Hamas
The real significance of Israel’s strikes on Syria
It is hard to overstate the significance of Israel’s surgical strikes against Syrian military positions over the weekend. The raids targeted missiles bound for Hezbollah in Lebanon while also destroying… Continue reading
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Is that a ‘no’ then, Owen?
To my simple suggestion that Owen Jones apologise for claiming that an 11-month old child killed by a Hamas rocket was in fact killed by an Israeli ‘so-called targeted strike’,… Continue reading
106 Comments
Will Owen Jones apologise?
Last November, during another exchange between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza, the left-wing columnist Owen Jones appeared on BBC Question Time. Invited to comment on recent events, what he… Continue reading
259 Comments
Israel Votes and Hope Loses - Spectator Blogs
Today’s Israeli election does not, it is fair to say, take place in at a moment of supreme hope in the Middle East. Quite the contrary. This is an election… Continue reading
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Arab Winter update
Rachid al-Ghannouchi is a great British success story. This Muslim Brotherhood leader sought asylum in Britain in 1989 and stayed here throughout the reign of Tunisian dictator President Ben Ali.… Continue reading
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Did Israeli settlements in the West Bank kill the two-state solution?
When did the dream of a two-state solution die? When it became clear that there are already two Palestinian states – the Hamas-run Gaza and the Palestinian Authority-governed West Bank?… Continue reading
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Operation Pillar of Defence leads Israel to strategic failure
Last night’s ceasefire is a strategic failure for Israel. While the end of military action must be welcomed, it is hard to see what Netanyahu has achieved beyond the killing… Continue reading
46 Comments
A moral distinction in the Gaza conflict
Hamas have claimed responsibility for a bus-bombing in Tel Aviv earlier today. It is worth watching this video, which went out a few hours ago on Hamas’s ‘Al-Aqsa’ TV. Over… Continue reading
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Israel's Tragedy: Even If She Wins She Loses - Spectator Blogs
Next time someone bores on about the so-called decline of the British literary novel you might consider pointing out to your dinner-party companion that this is not such a bad… Continue reading
31 Comments
Ceasefire in Gaza?
A ceasefire is expected in Gaza later this evening, but is yet to materialise. Unsurprisingly, agreement has been hard to reach. Indeed, it has become a tool of propaganda. Hamas… Continue reading
46 Comments
Bigotry on the Beeb
I have only just caught up on the latest episode of BBC Radio 4’s ‘Any Questions’. In that programme, from All Saints Church in Somerset, a Mr Stephen Bedford asked… Continue reading
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Wole Soyinka: Boko Haram must be destroyed
The Books Blog has an interview with Wole Soyinka, the Nigerian author who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1986. Soyinka is worth listening to for his ambivalence towards… Continue reading
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Some questions for the apologists of Hamas
The latest offensive between Israel and Hamas may only just have begun. But already a set of the usual lies have entered the British coverage. Let me pose a few… Continue reading
227 Comments
Can Hamas contain Gaza’s other terrorist groups?
One of the things to watch for as tensions escalate between Gaza and Israel is the extent to which Ismail Haniyeh’s authority is eroded within the Strip. Hamas is clearly… Continue reading
31 Comments
Israel’s public relations problem
The front page of today’s Washington Post shows a picture of the BBC’s Jihad Masharawi holding his dead 11-month-old son, an innocent victim of Israeli action against Hamas’ paramilitary targets following months of… Continue reading
53 Comments
Israel vs Hamas: Who started it?
The papers and media are full of the news that Israel has killed a Hamas leader in the Gaza. Why did this happen? Where did it come from? Is it… Continue reading
104 CommentsHamas splashes out
There are many questions arising from the prisoner swap between Israel and Hamas, not least whether it opens the door to a more lasting deal in future. But one question that… Continue reading
6 CommentsBritain’s Palestinian statehood question
The Palestinians are seeking United Nations recognition as a state and a vote is apparently imminent. The Guardian’s Jonathan Freedland has a useful account of the diplomatic arithmetic and explains… Continue reading
30 CommentsMiddle East round-up
Reuters is reporting that Libyan rebels have taken control of Libyan state TV – one of the last organs to remain in Gaddafi’s hands. It’s another indication that the dictator’s… Continue reading
3 CommentsGoldstone recants
Judge Richard Goldstone has changed his mind. Writing in the Washington Post, he admits that his "fact-finding mission had no evidence" for key allegations made in the UN report into… Continue reading
28 Comments