Hamas-led terrorists in the Gaza Strip fired at least 72 rockets and mortars at Israeli civilians overnight. The escalation comes on the heels of a state visit by Qatar’s ruler Emir Hamad bin Khalifa A-Thani, which was hailed as a diplomatic victory by Hamas and condemned by the Fatah-led Palestinian...

Israeli political insiders have focused their attention this week on internal battles within the ruling Likud party. Though widely expected to return to power equally strong or stronger, the party of incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has far more politicians seeking office than Knesset seats it is expected win. Meanwhile...

Jordanian security forces are scrambling to deal with a range of internal and external security threats. On Monday, a Jordanian soldier was killed as government troops battled with armed militants crossing the border between Jordan and Syria, heightening fears that Syria’s civil war would spill into into Jordan. Meanwhile, Jordanian...

The Fatah-controlled Palestinian Authority is condemning the Gaza visit of Qatari Emir Hamad bin Khalifa A-Thani. The much-publicized trip is a diplomatic victory for the Iranian-backed Hamas terrorist organization, which has controlled the territory since 2007, when Hamas violently ousted the Palestinian Authority in a bloody coup. Qatari rulers have...

Last night’s presidential debate between President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney, the third of three such debates and explicitly devoted to foreign policy, highlighted a bipartisan American consensus regarding the unacceptability of Iran attaining nuclear weapons. Iran was mentioned 47 times, more than any other country, and both candidates...

A bomb attack on the border between Israel and the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip critically wounded an Israeli officer overnight, increasing tensions after weeks of escalating rocket and mortar barrages which have targeted Israeli civilians. The cross-border attack comes as disturbing parallels emerge between Hamas’s current campaign and its provocation of...

Officials in the United States and Iran promptly and explicitly denied a bombshell New York Times report outlining a secret agreement between the two countries to engage in one-on-one negotiations after the American election. U.S. National Security Council Spokesman Tommy Vietor declared the report untrue and Iranian Foreign Minister Ali...

The Palestinian Authority held local elections for the first time in seven years over the weekend, hoping to establish a measure of democratic legitimacy as Palestinian Authority President Abbas prepared to violate negotiated understandings with Israel and seek a declaration of statehood in the United Nations. The PA’s efforts suffered...

Israeli electoral politics took an unexpected turn over the weekend, with reports emerging that former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not stand for election when Israelis go to the polls on January 22. Those indications emerged despite the publication of at least one poll suggesting that, should Olmert return...

The assassination of anti-Syrian Lebanon official Wissam Al-Hassan threatens to send Lebanon spiraling into another sectarian civil war, as rioting erupted in the aftermath of his Sunday funeral. Hassan, who was closely linked to the March 14 movement and the Cedar Revolution that expelled Syrian troops from Lebanon, was murdered...