gains that Iran’s Axis of Resistance has made since […]

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Middle East

Israel’s Pending Rafah Campaign Faces Immense Opposition

Israel is facing tremendous international pressure to cancel a pending military campaign in Rafah, a Hamas stronghold and the last city in the Gaza Strip yet to conquered and occupied by the Israeli army. Having stormed Gaza City and Khan Younis, and having bombed several Palestinian refugee camps in central Gaza, Israel appears to be […]

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Middle East

Iran And Its Surrogates Working To Expel U.S. Forces From Mideast

It is questionable whether the latest U.S. retaliatory air and missile strikes against pro-Iranian militias in Iraq, Syria and Yemen will curb their aggression. Working in tandem with Iran, their wily puppet master, these surrogates remain undeterred and are hell-bent on launching fresh attacks against American military bases and ships, all in the hope of […]