More countries are suspending funding for UNRWA. Estonia, France, and Japan joined the party. Meanwhile, the UN (and UNRWA in particular) went into damage control mode. They claim to be shocked by the revelations and claim that a dozen individuals shouldn’t be enough to blacken the reputation of the thousands working for UNRWA. Well, that … More Gaza War 29 Jan
There are over 50 warships in the Red Sea – Persian Gulf – Indian Ocean area. The US and UK have attacked Yemeni/Houthi installations involved in interfering with merchant shipping in the area. The response, so far, has been for the Houthis to threaten the Americans, Iran even got into the picture by seizing a … More Gaza War 14 Jan
The shift in operations by the IDF is becoming more and more obvious. Not only have many reservists been pulled out to be released from combat duty, but the pace of operations has become much slower in parts of Gaza. The search for hostages and for Hamas leaders continues in the southern sector. There are … More Gaza War 8 Jan
Last night in an upscale neighborhood of Beirut there was a blast in what probably had been thought a ‘safe’ apartment. The third floor location does not appear to have any overt connection to any terrorist organization, but it was the site of some sort of gathering of Hamas leaders in Lebanon. At least one … More Gaza War 3 Jan
The UN Security Council passed another rather bland resolution on the Gaza War. It calls for more aid and asks for the “immediate and unconditional” release of all hostages. Predictably, Hamas ignored the hostage release part. Hamas also attacked the resolution for not including a call for an immediate cease-fire. Could it be that Hamas … More Gaza War 24 Dec
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…
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
UNIFIL (UNITED NATIONS INTERIM FORCE IN LEBANON) just had it’s annual mandate renewed on August 29th. The organization currently comprises some 10,500 personnel from over 40 countries. Participation ranges from over 1300 Indonesians to single individuals from several different countries. What they have in common is an assignment to try to keep the Lebanon-Israel border … More UNIFIL is still with us
Wetherhorn 