Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri blamed Hamas on Thursday for not agreeing to the ceasefire sponsored by his country, which would have averted a ground invasion of Gaza. Reuters reports: Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri made the accusation against Turkey, Qatar and Hamas in a briefing with local newspaper editors, the state...
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The third day of Operation Protective Edge was marked by rockets and sirens in nearly all major Israeli cities, including Jerusalem, Tel Aviv, and Beersheba. In the last 3 days, more than 384 rockets fired from #Gaza struck Israel; an additional 88 rockets were intercepted by the Iron Dome — IDF...
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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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Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News on Monday reported that security officials acting at the behest of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) had launched a wide-ranging sweep – the outlet described it as taking place across 30 provinces in Turkey – aimed at followers of U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen, who...
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Earlier this week, Reuters reported on a surprising consequence of Syria’s civil war: trade between Europe and the Arab world is increasingly passing through Israel. A Romanian truck driver, Ismail Hamad, explained that after 30 years of driving through Syria, he no longer does so because of “[t]oo much problems,...
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The Daily Beast on Tuesday conveyed assessments from a range of Israeli officials and U.S.-based experts linking the recent kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers to Saleh al-Arouri – a top Hamas official who sits atop the group’s terror infrastructure in the West Bank – who has reportedly been allowed to operate...
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The New York Times reported on Wednesday that the rise of the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is directly attributable to policies adopted by the Turkish government. Focusing on a Turkish trucker named Turfan Aydin, the Times notes that cross-border trade between Turkey and Iraq has virtually stopped “by the...
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Reuters reported today that a tanker carrying oil from Kurdistan is anchored in the Israeli port city of Ashkelon and is prepared to dock Saturday. Officials said Israel was keen to build good ties with the Kurds, hoping to expand its limited diplomatic network in the Middle East and broaden options...
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On Thursday, Times of Israel reporter Avi Issacharoff quoted an unnamed Israeli security official blaming Saleh al-Arouri, a Hamas operative now living in Turkey, for orchestrating the kidnappings last week of Naftali Fraenkel, Gil-ad Shaer and Eyal Yifrach. Issacharoff reports: According to the unnamed official, Saleh al-Arouri — a former...
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An official visit to Turkey by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani triggered a flurry of diplomatic statements and economic agreements celebrated by both sides on Monday, announcements that were read by observers as straightforward evidence that relations between the two sometimes rivals were on the upswing, and which came just as...
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