It seemed to have started with the Israeli Defense Forces arresting the local head of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) in Jenin. That was on Thursday. The PIJ is a pseudo-political Islamist terror group based mostly in the Gaza strip. They immediately demanded the release of their leader, and backed it up with threats of … More Local Tensions
The Media seems full of reports on murders, assassinations, and mass killings. I’m going to focus on just part of them. I mentioned Shireen Abu Akleb in a previous post. The main change is that CNN decided to blame Israel after an investigation that consulted ONLY proponents of the Palestinian claims. Small wonder that they … More Assassinations !?
The UN has just, once again, given the world a large serving of Red Herring. For anyone who might not be familiar with the term, a Red Herring is not a fish. A red herring is something that misleads or distracts from a relevant or important question. In this case. it’s talking about the Arab-Israel … More Red Herring at the UN
The question is asked because f the way the media seem to be treating the latest terror attacks by Hamas against Israel. The justification Hamas gives for their actions is not important. I have no difficulty in listening to their complaints. But I cannot abide them using ANY complaint as a justification for indiscriminate violent … More When Does “Even-Handed” Become Pro-Terrorism?
In the USA there has been a lot of talk about how newly inaugurated President Biden will deal with his campaign promise to rejoin a diplomatic deal to keep Iran from having nuclear weapons. I decided to throw out a few thoughts about this and see what some of you who read my blog might … More Yemen – Thinking About a Different Part of the Middle East.
We’re very preoccupied with Corona virus. It seems the rest of the world is, too. Nobody hears much from India or Iran or Turkey. They’re busy with the virus. But there are other Arab countries around us that have different things on their minds. The United Arab Emirates are on their way to making a … More And Meanwhile, In the Arab World…
As always, the Middle East, where I live, is full of “interesting” news. The most important item, in my view, came a few days ago. The United Arab Emirates decided to make a normal peace treaty with Israel. The two sides are formalizing relations and looking into various mutually beneficial trade , commerce, and health … More Extortion Politics
One of the things one does when confined to quarters by COVID19 is to rummage through drawers and shelves. I was doing that when I came across a letter of thanks I received over 30 years ago for a job well done. I was the team leader/project manager for a software project for CITICORP bank … More I Saved This Letter
The Islamic Jihad sent two “soldiers” to plant an explosive device on the Israeli side of the Gaza line. Israeli forces saw them, opened fire, and killed them. This has resulted in a series of escalations on both sides. The terrorist group is allowed to operate freely in the Gaza strip by the Hamas governing … More Good Neighbors?
A major obstacle to reaching an accommodation between Israel and the Palestinians has always been Jerusalem. The Palestinians have claimed that all or part of the city is theirs and that it is their capital. The fact that they actually run their services from Ramallah doesn’t affect that claim. Even the UN partition resolution of … More Deal of the Century – part 3
Wetherhorn 