Category: 2. Middle East

The Al-Quds Brigades, the military wing of the Palestinian Islamic Jihad movement, has urged the new Syrian administration to release two of its commanders, detained on Sunday evening, Quds Press reported.

In a statement issued on Tuesday, the movement said the two commanders, Engineer Khaled Khaled, who is in charge of Syrian ties and Engineer Yasser Al-Zafari, head of the organisational committee were arrested “without clarification” and in a manner “we…

After decades spent pruning thorny bushes and working arduous harvests, Khalaf Allah al-Talhi has perfected the art of capturing the fragrant aroma of the desert rose in a bottle.

“I love roses and take care of them more than I care for my own children,” the 80-year-old told AFP from his flower farm in western Saudi Arabia’s Taif.

Known as “the city of roses”, the hills of Taif produce around 300 million of the area’s signature pink roses annually at 800 flower farms.

By his own estimates,…

US President Donald Trump’s return to power has emboldened Israeli leaders’ push to increase military presence in Gaza and reinvigorated right-wing ambitions to annex the occupied West Bank, experts say.

After a phone call Tuesday with Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump said on social media: “We are on the same side of every issue.”

In Gaza, where the war sparked by Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel has raged for more than 18 months, Trump’s comeback meant “big changes”…

The United Nations on Tuesday appointed an envoy to complete a “strategic assessment” of the agency charged with aiding Palestinians, a spokesman said.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres appointed Ian Martin of the United Kingdom to review the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, or UNRWA, to gauge the “political, financial, security” constraints the agency faces.

The organization, broadly considered to be the backbone of humanitarian aid delivery for embattled Palestinians, has withstood a…

With the publication of Palestine Across Millennia – A History of Literacy, Learning, and Educational Revolutions by Nur Masalha in Brazil, MEMO Publishers completes in Portuguese the foundational trilogy by the renowned historian to understand present-day Palestine, viewed through the lens of its uniquely rich historical development.

This is not the Palestine of the media. It is not the Palestine without people or culture as described by Zionism. Nor is it the…

An investigation by Israel’s public broadcaster, KAN, has revealed that the Israeli military fabricated the discovery of a tunnel in the Philadelphi Corridor along the Gaza-Egypt border, claiming the structure was, in fact, a shallow canal, Anadolu Agency reports.

Last August, the army published photos of an alleged tunnel in the demilitarised area along the border.

“There was never a tunnel, but a canal covered in dirt,” KAN said.

The purpose of this lie…

At least 47 more civilians were killed in artillery shelling by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, the military said on Tuesday.

A military statement said that the rebel group continued its “indiscriminate bombardment” of the city, firing around 250 artillery shells at the city’s neighbourhoods, Anadolu Agency reports.

Ten women were among the victims, while dozens of civilians were…

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, discussed Iran’s nuclear programme on Tuesday with the visiting leader of Oman, Sultan Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, a Kremlin official was quoted as saying, Reuters reports.

Oman has been mediating between Iran and the United States as President Donald Trump seeks an agreement that would curb Iran’s nuclear programme, which Washington believes is aimed at developing a nuclear weapon.

“We discussed the progress of…

Russian President, Vladimir Putin, announced on Tuesday that Russia will host a special Russian-Arab summit later this year, Anadolu Agency reports.

The announcement came during Putin’s meeting at the Kremlin with the Omani Sultan, Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, the first-ever state visit of the Arab country’s Sultan to Russia.

Putin noted that Sultan Haitham and his accompanying delegation have been invited to take part in the upcoming event.

“We are planning…

Gazans repair water tanks punctured by Israel’s shells [Mohammed Asad/MiddleEastMonitor]

Gazans repair water tanks punctured by Israel’s shells [Mohammed Asad/MiddleEastMonitor]

Gazans repair water tanks punctured by Israel’s shells [Mohammed Asad/MiddleEastMonitor]

As Israel continues its blockade of Gaza, Palestinians are now working to repair water tanks which have been ruptured by Israel’s tank shells and bombs.