Tag Archives: The Levant

By Ammar Abdulhamid | Unexpected but not surprising. This is indeed how I would describe the decision by Putin to withdraw his troops from Syria at this stage. The timing of the decision was surprising to most, including myself, but its nature is not really surprising. It has been never …

By Ishaan Tharoor for The Washington Post — A NASA study has found that a drought that affected the Middle East over the past decade was perhaps the worst in the region’s history for nearly a millennium. The scientists, who published their study in the Journal of Geophysical Research-Atmospheres, examined …

By Jeffrey Sachs* —  In the Milwaukee debate, Hillary Clinton took pride in her role in a recent UN Security Council resolution on a Syrian ceasefire: But I would add this. You know, the Security Council finally got around to adopting a resolution. At the core of that resolution is an …

THE LEVANT NEWS — By Graham E. Fuller — On the world scene, America is a declining power. This decline is in part domestic and self-inflicted, reflecting a certain weariness and neglect of our social order. No amount of huffing and puffing from politicians will significantly change this decline.   But …

The Levant News Exclusive — By Dr. Haytham Mouzahem* — The term of “Jihadi Salafism” The Salafist and Wahhabist strains of radical Islam and their differences are worth understanding, as both ideologies have become more influential in the Middle East and North Africa since the Arab Spring revolutions. Salafi jihadism …

The Levant News — Mousa Mohammed Abu Marzook, a senior political member in the Palestinian Resistance Movement “Hamas”, had pounced on Iran regarding their proclamations of supporting Hamas, after cashing them in all as lies, especially those declarations on support being presented post 2009. Abu Marzook’s aversion was recorded over …

THE LEVANT NEWS — By Ghassan Michel Rubeiz — US policy on Iran should be integrated with policies on other vital issues. Considering the growing threat of ISIS, the worsening tragedies in Syria, Yemen, Iraq and Libya, the ignored Arab Israeli conflict, the fragmentation of an entire region, considering all …

The Levant News — By Graham E. Fuller — A renowned Arab religious scholar in the 14th century, ibn Taymiyya, is sometimes quoted as saying, Al-zulm afdal min al-fawda— “oppression is to be favored over anarchy.” Although ibn Taiymiyya was no establishment figure in his time, this perspective was welcomed …

by Graham E. Fuller – Among the many confusing factors swirling around the whole ISIS phenomenon is the role, or roles, of Turkey in the situation. It might be helpful to tick off some of the major salient factors that compete to form Turkish policies towards ISIS under Erdoğan at …

THE LEVANT – A newspaper close to Syria’s regime criticised new UN peace envoy Staffan De Mistura for the first time Sunday over his call for ceasefire zones to allow for aid deliveries. “De Mistura has been vested with a clear mission based on a solution to the crisis through …

THE LEVANT – Evidence emerges of another massacre by ISIL forces advancing on the Iraqi city of Ramadi A mass grave containing 150 bodies has been discovered in central Iraq, raising fears of a posssible massacre carried out by Isil on their march towards Baghdad. The grave was found on Thursday …

THE LEVANT – Republish from RT – The situation in Yemen is dangerous, with President Hadi and the military unable to confront Al-Qaeda, the Houthi in the capital, and Al-Islah using religious tension to regain power, Catherine Shakdam , Associate Director of the Beirut Center for Middle East Studies told …

THE LEVANT EXCLUSIVE – Washington (As your journalist continues narrating this segment of the day-long questioning of the “Radicalization and the Politics of Alienation” in the current Middle East from here in the American Capital, the United States — along with its Arab allies — finally strike the pitiless “Caliphate” …

THE LEVANT  – By Geoffrey Cook – I repose in this thick chilling fog on the edge of the eastern shore of the Pacific Rim.  I, also, rest within a confusing cloud of war at the western precipice of that continent far in the distance. I recently received a notice …

THE LEVANT – She was a typical Scottish teen who loved make-up, Coldplay, and had a crush on Zac Efron, according to friends. Until November 2013 when Aqsa Mahmood dropped out of university and disappeared from her well-to-do home in Glasgow. Her distraught parents reported the then 19-year-old missing, but the …

THE LEVANT – the U.S. believes that about a dozen Americans are fighting with ISIS in Syria, part of a larger group of more than 100 Americans who have joined various rebel groups in the country. The new estimate was provided  by the Pentagon in a clarification of comments made …

THE LEVANT – After two weeks with no water following Israel’s 50-day offensive, Abu Osama took matters into his own hands, and like hundreds of others, sank a well beside his Gaza home. After nearly two months of Israeli bombardment, power cuts and water shortages, he seized upon the ceasefire …

THE LEVANT – The British aid worker held hostage in Syria was tortured by his terrorist kidnappers during the first months of his captivity, it has emerged. David Haines was regularly beaten by his captors, who may have singled him out for ill-treatment because of his nationality. He was so …

THE LEVANT  –  How a terror movement came to be – [embedplusvideo height=”450″ width=”550″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1pwygfl” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/vjO4Hq5Kqhk?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=vjO4Hq5Kqhk&width=550&height=450&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep8228″ /] [embedplusvideo height=”450″ width=”550″ editlink=”http://bit.ly/1pwym6R” standard=”http://www.youtube.com/v/7hzZt9S1h9E?fs=1″ vars=”ytid=7hzZt9S1h9E&width=550&height=450&start=&stop=&rs=w&hd=0&autoplay=0&react=1&chapters=&notes=” id=”ep5967″ /]

THE LEVANT – By Hasan S. Özertem and Habibe Özdal – Recep Tayyip Erdogan won the first publicly held presidential elections in the first round, albeit with a narrow margin of 1.7 per cent. In the aftermath of the elections, Erdogan and the AK Party have chosen to delay the …

THE LEVANT – By James Dorsey The meteoric rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and its declaration of an Islamic State straddling the two Arab countries raises the spectre of a militant Islamist state in the heart of the Middle East close to the borders of …

THE LEVANT –  An Israeli official confirmed Wednesday that slain American journalist Steven Sotloff was also an Israeli citizen. Foreign Ministry spokesman Paul Hirschson wrote on his personal Twitter feed: “Cleared for publication: Steven Satloff was Israel citizen RIP,” misspelling the journalist’s last name. There was no further comment from …

THE LEVANT – Lebanon’s government is forming a crisis committee to handle the case of some two dozen members of the security forces held captive by Syrian militants amid escalating criticism over the authorities’ response to the hostage affair, an official said Thursday. Information Minister Ramzi Jreij said Prime Minister …

THE LEVANT – A jittery Israeli military is gearing up for what could become its next big battle: dealing with U.N. investigations that could result in war-crimes allegations. The army has beefed up its legal staff, is conducting internal investigations of its wartime actions and has prepared a detailed PR …

THE LEVANT – Every day around sunset, dozens of residents of this small Lebanese Christian village on the border carry their automatic rifles and deploy on surrounding hills, taking up positions and laying ambushes in case Muslim extremists from neighboring Syria attack. “We all know that if they come, they …

THE LEVANT – Fears over the safety of Mr. Khalil’s Halwachi, father of the Head of monitoring and documentation of EBOHR, after raiding his home at dawn and arresting him. The European- Bahraini Organisation For Human Rights expresses its deep concern over the  arrest of 57-year-old Mr. Khalil Halwachi by the Bahraini …

THE LEVANT –  By Jonathan Cook – Despite hailing as a victory the seven weeks of fighting that killed more than 2,100 Palestinians and destroyed large swathes of Gaza’s infrastructure, Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, appears to have emerged as the main political casualty of Operation Protective Edge. In late …

THE LEVANT – Standing in front of the crumbling control tower of Gaza’s devastated airport, one-time air traffic controller Anis Arafat dreams of the day planes will land and take off here again. Re-opening this airport, closed since 2001, and ending Gaza’s isolation is a key demand of the Islamist …

THE LEVANT – Several historic buildings, including a colonial-era structure, have been blown up in Syria’s second city of Aleppo, where fighting has wrought massive destruction, reports said Wednesday, September 3. Rebel fighters destroyed “several old buildings on Tuesday night by placing explosives in a tunnel leading under the Old …

THE LEVANT – Britain said it was investigating Thursday, September 4, after two British researchers were reported detained in Qatar while probing the working conditions of migrants building infrastructure for the 2022 football World Cup. “We are aware of reports that two British nationals have been detained in Qatar and …

THE LEVANT –  The Palestinian leadership intends to seek a UN Security Council resolution setting a 3-year deadline for ending the Israeli occupation of the Palestinian territories, a Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) official said Tuesday, September 2. Hanan Ashrawi, a member of the leadership of the PLO, acknowledged at a …

THE LEVANT –  Hussain Jawad, Chairman of the European-Bahraini Organisation for Human Rights EBOHR, appeared today September 4  in court on charges including inciting hatred against the regime and insulting the king. Trial was adjourned to October 7. Mr. Jawad was arrested on November 24, 2013 at a police station in the …

THE LEVANT  – Rumours have been circulating over a proposal submitted by a Saudi academic to remove the tomb of Prophet Mohammad (PBUH), from its present position. It is located at the Al-Masjid al-Nabawi mosque, in the Saudi city of Medina. The plan is to move his body to an …

THE LEVANT – France and Saudi Arabia are close to signing a $3 billion arms deal for Lebanon, the Elysee Palace said Monday following talks between President Francois Hollande and the Saudi crown prince. “It will not be signed Monday but it is being finalized,” an aide to the president …

THE LEVANT – Written by Catherine Shakdam – As news of Abdel Hadi Al Khawaja’s ill health, one of Bahrain’s most prominent rights activists and well-known figure of the opposition,  hit the stands, Maryam, his daughter and co-director of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights jumped in a plane, so desperate …

THE LEVANT – By Badr Al Ibrahim – Certain religious and intellectual questions are posed in an attempt to understand terrorism. The resultant explanations are often weak and overlook factors such as political violence and political objectives. With the emergence of groups such as ISIS, we have returned to the atmosphere …

THE LEVANT – After a long, hard fought battle outside of the University of Tikrit, the Iraqi Army has finally entered the school, forcing the Islamic State to abandon their positions and retreat north. This marks the first time in two months that the Iraqi Army has been able to enter …

THE LEVANT – The Syrian Arab Army and representatives of the Islamic Front have agreed to a 72 hour ceasefire in the Darayya District, after heavy clashes  the last two days. The ceasefire was called in order for the two parties to negotiate a reconciliation agreement that would permanently end the violence and restore …

THE LEVANT – For almost 24 hours, the Islamic State has bombarded the Deir ez-Zor Military Airport with rocket-propelled grenades, mortar shells, and short-range missiles. A source from the Syrian military stated that drones have been identified flying above the airport, possibly capturing footage of SAA positions. The Islamic State is …

THE LEVANT – The popularity of the Hamas militant group among Palestinians in the West Bank and the Gaza Strip has spiked significantly following the 50-day war with Israel, according to an opinion poll released Tuesday. The poll, conducted by the Palestinian Center for Policy and Survey Research and headed by …

THE LEVANT – Militants from the Islamic State group carried out a mass killing of hundreds of Iraqi soldiers captured when the extremists overran a military base north of Baghdad in June, a leading international watchdog said Wednesday. The incident at Camp Speicher, an air base that previously served as a …

THE LEVANT – Thousands of angry mourners on Wednesday buried a Lebanese soldier beheaded by Islamic militants after an emotional funeral march, accusing the government of neglect for failing to negotiate his release. The furor over the gruesome death of Sgt. Ali Sayid, 29, came as the government races to …

THE LEVANT –  President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the United States will not be intimidated by Islamic State militants after the beheading of a second American journalist and will build a coalition to “degrade and destroy” the group. Obama still did not give a timeline for deciding on a …

THE LEVANT – SANA -Syria state news agency – has confirmed on Tuesday that ISIL militants admitted to the beheading of a second US journalist. An Islamic State video has appeared which purports to show the beheading of Steven Sotloff, a US journalist being held hostage by the militants.  Sotloff, …