Afghanistan

Kabul Art Project – Shamsa Hassani who told Art Radar: I want to make Afghanistan famous because of its art, not its War.

EU

EU Funding Illegal Palestinian Building, Report Claims -Jake Wallis Simons (Daily Mail-UK) The EU is acting illegally by funding more than 400 unauthorized Palestinian homes in 17 locations in Area C of the West Bank, which was placed under Israeli jurisdiction during the Oslo Accords

European 'No-Go' Zones: Fact or Fiction? Part 2: Britain – Soren Kern (Gatestone Institute)

Iran

Pentagon: Islamic State a Top U.S. Challenge, Iran Faces No Barriers to Producing a Nuclear Weapon- David Lerman and Anthony Capaccio (Bloomberg)

How Iran Is Making It Impossible for the U.S. to Beat ISIS- Michael Weiss and Michael Pregent (Daily Beast) There are more than 50 "highly ideological, anti-American, and rabidly sectarian" Shia militias operating in Iraq today, and recruiting more to their ranks, all with the acquiescence of the central government. Iraq's Vice President for Reconciliation, Ayad Allawi, a secular Shia, told the Guardian that pro-government forces have been ethnically cleansing Sunnis from Baghdad. Thus, Sunni tribesmen are given a choice between cutting a pragmatic deal with ISIS or embracing Shia death squads.

Revolutionary Guards Commander: Iran Helping Syria, Iraq, Hizbullah, and Palestine (Press TV-Iran)

Iraq

Anbar Tribes Form Joint Coalition Against ISIS - Manaf Al-Obaidi (Asharq Al-Awsat-UK)

Partners for Peace?

Israeli, PA Security Forces Cooperate Against Islamic State- Avi Issacharoff (Times of Israel)

Abbas' Fatah promotes rocket attacks against Israel - Itamar Marcus and Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Why Is Hamas Smiling? - Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute) The Palestinian Fatah faction is currently embroiled in a bitter and violent power struggle between PA President Mahmoud Abbas and his major rival, Mohamed Dahlan. The streets of Gaza have become scenes of violent clashes between supporters of Abbas and Dahlan.

Russia

Security Council Condemns Killing of Spanish Peacekeeper, But Not Killing of 2 IDF Soldiers - Cara Anna (AP) A council diplomat said Russia blocked a French-drafted statement on Tuesday that would have condemned the Hizbullah attack on the Israeli soldiers as a violation of the resolution that ended the 2006 war.

Syria

Islamic State Executed 98 People in January 2015 (DPA)

Crowds in Syria Cheer While Watching 'Burning of Pilot' Film (The Clarion Project)

United States

U.S. Seen in Middle East as Ally of Terrorists - Khaled Abu Toameh (Gatestone Institute)

Vaccines, Racists, and the Discriminatory Standard (CAMERA) In the United States, government often penalizes those who don't vaccinate their children, for example, by barring the children from attending public schools. Why, then, hasn't U.S. immunization policy been described as racist in the pages of major newspapers? Both The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal  have relayed the absurd charge that Israel's policy penalizing families that don't immunize children amounts to anti-Arab discrimination.

Uruguay

Uruguay Expels Iranian Envoy Suspected of Helping Place Bomb near Israeli Embassy - Barak Ravid (Ha'aretz)

Yemen

Houthis attempting to control Yemen's Bab El-Mandeb strait (Asharq Al-Awsat)

Implications of the Houthi coup-detat in Yemen – Josheph Karam (Foreign Policy)

While we keep hearing that the latest conflicts in the Middle East are between Sunni and Shi'a, we often see Sunni on Sunni violence. Jay Ogilvy in Mind the Gap at Stratfor links the latest conflicts to a conflict between those who have made it and those who haven't, rather than solely to religious motivations. The Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy (CSID) suggests terrorism is a result of the conflict between the region and western values.  Click this link to IPT for more on CSID. My understanding of MEMRI's analysis is that there's nothing for the West to do but rescue those at risk of annihilation. What's your take?

Argentina

Deal with Iran at Root of Argentine Prosecutor's Death Mystery - Brian Winter and Nicolas Misculin (Reuters)

Argentine Journalist Who Reported Nisman's Death Flees to Israel(Ynet News)

Britain

Qatar buys part of British Airways, prompting security concerns (Times of Israel)


Greece

Victory of Syriza Party in Greece Is Bad News for Israel (European Jewish Press)

Iran

Iran's History of Nuclear Deceit Is Why There Hasn't Been a Deal Yet - Emanuele Ottolenghi (Business Insider)

Iraq

Yazidi girls tell of escape from IS – (Almonitor)

Beyond front lines in Iraq, a forgotten force faces Islamic State – Mitchell Prothero (McClatchy)

Jordan

Jordan threatens to hang all Daesh prisoners if pilot is killed (Albawaba News)

Patners for Peace?

PLO Ambassador expresses joy over Hezbollah bombing - Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Where's the Coverage? Israeli Program Educates and Supports Palestinian Farmers (CAMERA) The latest untold story: Positive interaction between Israelis and Palestinian Arabs. Shhhh!

Hamas Ends Boycott of Israeli Products in Gaza - Nasouh Nazzal (Gulf News-Dubai)

10,000 Palestinian Teens Graduate Hamas Terror Camp, Practice Tunnel Attacks Against Israel- Elior Levy (Ynet News)

Russia

Are Russia’s Black Widows Spreading? - Andrew Foxall (World Affairs Journal) The recent suicide bombing in Istanbul was the first terrorist attack to be carried out by a Russian woman in Europe. The West should take note.

Syria

Hezbollah's tactical shift against Israel – Ben Caspit (Al-Monitor) Hezbollah is opening another front against Israel in the Golan Heights, where it can blame other organizations for possible escalations.

Who's Who in the Syrian War (Clarion Project)

Turkey

Calls To Kill President Al-Sisi And Egyptian Journalists On Muslim Brotherhood TV Channels Based In Turkey (MEMRI)

United States

There Were No Palestine Borders, And No Palestine, in 1967 (CAMERA) A New York Times story included erroneous and anachronistic language about Israel's "1967 borders with Palestine." In 1967, of course, there was no country, territory, or entity called Palestine. 

White House tiptoes around use of word ‘terrorism’ - Julie Pace (Times of Israel)

Argentina

Who will obtain justice for Alberto Nisman? - David Howrovitz (Times of Israel)

Egypt

Human Rights Watch and the Destruction of Rafah - Elliott Abrams (Council on Foreign Relations) The government of Egypt is destroying Rafah, a town in Egypt on the border of Gaza, leaving thousands of Egyptians homeless, in an effort to create a buffer zone along the border.

Egypt Uncovers Explosives-Laden Smuggling Tunnel between Sinai, Gaza(Maan News-PA)

European Union

EU to Appeal Ruling that Hamas Should Be Off Terror List (Reuters) EU will appeal last month's decision by the EU's General Court that the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas should be removed from the bloc's terrorist list. As a result of the appeal, Hamas will remain on the EU's terrorism list and its assets will remain frozen for now, pending a final judgment by the European Court of Justice.

Iran

Waning Public Support for Tehran’s Nuclear Aspirations - Ali Alfoneh (FDD) Iran’s regime is at odds with itself over the costs and benefits of its controversial nuclear program.

Partners for Peace?

Todays' terror attack in which over a dozen Israelis were stabbed in a bus in Tel Aviv is a result of the ongoing violence promotion carried out by Mahmoud Abbas' Palestinian Authority and Fatah. - Nan Jacques Zilberdik (PMW)

Hamas leaders praise Tel Aviv stabbing as ‘heroic’ - Elhanan Miller (Times of Israel)

Arsonists Torch Car of Palestinian Professor Who Led Auschwitz Trip(Ha'aretz) In 2007 Dajani founded Wasatia, a social and political movement based on concepts of moderation, pluralism, democracy and justice that he found in the Quran. Following the March 2014 trip, he was denounced as a traitor and collaborator, and expelled from the Al-Quds University workers' union. 

Russia

Report: Russia May Send S-300 Missile System to Iran - Thomas Grove (Reuters)

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia arrests man for filming public beheading (Times of Israel) Many Twitter users protested the video being circulated on the Internet because it could be seen by the woman’s family, but did not object to the beheading itself.

Syria

Jihad Mughniyah, Son of Hizbullah Commander, and Six Iranians Killed in Israeli Strike in Syria(Ya Libnan-Lebanon) They were preparing an attack on Israel (a raid on Galilee) and the airstrike took place near Quneitra, close to the ceasefire line separating Syria and Israel. Twelve people in all were killed. One of the six Iranians was General Mohammed Ali Allahdadi of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards.

Iran's New Terror Base against Israel - Yaakov Lappin (Gatestone Institute) Over the past 18 months, Hezbollah and its enablers from the Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps [IRGC] have begun launching a series of attacks on Israel from their new center of operations in southern Syria.

Turkey

Islamic State Has Sleeper Cells throughout Turkey(IHS Jane's Intelligence Weekly) A leaked intelligence report by the Turkish national police warns of the presence of Islamic State "sleeper cells" throughout the country, comprising around 3,000 people. Furthermore, last week Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu revealed concerns about the possible return of at least 700 Turkish citizens currently fighting for the Islamic State.

United States

CNN's Christiane Amanpour and "Activists" (CAMERA) Whether Amanpour made an honest mistake or not, the outrage she elicited by calling the Paris terrorists "activists" is reasonable because terminology matters...