THE MIDDLE EAST, TURKEY & NORTH AFRICA ARCHIVE :

Please note : Most publications move older stories into their archives which may require a fee to view the full story. Some stories listed below may no longer be available online.

See also archives for Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan/Pakistan.

Christian Science Monitor, 31 May 09, by Tom A. Peter
Ahead of Obama's Cairo speech, Arab leaders see window of opportunity for peace
'King Abdullah II of Jordan, embraced by the West and his Arab allies, is emerging as a facilitator for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.'

Washington Post, 01 Jun 09, by Howard Schneider
Palestinian Authority Forces Clash With Hamas
'Palestinian Authority security forces clashed with Hamas militants in the West Bank town of Qalqilyah early Sunday, leaving six dead, including three police officers, in the bloodiest confrontation between the rival Palestinian factions in two years. The fight, which drew immediate threats of reprisal from Hamas, involved members of a U.S.-trained Palestinian force that has been assuming increased authority over security in the West Bank.'

Christian Science Monitor, 01 Jun 09, by Erin Cunningham
UN: Israeli buffer zone eats up 30 percent of Gaza's arable land
'Looking to increase security, Israel dropped leaflets last week warning residents to stay at least 1,000 feet from the border or risk being shot.'

Christian Science Monitor, 01 Jun 09, by Tom A. Peter and Ilene R. Prusher
Israeli proposal: Make Jordan the official Palestinian homeland
'The controversial idea – though not new – could still undermine Netanyahu and erode Israel's relations with moderate Arab countries.'

New York Times, 27 May 09, by Robert F. Worth
Hezbollah Says It Is Talking to European Union and I.M.F.
'The discussions concerned continuing financial support to Lebanon in the event that the Shiite militant group's political alliance wins the June 7 parliamentary elections.'

BBC News, 28 May 09
Israel rejects US call over settlement work
'Israel will continue to allow some construction in West Bank settlements despite US calls for a freeze on its work, a government spokesman says.'

BBC News, 07 May 09
Arabs work for unified approach
'Arab foreign ministers are meeting in Cairo to formulate a united approach on the Middle East peace process.'

Washington Post, 06 May 09, by Greg Jaffe
Gates Assures Mideast Allies on U.S. Overtures to Iran
'Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates sought to reassure U.S. allies in the Middle East on Tuesday that their relationships with the United States would not be damaged by the Obama administration's efforts to open a dialogue with Iran.'

BBC News, 04 May 09, by Imogen Foulkes
UN experts discuss Gaza mission
'UN investigators are beginning a week-long meeting in Geneva, ahead of a mission to Israel and the Gaza Strip.'

BBC News, 05 May 09
US presses Israel over two states
'US Vice-President Joe Biden has said Israel must back a two-state solution to the conflict with the Palestinians. ... Addressing the main US Israel lobby, the American-Israel Public Affairs Committee (Aipac), Mr Biden said Israel must take concrete measures.'

New York Times, 29 Apr 09, by Taghreed El-Khodary and Isabel Kershner
Palestinian Rivals to Try Once More for an Accord
'The rival Palestinian groups Fatah and Hamas ended a fourth round of reconciliation talks here on Tuesday without success, but agreed to convene one more time to try to reach an accord. Egypt, which has been mediating the talks, set May 15 as the new deadline for reaching an agreement ...'

Xinhua, 30 Apr 09, by Saud Abu Ramadan
Endless reconciliation dialogue makes Palestinians despair
'It has become obvious that the Palestinians, mainly who live in the poor and besieged Gaza Strip ruled by Islamic Hamas movement, have lost hope that the reconciliation dialogue between the rival factions would lead to a solution.'

Asia Times, 28 Apr 09, by Sami Moubayed
A new order emerges in Lebanon
'Calls for engagement with Hezbollah in Lebanon are increasing in Washington, Britain is opening dialogue with non-state players and the Syrians are back in the international arena. Steadily, the Middle East leftovers of the George W Bush era are being eroded, and people like Lebanese warlord Walid Jumblatt are preparing for the new alignments.'

New York Times, 22 Apr 09, by Isabel Kershner
Israeli Military Says Actions in Gaza War Did Not Violate International Law
'The Israeli military on Wednesday presented the conclusions of several internal investigations into its conduct during the war in Gaza and stated that it had operated in accordance with international law, countering widespread international criticism over its actions and continuing accusations of possible war crimes.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Apr 09, by Joshua Mitnick
Israeli army admits 'isolated' mistakes in Gaza
'Deputy Chief of Staff Maj. Gen. Dan Harel said the Army will forward to Israel's military prosecutor and the attorney general the findings of an internal inquiry into accusations of illegal use of white phosphorous munitions, targeting humanitarian and civilian infrastructure.'

Asia Times, 23 Apr 09, by Sami Moubayed
Syria reaches out to 'friend' Iraq
'This week's landmark visit to Iraq by Syrian Prime Minister Mohammad Naji Otari is a welcome sign of repaired relations between Damascus and Baghdad that have been icy since the United States invasion of 2003. Iraqis see the visit as an outstretched hand from the greater Arab family, while Syrians are trying to avoid being next door to another neighbor armed to the teeth and living in lawlessness.'

Christian Science Monitor, 15 Apr 09, by Nicholas Blanford
In Lebanon's wild east, Hezbollah finds itself on left foot
'After supporting an Army crackdown against lawlessness in the Bekaa Valley, the Shiite organization faces a backlash from angry clan members ahead of June elections.'

Christian Science Monitor, 14 Apr 09, by Liam Stack and Nicholas Blanford
Egypt strikes out at Iran's expanding reach
'Egyptian police have arrested 25 suspects and are hunting for another 24 in the Sinai peninsula, where officials say the Iranian-sponsored group Hezbollah was operating a covert cell.'

Xinhua, 13 Apr 09, by Amr Emam
News Analysis: Egypt-Hezbollah standoff dents Egypt-Iran relations
'The arrest of some 49 Hezbollah agents who were accused of plotting to carry out attacks against Israeli tourists at resorts in the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula portends a verbal war between Egypt and Iran in the future and a worsening of already stale diplomatic relations between the two countries, Egyptian experts said.'

New York Times, 09 Apr 09, by
With 'Annapolis,' a Warning to Israel
'Watchers of Middle East politics were quick to take note of a line in President Obama's address before the Turkish Parliament on Monday in Ankara, in which he mentioned "Annapolis."'

New York Times, 06 Apr 09, by Helene Cooper
America Seeks Bonds to Islam, Obama Insists
'President Obama formally began his outreach to the Muslim world on Monday when he spoke before Turkey's Parliament, telling legislators that the United States "is not and will never be at war with Islam."'

New York Times, 05 Apr 09, by Campbell Robertson
Palestinians Are Focus in Abbas Visit to Baghdad
'Mahmoud Abbas, the president of the Palestinian Authority, visited Iraq for the first time since the American invasion in 2003, meeting with Iraqi leaders on Sunday to garner support for the Palestinian leadership and Iraq's Palestinian community.'

Christian Science Monitor, 31 Mar 09, by Nicholas Blanford
As Netanyahu takes Israel's helm, Syria skeptical of peace prospects
'Syrian diplomats say Damascus is serious about making peace, and hope Washington will lean on Israel's new government.'

New York Times, 01 Apr 09, by Isabel Kershner
Israeli Minister Dismisses Peace Effort
'In a blunt and belligerent speech on his first day as Israel's new foreign minister, the hawkish nationalist Avigdor Lieberman, declared Wednesday that "those who want peace should prepare for war" and that Israel was not obligated by understandings on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict reached at an American-sponsored peace conference in 2007.'

BBC News, 02 Apr 09
Livni condemns new Israel leaders
'Israel's former chief peace negotiator says the way the new government is talking shows it will not be a partner for peace with the Palestinians.'

New York Times, 31 Mar 09, by Michael Slackman and Robert F. Worth
Often Split, Arab Leaders Unite for Sudan's Chief
'Sudan's president, who has been indicted for war crimes, was embraced at the annual Arab League summit.'

New York Times, 27 Mar 09, by Michael R. Gordon and Jeffrey Gettleman
U.S. Officials Say Israel Struck in Sudan
'Israeli warplanes bombed a convoy of trucks in Sudan in January that was believed to be carrying arms to be smuggled into Gaza, according to American officials.'

Christian Science Monitor, 29 Mar 09, by Joshua Mitnick
Will Arab leaders discuss Israeli airstrike in Sudan?
'Arab League likely support Sudan's Bashir against war crimes charge, but discourage ties with Iran.'

Middle East Times, 31 Mar 09, by Richard Sale
Israel's Covert War on Iran Faces Disapproving White House
'Facing mounting U.S. opposition behind the scenes, Israel still plans to continue a covert operation to delay Iran's nuclear program by assassinating key Iranian scientists, U.S. officials said.'

Middle East Times, 02 Apr 09, by Claude Salhani
Why the Maghreb Matters: Terrorism Increases 400 Percent
'While the Middle East proper has tended to grab most of the attention in the U.S. media as well as from official Washington, it is important to point out every now and then that the Maghreb matters.'

Middle East Times, 01 Apr 09, by Sana Abdallah
New Israeli Government Dims Arab Hopes for Peace
'The Palestinians and Arabs are expressing pessimism over Middle East peace prospects under the new hawkish Israeli coalition government, led by Likud leader Benjamin Netanyahu, whose agenda ignores the concept of a two-state solution.'

International Herald Tribune, 25 Mar 09, by Isabel Kershner and Alan Cowell
Netanyahu promises peace effort
'Israel's prime minister-designate, Benjamin Netanyahu, said Wednesday that the coalition he is forming would be a "partner for peace," offering a pledge that seemed designed to reshape his reputation as a foe of the peace process with the Palestinians.'

International Herald Tribune, 22 Mar 09, by Robert F. Worth
With counterterror program, Saudis have turned the tide
'Many Saudis had refused to recognize the country's growing reputation as an incubator of terrorism, even after the international outcry that had followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.'

Christian Science Monitor, 24 Mar 09, by Nicholas Blanford
An army on snowshoes? It's not in the Alps, but Lebanon.
'... the Lebanese Army's Rangers battalion, inspired by the Swiss Army's "Patrouille des Glaciers" ski running race in the Alps, decided it was high time to test their winter skills on mountains at home that boast the Middle East's best ski slopes.'

BBC News, 26 Mar 09
Uneven marking of Camp David deal
'Israel is marking 30 years since its first peace treaty with an Arab state, although in the other signatory, Egypt, there is little public acknowledgement.'

International Herald Tribune, 19 Mar 09, by Ethan Bronner
After Gaza, Israel grapples with crisis of isolation
'... in the weeks since its Gaza war, and as it prepares to inaugurate a hawkish right-wing government, [Israel] is facing its worst diplomatic crisis in two decades.'

Middle East Times, 19 Mar 09, by Sana Abdallah
Israel Cracks Down on Hamas After Talks Fail
'Israel's arrest of a dozen Palestinian Hamas politicians in the West Bank, in a renewed crackdown on the Islamist movement, is being seen as linked to the failure to negotiate the release of a captured Israeli soldier in the Gaza Strip.'

International Herald Tribune, 16 Mar 09, by Isabel Kershner
Israeli right negotiating a coalition of hawks
'... agreement [between the conservative Likud party and the nationalist Yisrael Beitenu party], reached late Sunday, assigned [Yisrael Beitenu's Avigdor] Lieberman, an often indelicate and outspoken politician who arouses suspicion and some trepidation abroad, as the next foreign minister of Israel.'

Christian Science Monitor, 12 Mar 09, by Nicholas Blanford
Why Syria and Saudi Arabia are talking again
'Saudi Arabia's steps to end its bitter dispute with Syria appear to be aimed at unifying Arabs against a trio of growing concerns: Iran's spreading influence in the region, the uncertainties of a US drawdown in Iraq, and the prospect of a right-wing government in Israel.'

International Herald Tribune, 11 Mar 09, by Michael Slackman
Libya frustrated with U.S. over weapons program deal
'Officials in Libya say they believe that Libya's limited payoff undermines the credibility of the United States as it presses other nations to abandon weapons programs.'

Christian Science Monitor, 05 Mar 09, by Howard LaFranchi
US courts Syria as linchpin to altered relations with Iran
'The Obama administration is taking the first step toward fulfilling the president's pledge to talk to America's adversaries by launching discussions with Syria, beginning this weekend. ... the big prize sought by engaging Damascus may be altered relations with Iran.'

Washington Post, 04 Mar 09, by Glenn Kessler
U.S. Sends Senior Officials to Syria To Revive Relations
'A rapprochement between the United States and Syria has the potential to reshape the Middle East if it results in Syria curtailing its ties to Iran and anti-Israeli militant groups in exchange for return of the Golan Heights, which Israel seized during the 1967 Arab-Israeli war.'

International Herald Tribune, 04 Mar 09, by Mark Landler
Iran a recurring theme in Clinton's Mideast trip
'Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said she was struck by the depth of fear about Iran, and the extent to which officials say it meddles in their affairs.'

Christian Science Monitor, 04 Mar 09, by Ilene R. Prusher
Clinton travels to a hardened Israel
'On Syria, Iran, and a Palestinian state, Israel's new leadership disagrees with the Obama administration.'

Middle East Times, 04 Mar 09, by Mel Frykberg
Israel Lays Out Red Lines for U.S. Relationship with Iran
'Israel and the new U.S. administration appear to be headed on a collision course. ... Apart from expected strong disagreement over a two-state solution to the protracted Israeli-Palestinian conflict by premier-designate Benjamin Netanyahu, there is also disagreement on how to deal with the alleged threat that Iran's nuclear program presents to the Jewish state.'

Christian Science Monitor, 19 Feb 09, by Ilene R. Prusher
Key prisoners at center of Israeli-Hamas negotiations
'Among the scores of Palestinian prisoners who Hamas wants freed in exchange for Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit is Marwan Barghouti, the most popular man in Fatah.'

The Telegraph, 16 Feb 09, by Philip Sherwell
Israel launches covert war against Iran
'Israel has launched a covert war against Iran as an alternative to direct military strikes against Tehran's nuclear programme, US intelligence sources have revealed.'

Arutz Sheva, 18 Feb 09, by Hillel Fendel
Terrorist Unrest in Judea and Samaria
'Thursday's Arab terrorism: A multi-faceted attack was thwarted near Elon Moreh, at least four Israeli vehicles were stoned by Arabs, and a firebomber targeted a bus.'

International Herald Tribune, 11 Feb 09, by Nazila Fathi and David E. Sanger
Better relations with Iran might mean trouble with Israel for U.S.
'An offer by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran to take up President Barack Obama's oft-repeated invitation for direct talks between the United States and Iran signals the start of a long-delayed war-or-peace drama that may help define the Obama administration's plans to remake America's approach to diplomacy.'

Middle East Times, 12 Feb 09, by Richard Sale
Israel's Intelligence Disaster
'Palestinian intelligence agents, working for Israel in its recent "Operation Cast Lead," were exposed and many of them captured or killed in the aftermath, U.S. officials said.'

International Herald Tribune, 01 Feb 09, by Isabel Kershner
Israel threatens 'disproportionate' response to rockets
'Olmert's statement came as Palestinian officials gathered in Cairo for talks with Egyptian officials who are trying to broker a durable cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. The Israeli government has expressed ambivalence about entering into any immediate agreement with Hamas, and its position remains unclear.'

International Herald Tribune, 05 Feb 09, by Sabrina Tavernise and Ethan Bronner
Gaza war strained Israeli relationship with Turkey
'Israel's Arab allies stood behind it in the war, but Turkey, a NATO member whose mediating efforts last year brought Israel into indirect talks with Syria, protested every step of the way ...'

Voice of America, 04 Feb 09, by Robert Berger
Israel: 'Time Running Out' After Iran Satellite Launch
'Israel says Iran's satellite launch is a "technological achievement" that points to a growing nuclear threat. A statement by Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak warned that Iran has improving missile technology capable of delivering a nuclear bomb that could hit Israel and beyond.'

Agence France Press, 04 Feb 09
Five rockets found in south Lebanon: army
'Lebanese soldiers and UN peacekeepers on Wednesday discovered five rockets in the south of the country five kilometres (three miles) from the Israeli border, the army and the UN said.'

Washington Post, 29 Jan 09, by Griff Witte
Middle East Envoy Urges 'Lasting Peace'
'Arms smuggling must halt, Mitchell says.'

International Herald Tribune, 29 Jan 09, by Isabel Kershner
Gaza violence complicates U.S. envoy's mission
'A day after President Barack Obama's special Middle East envoy called for a consolidation of the fragile Gaza cease-fire, the truce came under new strain Thursday when the Israeli military said Palestinians fired a rocket into Israel at dawn and news reports said Israel launched an air strike in response.'

International Herald Tribune, 28 Jan 09, by Isabel Kershner
U.S. envoy asks Israel and Hamas to tighten truce
'President Barack Obama's special Middle East envoy called Wednesday for a consolidation of the fragile Gaza truce, but Israel and Hamas seemed far apart on the issue of the reopening of the Gaza border crossings, a main Hamas demand for an lasting cease-fire.'

Christian Science Monitor, 28 Jan 09, by Ilene R. Prusher
Crux of Gaza cease-fire: border crossings
'Israel temporarily closed its crossings into Gaza Tuesday after a soldier was killed by a roadside bomb. After the attack, Israeli forces killed one Palestinian and wounded a senior militant.'

Christian Science Monitor, 27 Jan 09, by Kristen Chick
Palestinian attack breaches Gaza cease-fire
'Israel responds to a roadside bomb with an airstrike in Gaza.'

International Herald Tribune, 27 Jan 09, by Mark Landler
Envoy kicks off Obama's Mideast diplomacy
'President Barack Obama dispatched his special envoy, George Mitchell, to the Middle East on Monday, kicking off a diplomatic initiative that Obama pledged would be vigorous and sustained but would start off primarily as a listening tour.'

International Herald Tribune, 27 Jan 09, by Daniel Williams, Bloomberg News
Gaza crisis threatens outlook for Mubarak
'If negotiations fall apart, Egypt's credibility as a self-declared regional stabilizer and leader of the Arab world will be damaged.'

BBC News, 28 Jan 09, by Bethany Bell
Counting casualties of Gaza's war
'In any conflict the number of deaths - of combatants and civilians - is a highly sensitive topic.'

FOX News/AP, 22 Jan 09
Officials: U.S. Intercepts Iranian Arms-Smuggling Ship
'The search turned up ammunition that included artillery shells. But one official said that since Hamas is not known to use artillery, officials are now uncertain who the intended recipient was. They're asking Egypt to do another search when the ship arrives in port.'

International Herald Tribune, 21 Jan 09, by Ethan Bronner
Israel withdraws from Gaza
'After more than three weeks of fighting, Israeli troops completed their withdrawal from Gaza early on Wednesday, the military said, but residents reported the continued sound of what they said was naval gunfire in the waters off the Mediterranean coastline here.'

Middle East Times, 22 Jan 09, by Sana Abdallah
Palestinian Split Resurfaces After Israeli Military Pullout From Gaza
'... rivals Hamas and Fatah have resumed their strife amid increasing domestic and international calls for national reconciliation.'

International Herald Tribune, 22 Jan 09, by Ethan Bronner
Outcry over Israel's reported use of phosphorus in Gaza
'Militaries use white phosphorus widely to obscure the battlefield, but it is also limited under an international convention that bans its use against civilians.'

Christian Science Monitor, 22 Jan 09, by Shashank Bengali, McClatchy Newspapers
After Israeli withdrawal, Hamas asserts victory in Gaza
'Hamas officials emerged from weeks in hiding on Tuesday for a defiant "victory celebration" with their supporters outside the gutted parliament building, the latest sign that Israel's three-week assault neither broke the militant Islamist group nor weakened its control of the Gaza Strip.'

Christian Science Monitor, 21 Jan 09, by Shane Bauer
Will all Palestinian factions honor Hamas's cease-fire?
'Hamas may not be able to prevent other factions from attacking Israel, analysts say.'

Christian Science Monitor, 20 Jan 09, by Ilene R. Prusher
Gaza fighting pauses, but is the war over?
'Hamas and Israel have not agreed to terms of a mutual cease-fire agreement, worrying many that the war will soon start up again.'

International Herald Tribune, 19 Jan 09, by Ethan Bronner
Parsing gains of the war in Gaza
'... now that the battle is over – or has paused, after Hamas agreed Sunday to a one-week cease-fire with Israel – what has been accomplished is unclear. Have three weeks of overpowering war by Israel here weakened Hamas as Israel had hoped, or simply caused acute human suffering? ... Israel said its central aim was deterrence, to make Hamas lose the will to keep shooting at Israel's cities. Did it succeed?'

International Herald Tribune, 15 Jan 09, by Isabel Kershner
War on Hamas saps Palestinian leaders
'Israel hoped that the war in Gaza would not only cripple Hamas, but eventually strengthen its secular rival, the Palestinian Authority, and even allow it to claw its way back into Gaza.'

Christian Science Monitor, 15 Jan 09, by Ilene R. Prusher
Fatah, Hamas split widens amid Gaza war
'Members of the secular Fatah movement, which controls the Palestinian Authority, are divided over how the group should respond to the ongoing Israeli offensive against Hamas.'

International Herald Tribune, 15 Jan 09, by Taghreed El-Khodary and Isabel Kershner
Israel strikes UN complex in Gaza strip
'Amid reports that a United Nations building had been hit, Israeli forces shelled areas deep inside Gaza City and edged forward toward the city center Thursday, sending thousands of panicked residents fleeing from their homes, witnesses said.'

BBC News, 14 Jan 09
Israel pursues its Gaza offensive
'Fighting has intensified in the Gaza Strip between Israeli troops and Palestinian militants.'

Washington Post, 13 Jan 09, by Griff Witte
Israel's Top Leaders Weighing Their Next Steps in Gaza
'The moves came as negotiators in Cairo sought to reach a cease-fire agreement ... The talks in Egypt center on the question of how to keep Hamas from smuggling weapons across the Egypt-Gaza border. A senior Israeli official said Israel and Egypt are in basic agreement on a plan that would allow the European Union and the West Bank-based Palestinian Authority to share responsibility for monitoring the border and the crossing point at Rafah.'

Washington Post, 14 Jan 09, by Craig Whitlock
Hamas May Survive Offensive, Israel Says
'The Israeli officials said their strategy was to squeeze Hamas militarily as they try to pressure the Islamist movement into a truce that would include a long-term commitment to stop firing rockets into southern Israel. Some Hamas leaders have said they are willing to cut a deal, but others have pledged to continue fighting.'

Christian Science Monitor, 14 Jan 09, by Robert Marquand and Nicholas Blanford
Gaza: Israel under fire for alleged white phosphorus use
'On Tuesday, the Israeli army denied using white phosphorus munitions. A Norwegian doctor claims Israel is using Gaza as a "test laboratory for new weapons," including Dense Inert Metal Explosives, or DIME.'

International Herald Tribune, 13 Jan 09, by Taghreed El-Khodary and Sabrina Tavernise
Refugee surge raises concerns of a broader Gaza war
'Growing numbers of Palestinians are fleeing their homes for makeshift shelters in schools, office buildings and a park as the Israeli Army continues to press its military campaign deeper into the city of Gaza.'

International Herald Tribune, 12 Jan 09, by Michael Slackman
Gaza crisis imperils 2-state plan
'With every image of the dead in Gaza inflaming people across the Arab world, Egyptian and Jordanian officials are worried that they see a fundamental tenet of the Middle East peace process slipping away: the so-called two-state solution, an independent Palestinian state coexisting with Israel. Egypt and Jordan fear that they will be pressed to absorb the Palestinian populations now living beyond their borders.'

International Herald Tribune, 10 Jan 09, by Michael Slackman
Ordinary Arabs fume over Israeli invasion
'As the war in Gaza burned through its 14th day, Arab governments have felt their legitimacy challenged with an uncommon virulence. With each passing day, and each Palestinian death, the popularity of Hamas and other radical movements has ratcheted higher on the Arab street, while the standing of Arab leaders has suffered.'

Christian Science Monitor, 15 Jan 09, by Yigal Schleifer
Alleged coup plot probe roils Turkey
'Last week's arrest of senior military officers and the discovery of several weapons caches deepens the investigation into a suspected secularist coup plan.'

Christian Science Monitor, 08 Jan 09, by Joshua Mitnick
Can Egypt broker truce in Gaza once again?
'Hamas and Israel say they are weighing an Egyptian proposal for a cease-fire as international calls to end the conflict mount.'

International Herald Tribune, 08 Jan 09, by Steven Erlanger
Rockets fired from Lebanon into Israel's north
'Israel's conflict with Hamas in Gaza threatened to broaden on Thursday as at least three rockets were fired into the north of Israel from Lebanon. ... So far there has been no claim of responsibility. A spokeswoman for the militant group Hezbollah, which triggered a war with Israel in 2006 by firing rockets into northern Israel from Lebanon, said an investigation was underway.'

BBC News, 08 Jan 09, by Martin Asser
Who is behind Lebanon rockets?
'It is not that long ago that Israel was waging war in Gaza when Hezbollah militants opened up a second front with Lebanon.'

Washington Post, 08 Jan 09, by Griff Witte
Hamas Pulling Back Into Crowded Cities, Beckoning Israelis
'For army, pursuit is tempting but risky. ... Analysts say that unleashing ground forces in Gazan cities and refugee camps would almost certainly allow Hamas to launch a campaign of urban warfare featuring sniper fire, suicide attacks and car bombs.'

Christian Science Monitor, 07 Jan 09, by Nicholas Blanford
Deepening Israeli assault on Hamas divides Arab world
'Across the Arab world the conflict continues to tear at the rift between factions that extol resistance to Israel and the Western-friendly autocracies and monarchies that rule in the region. As anger at Israel grows, Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas backers in Iran and Syria gain more currency on the street at the expense of American allies: Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Jordan. And this shifting tide of support could have an impact on US policy in the Middle East for decades.'

Middle East Times, 08 Jan 09, by The Media Line News Agency
Leadership Crisis Emerging in Palestinian Authority
'A constitutional leadership crisis is looming over the Palestinian Authority as Jan. 9 – the date that PA Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' term officially ends – draws near.'

International Herald Tribune, 07 Jan 09, by Steven Erlanger
For Israel, lessons learned from 2006, but old pitfalls
'Israel is applying the military insight it gained from the 2006 war against Hezbollah, but diplomatic lessons do not seem to have been so well applied.'

International Herald Tribune, 06 Jan 09, by Ethan Bronner
Israel puts clamp on foreign media
'Like all wars, this one is partly about public relations. But unlike any war in Israel's history, in this one, the government is seeking to control entirely the message and narrative for reasons both of politics and military strategy.'

International Herald Tribune, 05 Jan 09, by Robert F. Worth
Hezbollah unlikely to enter Mideast conflict, analysts say
'First, Hezbollah still believes its ally Hamas will triumph. Second, it cannot risk drawing Lebanon into another devastating conflict like the one in 2006. Hezbollah is still politically vulnerable at home.'

2008 Middle East and North Africa stories
2007 Middle East and North Africa stories