The New Arab Voice

With the start of war in Gaza, the Houthi movement in Yemen decided that it would also do what it can to provide support to the people of Palestine.  It decided the best thing that it could do was to attack commercial shipping lanes in the Red Sea, of the coast of Yemen. They have fired missiles, launched drone attacks, attacked ships by sea, boarded ships and taken people hostage.  On 1...

A new year and a new season of The New Arab Voice podcast.  This week, we continue with the story that has dominated the Middle since October: the war in Gaza.  While we were away the violence did not cease nor slow down. The death toll has now passed 23,000, the vast majority women and children. Additionally, over 60,000 have been injured.  There have been developments related to t...

Last week we looked back at the first six months of 2023, and this week, we're completing the year with refresher on the last six months of the year.  We remember the arguments at the UN Security Council over Syrian aid delivery, the release of Patrick Zaki, the deadly wedding fire in Iraq, the COP28 in Dubai, and of course, the deadly Hamas attack of 7 October and the following war in Gaza.&...

2023 is drawing to a close and we’re spending our last two episodes of the year to look back over the past twelve months and the stories that have shaped the Middle East.  For our first episode of our review, we look at the months from January to June, with help from some of The New Arab’s journalists, correspondents, and editors.  We remember the earthquake in Turkey, the normalisation...

The Hamas attack of 7 October shook Israel to its core.  It was a horrifying day that left at least 1,200 people dead, saw hundreds taken hostage, and a country deeply traumatised.  Israel responded with a deadly barrage of airstrikes and bombardment. This assault continues to this day, and has so far killed over 17,000 people, and turned huge areas of Gaza into desolate wasteland. ...

The ceasefire in Gaza didn’t last, but seven days without experiencing intense Israeli bombardments is certainly welcome.  During the seven days when the worst of the violence was stopped, aid was able to get to the desperate people of Gaza, but additionally it allowed for the release of hostages, held by Hamas. In exchange, Palestinians held by Israel would also be released from Israeli pris...

The death toll from the conflict in Gaza passed 14,000 this week.  With a ceasefire starting on Friday evening, international diplomacy is happening, but so is the conflict.  The recent four-day ceasefire and prisoner swap was negotiated by Qatar and Israel’s closest ally, the US.  This week on The New Arab Voice, we look over the recent events in Gaza, including the siege of Al-Shi...

Violence in Gaza has continued to intensify.  The death toll passed the grim milestone this week, with over 10,000 now killed.  In addition to the ongoing violence in Gaza, the West Bank is also seeing an increased level of attacks by Israeli settlers and increased oppression by the Israeli occupation forces.  This week on The New Arab Voice, why is violence rising in the West Bank,...

The Israeli bombardment of the people of Gaza has unleashed horrors.  Thousands have been killed, including thousands of children. There’s no end in sight, and Israel does not look like it will step away from its path.  The past 27 days in Gaza have been punctuated by war crimes of almost every nature. This week on The New Arab Voice we look at the past 27 days, the crimes that have been...

The attack by Hamas on 7 October has changed the region and the world in ways that are still yet to be completely understood.  In response to the attack, which killed over 1,400 Israelis, and took 200 hostage, Israel has unleashed a brutal and indiscriminate campaign of airstrikes. So far, thousands of Palestinians have been killed.  This week on The New Arab Voice , we look at Hama...

The residents of the Libyan city of Derna are sadly no strangers to tragedy. They have seen war and violent militant groups ravage their town. But the recent environmental disaster that struck was a new terrifying horror. In the early hours of 11 September, after hours of torrential rain, the two dams outside Derna broke, sending a torrent of water in the heart of the city.  Entire buildings...

Talk of normalisation between Saudi Arabia and Israel is hotting up.  Israel signed the Abraham Accords with the UAE, Bahrain, and Morocco in 2020, and were deemed to be a major development in the region. Israel is now looking to Saudi Arabia for a normalisation deal, which if achieved would have a major impact on the Middle East.  But the deal is proving more difficult than the first no...

It's been a year since Mahsa Amini was killed.  She was taken from the streets by Iran's morality police in September 2022. They beat her mercilessly, resulting in the young women falling into a coma, and later dying.  The protests against her killing, the morality police, and Iran's mandatory hijab law were instant and persisted for several months.  However the violent response by...

Protests are back in Syria.  Twelve years since the start of the uprisings against the Assad regime, Syrians are still protesting.  In the southern province of Suweida huge protests have erupted, in part, fuelled by the continuing fall in living standards across the country, but also for the same reasons that brought people out to the streets in 2011.  They have now entered the...

We've been off for a few week, but now we're back! While we were on holiday, Jordan took the opportunity to implement a new cybercrime law that has set alarm bells ringing among human rights defenders.  The cybercrime law contains some incredibly vague language, which critics say will allow the government to target free speech, and effect the basic rights of Jordanians.  It will also lim...

Iraq is known for its high temperatures.  But with the impacts of climate change becoming ever more pronounced, the summer heat in Iraq has become unbearable for many, and also threatens to make large areas of the country uninhabitable.  As Iraq inches towards this unbearably hot future, its ability to adapt is decreasing year after year. The Iraqi population has been growing while the w...

Riad Salameh spent 30 years at the top of Lebanon’s Central Bank.  Some called him a magician. But in recent years, his tricks have been revealed to devastating effects. In 2019 the Lebanese economy dramatically collapsed and many inside and outside the country pointed the finger of blame at Riad Salameh.  Despite the economic problems, he stayed on.  But on the last day of July, Ri...

The release of Patrick Zaki was some rare good human rights news from Egypt.  After being sentenced to three years in jail, he was then pardoned the next day by President Abdel Fatah el-Sisi, and was able to return to Italy.  Patrick had been hanging in legal limbo since 2020, when he was first arrested, and subsequently charged with “disseminating false news” and “inciting to...

The people of northern Syria were recently dealt a terrible blow.  At the UN Security Council, on 11 July, permanent member Russia vetoed the extension of UN deliveries through the Bab al-Hawa crossing.  It had served as a vital lifeline for the over 4 million people who live in the north west, and are in desperate need of help.  Following the Russian veto, the Assad regime stepped...

The recent violence in the Jenin refugee camp was a shocking and violent development.  The incursion left 12 dead, over a hundred wounded, and a trail of destruction to infrastructure that will make life in the camp even more difficult.  As Israeli soldiers made their way through the camp, Palestine activists in London took to the streets to express their anger and opposition to the even...

When the prison at Guantanamo Bay was opened, it was announced that it would hold terror suspects, picked up by the US in their War on Terror.  It quickly became a dungeon that tortured its inmates and violated some of the most basic principles of humanity.  Subsequent presidents, although not all, have said that they will close down the site and release the prisoners. However this task...

The golfing world was upturned at the start of June, with the news that a deal had been struck between the PGA and the Saudi-funded LIV Golf.  After months of warring words and a flurry of lawsuits the two sides agreed to come together and put hostiles aside.  The deal will see a return of some of the biggest names in golf and also see a huge investment into the game by Saudi Arabia’s Pu...

In a report by Amnesty International, titled Apartheid Automated, the human rights group laid out how the Israeli government is using technology as a tool of oppression.  This technological tyranny is perhaps best seen at the many checkpoints that Palestinians are forced to traverse as part of their daily lives. Cameras and algorithms are permanently watching every Palestinian who passes thro...

After two rounds of voting in Turkey, President Erdogan is back as the president.  Going into the first round of voting there were high hopes that the opposition had a real chance of dislodging the Turkish strongman; however these hopes failed to materialise at the ballot boxes.  Back in office, Erdogan will have a long list of urgent matters that will need his attention, including a fai...

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was returned to the Arab League this month.  Twelve years after Syria was suspended, in response to their brutal crackdown against civilians protesters, the group of nations, led by Saudi Arabia welcomed back the Assad regime.  The move signalled a major shift in diplomacy in the region, and simultaneously a continuation of other diplomatic moves in...