On August 9, 2026, Israeli settlers surrounded three houses in the Ras al-Ain area of Qusra, a Palestinian village southeast of Nablus in the West Bank. The settlers pitched a tent just outside the homes, then cut their power lines and broke their water pipes. Fifteen people were living in the homes, including at least two children, at the time […]

Qatar has undergone a period of deep introspection over the past few months. On July 12, 2026, Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al Thani—the visionary former leader who helped transform modern Qatar into a regional and global powerhouse during his 18-year reign—passed away at the age of 74. Sheikh Hamad’s death came just six weeks after that of his lifelong friend […]

President Trump reportedly rejected Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s repeated requests for US strikes on the Houthis as the group seized the Red Sea port city of Mokha and advanced toward the Bab al-Mandab Strait.

The 'war on terror' made Israeli repression easier to present as part of a shared struggle against a common enemy.

When Fatima, a mother of two in Yemen, went into labor with her third child in May 2025, there was initially little cause for concern.  But Yemen is a poor country—one of the poorest in the world—and many residents live in rural areas that can be up to 12 hours away from a medical facility. Other factors, including high levels […]

Ingie Gohar reports on congressional efforts to withdraw funding from colleges for engaging in the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement; further US strikes on Iranian territory and shipping; US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee’s characterization of violent settlers as “terrorists”; and approved US foreign military sales to Iraq, Oman, and Saudi Arabia, totaling around $6.9 billion.

While the polling data may be eye-catching, interpreting the numbers requires reading Palestinian public sentiment correctly at an unprecedented moment. Misreading that sentiment risks drawing the wrong conclusion from the PCPSR poll.

The White House’s new measures will not force Iran’s capitulation. Instead, they will reinforce the resolve of the hardline security officials to entrench their power. But this process of regime securitization is hardly complete.

The Department of the Treasury launched a new sanctions campaign, dubbed “Operation Economic Outcast,” aimed at further isolating Iran economically. The Treasury sanctioned nearly 60 individuals, entities, and vessels linked to Iranian oil revenues, nuclear and missile procurement, and cyber operations,

LONDON: The first extradition from Lebanon to Damascus of a former member of the Assad regime’s military leadership marks an important step in Syria’s long and difficult journey toward transitional justice. “It is a good sign,” said Anwar Al-Bunni, a Syrian human rights lawyer, former political prisoner and president of the Syrian Center for Legal Studies and Research.

The US-Saudi Arabia Nuclear Cooperation Agreement caused some observers to scratch their heads. Why would a country bother with nuclear energy when it holds a fifth of the world’s oil, in a region with 40 percent of global natural gas, and enough sunshine to generate the world’s cheapest solar power?

Turkey-Iraq relations have undergone a significant transformation over the past two years. For much of the post-2003 period, relations between Ankara and Baghdad were dominated by disputes over security, sovereignty, and Turkey’s relations with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG). Turkey conducted military operations against the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in northern Iraq largely unilaterally, while Baghdad protested violations of Iraqi […]

Since the start of the US-Israel war on Iran in February 2026, dozens of citizens of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan have been injured by debris falling from intercepted Iranian missiles that were headed to Israel or were targeting sites in Jordan. When the war began, the United States correctly assumed that its troops in the Gulf would become targets […]

I. Legislative Branch 1) Personnel and Correspondence Jeffries Calls on Trump Administration to Address Israeli Settler Violence in West Bank. On August 17, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) called on the Trump administration to press the Israeli government to protect Palestinian civilians from violent settlers besieging homes in the occupied West Bank. House Democrats Question Looser UAE Export Controls. […]

Earlier this month, Lebanon and Israel wrapped up another negotiating session in Rome—the seventh since their signing of the June 26, 2026, US-brokered Framework Agreement in Washington. The imbalance of power between the two countries is both clear and consequential: Israel is dictating how the agreement applies to its withdrawal from South Lebanon and the disarmament of Hezbollah. Bereft of […]

Despite the headlines, the Mecca agreement is unlikely to produce a real military response if an attack happens. Not only has the text of the accord not been made publicly available, but the agreement does not establish a joint command, standing forces, or any specified trigger mechanism. While some analysts have concluded that the language carries political weight without operational content, the other component of the agreement—defense cooperation—might be more transformative.