The sudden release of 49 Turkish diplomats held by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) since June has raised suggestions that Ankara may be secretly collaborating with ISIS to oppose Syria’s Kurdish population. Writing in the British Independent on September 21, veteran columnist Patrick Cockburn said: Mystery surrounds the...

• Kindle

The Irish soldiers stationed on the Golan Heights, meant to be the main security element of the United Nations force there, had to leave a key weapon behind in Ireland, leaving it much harder for them to defend their international colleagues from the threat of al-Qaeda. The story was reported...

• Kindle

A major foreign policy address given on Thursday by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – who in recent weeks has been politically strengthened by a growing consensus that the Jewish state emerged strengthened from its summer war against Hamas – saw the Israeli premier outlining Jerusalem’s posture on a range...

• Kindle

In an interview with Reuters published Thursday, jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti expressed satisfaction with the outcome of this summer’s war against Israel. Without mentioning Hamas, he praised the 50-day war the Islamists and other militant groups in Gaza fought against Israel, calling it a victory for all Palestinians. More than 2,100...

• Kindle

The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani used the occasion of a state visit to Berlin to assure German Chancellor Angela Merkel that Doha “has never and will never support terror organizations” after months of growing international consternation regarding Doha’s alleged role in diplomatically and...

• Kindle

The Times of Israel reported Wednesday that Dr. Alan Bauer, an American who was injured in a 2002 Jerusalem terror attack, is seeking to seize the ships that were involved in the 2010 flotilla, run by the Turkish group IHH, that attempted to break Israel’s legal blockade of Gaza. The suit, which...

• Kindle

Syrian Ambassador to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari said Tuesday that jihadists from the al-Nusra Front have taken possession of the vehicles, arms, and uniforms of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF). Ynet reports: “The terrorists are now using United Nations cars, which hold the emblem of the United...

• Kindle

The Jerusalem Post reported Tuesday that Israeli intelligence believes that “Hamas cooperated with global jihadi elements who used the Sinai Peninsula to fire rockets on Eilat.” Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, the chief al-Qaida-linked group in Sinai, maintains strong links with the Gaza Strip, partnering up with groups such as the Popular...

• Kindle

At least six police officers were killed by a roadside bomb in northern Sinai earlier today, with the finger of blame initially pointed at the al Qaeda-backed group Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis. The attack comes as a reminder that Israel is surrounded by Sunni Islamist threats, not just from Gaza and...

• Kindle

This past week has not been kind to Turkey’s reputation as a moderate Islamic state, or to hopes that it would serve as a potential ally against the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). Multiple damaging revelations have come from a variety of sources—both from political leaders and news organizations. New...

• Kindle