Middle East Minute by AL-MONITOR

The Biden administration does not believe Israel is likely to achieve “total victory” in its war against Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip, a group of Israeli settlers attacked a large Jordanian aid convoy in the West Bank and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says over 1,000 Hamas members are being treated in Turkey. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Pr...

The United Nations General Assembly voted to grant the Palestinians additional rights in the global institution, a US container ship loaded with aid headed to Gaza from Cyprus and Israel’s presence in the Eurovision Song Contest has triggered protests in the host city. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

The State Department will soon report to Congress on whether Israel is using US-supplied weapons in compliance with international humanitarian law after missing a May 8 deadline, Iran warns it will change its nuclear doctrine if threatened by Israel and in North Africa, where political speech is harshly policed, fans are showing solidarity with Palestinians in soccer stadiums. See Privacy Policy a...

After Steinmeier’s visit to Turkey, defense deals appear on the horizon as commercial aircraft deals pass. CIA chief William Burns met Wednesday in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss the push for a hostage release and cease-fire deal, while negotiations continue in Cairo; the Biden administration paused a munitions shipment to Israel last week over Rafah incursion concerns; a...

Houthi rebels on Friday threatened to extend their attacks on Israel-bound shipping to the Mediterranean, International Criminal Court prosecutors warned about "individuals who threaten to retaliate" against the tribunal or its staff and Tunisian journalists and opposition figures have voiced alarm about a surge of prosecutions since President Kais Saied's “fake news” decree. See Privacy Policy at...

Doubts have grown over the fate of an Israel-Gaza cease-fire deal as the week nears a close, EU chief Ursula von der Leyen announces $1 billion in aid to Lebanon and retail food chains Starbucks, McDonald's and KFC continue to count their losses from boycotts over the Gaza war. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my...

Tuesday brought rising hopes for a Gaza truce and hostage release deal as the world waits for Hamas' response to the latest proposal. Abu Dhabi-backed RedBird IMI has withdrawn its offer to buy the UK newspaper conglomerate Telegraph Media Group, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken headed Tuesday to Jordan and Israel and the ICJ ruled not to grant provisional measures requested by Nicaragua in it...

The United States is nearly ready with a security package to offer Saudi Arabia if it normalizes relations with Israel, Israel is preparing for the International Criminal Court to issue arrest warrants for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and senior members of his cabinet over alleged war crimes in Gaza and France's top diplomat urged de-escalation between Israel and Hezbollah on Sunday. See Priv...

Pro-Palestinian protests have rocked universities across the United States, spreading to over 20 campuses this week. At George Washington University, Al-Monitor talks to students at the pro-Palestine encampment and counter-protesters holding Israeli and American flags. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

More than 100 pro-Palestinian protesters were arrested Wednesday at two universities in California and Texas, a suspected Israeli drone attack hit eastern Lebanon on Thursday and Turkey’s Central Bank keeps interest rates at 50% despite rising inflation. On a lighter note, Turkey’s endangered Van cats from the province bordering Iran are rebounding. See Privacy Policy at https:...

Saudi Arabia's aging King Salman entered the hospital for "routine examinations" Wednesday, US Congress approves $13 billion in military aid and a high-level North Korean economic delegation embarked on a rare public visit to Iran. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info .

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken suggested Monday the State Department would make public this week its plan to withhold aid from an Israeli military unit, the Israel-Hamas war entered its 200th day and an independent review of UNRWA finds “neutrality-related issues” but not enough evidence to substantiate Israeli allegations. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and Califo...

Israel's military intelligence chief has resigned after taking responsibility for failures leading to the Hamas attack on Oct. 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan arrived Monday in neighboring Iraq and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei praised the country's armed forces for their direct attack on Israel as a "success.” See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California...

Israel carried out retaliatory strikes against Iran early on Friday, reportedly targeting locations in the west of the country. Explosions were heard in the city of Isfahan, prompting commercial flights to divert from their routes. In Washington, an IMF official says economies in the Middle East and North Africa face a "shadow of uncertainty" from ongoing tensions in the r...

Tech giant Google fired 28 of its employees on Wednesday after they staged a sit-in protest over an Israeli cloud contract, UN special envoy for Libya Abdoulaye Bathily tendered his resignation and Turkey prepares to welcome Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh this weekend while Qatar reevaluates its mediation role between Israel and the Palestinian militant group. See Privacy Policy at https://...

Iran paraded drones, missiles and soldiers on Wednesday to show its battle readiness while Israel faces pressure from its allies not to strike back as Washington puts together new sanctions against Tehran. Dubai's giant highways are swept by floods and the UN Security Council is expected to vote Thursday on the Palestinians' application to become a full UN member state. See Privacy Policy at https...

Jordan's King Abdullah II has stressed his country must not become "the theater of a regional war,” a slew of threats are coming out of Tehran against an Israeli response to the Iranian attack and Gulf states are grappling with the widening Middle East conflict. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info...

Israel and Iran accused one another at the United Nations Sunday of being the main threat to peace in the Middle East, Hamas and witnesses said Israel struck war-battered Gaza overnight and commercial flights across the Middle East remained severely disrupted on Monday. Sudan is marking one year since the devastating civil conflict erupted, triggering a  humanitarian crisis  that UN agen...

Palestinians gathered Wednesday for morning prayers on the first day of the Eid al-Fitr holiday among the ruins of Gaza. President Joe Biden labeled Israel's approach to the war a "mistake,” while the US defense secretary said the Pentagon had no evidence Israel is committing genocide. Iran claimed Israel is expanding its presence in the UAE and Lebanon vowed to “get tough” on Syrians after the ki...

Israel's military and political apparatuses remain convinced that Iran is planning a large attack. Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian is on a regional tour of Oman and Syria. Hamas said Tuesday it was considering a new truce framework proposed during the latest talks in Cairo. And Jordanian protests continue on Amman’s streets during Ramadan as a show of solidarity with Palestinians...

Voting in Kuwait came to a close Thursday at midnight, handing opposition lawmakers a victory and a continued majority in the country’s parliament. The White House threatened to change its support for Israel if "specific, concrete and measurable steps" to limit further harm to civilians and aid workers in the war aren't implemented, Mcdonald's Israel operator has agreed to sell its busin...

As fears of national unrest spread, Turkey’s High Election Board reversed a decision to annul the victory of the pro-Kurdish DEM Party’s local candidate in the country’s Kurdish-majority southeast. Biden and Netanyahu will speak Thursday on the phone for the first time since an Israeli strike killed workers of a US-based aid organization, Israeli war cabinet member Benny Gantz calle...

A decade on, Washington has inked a plan to restore its diplomatic presence in Libya. Protests spread in Turkey after local election authorities in the country’s Kurdish-majority southeast region annulled a victory by the pro-Kurdish DEM Party, instead awarding the seat to the AKP candidate. President Joe Biden has downsized the traditional Ramadan event at the White House and the World Bank estim...

The US-based charity World Central Kitchen has announced it's pausing operations after an Israeli strike killed seven of its staff unloading food brought to Gaza, a commander in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was killed in a suspected Israeli strike in Syria and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was sworn in for his third term as leader of the Arab world's most populous nation. See...

Turkey's opposition emerges victorious from the municipal elections after voters send a clear message to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, mass protests rock Israel as calls for fresh elections intensify and in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Palestinian Ambassador to the United Nations Riyad Mansour says Palestine will bid for full UN membership this month. See Privacy Policy at https://art...