Middle East Update

On Monday January 8, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert expressed his disappointment with the results of Israel’s unilateral withdrawals from both Lebanon and Gaza, saying that the consequent violence in both arenas convinced him that there is no point in any future moves of this kind. Olmert said that he believes in the establishment of [...]

Former prime minister Ariel Sharon told President George W. Bush ahead of the US-led invasion of Iraq of the dangers Saddam Hussein posed for the region, but also warned him that the Arab world would not be receptive to democracy, former ambassador to the US Danny Ayalon told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday.

Labor Knesset Member Raleb Majadele became the first Israeli Arab cabinet minister in the history of the State on Wednesday January 10, when under-fire party leader Amir Peretz appointed him to the Science, Technology, Culture, and Sports portfolio vacated by Labor leadership challenger Ophir Pines-Paz in November. Its suspected this is a ploy [...]

Hamas denied Wednesday December 10, that its Damascus-based political chief Khaled Mashaal said in a Reuters interview that his group would consider recognizing Israel once a Palestinian state is established, “There was no change in our stance that Hamas does not recognize Israel,” he said.

In a major policy speech to the American nation on Wednesday night December 10, President George W. Bush issued a warning to Iran and Syria, accusing them of taking deliberate action against U.S. forces in Iraq and enabling aid transfers to insurgents. Bush said the U.S. intends to take action against Iranian proxies in Iraq, [...]

President Bush’s proposal to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq encountered strong bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill yesterday Thursday January 11 , and his top national security advisers, dispatched to defend the strategy, were greeted with a skepticism not seen from Congress over the past six years.
(By Michael Abramowitz and Jonathan Weisman, The Washington Post)

The Washington Post reports that Hizb’Allah and its allies widened their campaign Tuesday January 9, to force the Western-backed Lebanese government’s resignation, with what they promised would be a series of daily protests across the capital. So far, Prime Minister Fouad Siniora’s government has refused to resign, but by paralyzing it, Hizb’Allah has checked what [...]

MK’s: ‘We never knew how much we’d need Christian support’Israeli Knesset Members and Christian leaders vowed to work together to confront the threat posed by Iran and radical Islam during a meeting held to mark the Knesset Christian Allies Caucus’s third anniversary in the Knesset on Tuesday January 9.

As up to 50,000 Iraqis flee their homes every month, the U.N.’s refugee agency said Monday Jan 8, that it will seek $60 million this year to help the roughly 3.7 million people displaced by violence in the war-ravaged nation.

Reuters reported Tuesday January 9, that the United States is expected to announce sanctions against the largest Iranian commercial bank under a presidential order aimed at freezing the assets of proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and their supporters. US officials hope that this first step will set an example for other countries [...]