In an op-ed appearing in The New York Times today, Israeli ambassador to the United Nations Ron Prosor observed that even as most of Hamas’ Arab sponsors, “which historically have included Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia,” have “abandoned the terrorist group,” the country of Qatar has emerged as one of the terrorist...

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Ynet reported on Tuesday about the wealth accumulated by the leaders of Hamas, in contrast to the poverty suffered by most residents of Gaza. The Ynet article focuses first on Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. Someone who has benefitted financially is the former Hamas prime minister in Gaza, Ismail Haniyeh. Before 2006 and...

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Condemnation of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge has come from the expected sources in the Middle East. Turkey was one of the first to roundly condemn Jerusalem, without expressing any sympathy for Israeli civilians forced to shelters because of Hamas rocket fire from Gaza. The Turkish Foreign Ministry issued a statement...

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Saudi Arabian Foreign Minister Saud al-Faisal on Thursday blasted the Shiite-dominated government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki for having systematically instituted policies that “incited sectarianism,” echoing a criticism of Maliki under which he has been broadly blamed for alienating Iraqi Sunnis and creating an environment favorable to the current...

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Iran has become the “the new priority” for Saudi Arabia in orienting itself toward Israel, replacing the Palestinian issue that had for decades been emphasized by Riyadh as having prominence, according to a not wholly sympathetic account of the shift published Thursday by London School of Economics professor Madawi Al-Rasheed....

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Washington Institute Fellow Eric Trager on Tuesday published an extensive analysis of the calculations seemingly being made by Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood as the country approaches the first anniversary of the July 2013 ouster of then-president Mohammed Morsi – whose Brotherhood-linked government had brought Egypt to brink of state disintegration –...

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Egypt has taken the first step towards revoking the citizenship of Hamas official Mahmoud al-Zahar, according to a report appearing on Monday. The Times of Israel reported: Major General Hussein al-Ridi, an assistant to the interior minister for immigration and citizenship issues, told Dubai-based news channel Al-Arabiya that a request...

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Reuters on Friday published a wide-ranging analysis – headlined “Egypt’s [Abdel-Fattah El-] Sisi turns Islam on the Islamists” – documenting a range of moves and statements being made by the country’s presumptive next president suggesting that Sisi appears to be positioning himself as a “religious reformer”: With references to God...

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An interview with Abdel Fattah al-Sisi aired Monday – the first televised sit-down that the presumptive future president has done during the current campaign – saw Sisi declaring that the Muslim Brotherhood would not be allowed to operate as a national movement under his administration, accusing the Islamist movement of...

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South African security site DefenceWeb on Monday rounded up developments surrounding last week’s announcement by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) that he would block additional security assistance to the Egyptian army as a result of his “growing dismay” at Cairo’s heavy-handed tactics against the Muslim Brotherhood, a move that came after...

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