Middle East

Inside Middle East

Israeli military condemns Web list of troops

Friday, 19 November 2010

Israel's military has condemned the publication of the names and photographs of 200 Israeli soldiers by a website that calls the troops "war criminals".

Israel finally leaves tiny village straddling Middle East's political fault line

Thursday, 18 November 2010

Donald Macintyre: Ghajar's Syrian residents fear they will be permanently divided.

Iraqi President bars execution of Tariq Aziz

Thursday, 18 November 2010

Kim Sengupta: Talabani refuses to sign execution order for prominent former member of Saddam Hussein's inner circle.

Hague's Guantanamo plea overshadows Middle East talks

Thursday, 18 November 2010

David Usborne: Government implores US to free last Briton remaining in Guantanamo Bay.

Iran: Guests arrested at French embassy

Wednesday, 17 November 2010

Iranian security forces allegedly arrested guests arriving at a party hosted by the French ambassador in Tehran and struck a diplomat in the face, a French official said yesterday.

Muslims gather in Makkah for the Hajj

Monday, 15 November 2010

Nearly three million Muslims have gathered for the annual hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.

Banned cleric Omar Bakri seized

Monday, 15 November 2010

Lebanese security forces arrested the Islamist preacher Omar Bakri Mohammed yesterday, three days after a court sentenced him and 21 other people to life in prison for carrying out "terrorist acts".

Israelis weigh up US incentive plan to re-start peace talks

Monday, 15 November 2010

Israeli ministers yesterday began the fraught process of deciding whether to accept generous US incentives – including warplanes worth $3bn – in return for a 90-day moratorium on settlement building. The move is designed to restart peace talks with the Palestinians.

The Holocaust survivor whose life is in danger again

Monday, 15 November 2010

In the Israeli city of Safed, an 89-year-old man has been accused of treachery for welcoming Arab students. Catrina Stewart reports

Faithful gather around for key ritual of the Haj

Monday, 15 November 2010

Tens of thousands of Muslim pilgrims move around the Kaaba, the black cube that sits within the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, during this year's Haj.

US offers deal on Israel settlement freeze

Sunday, 14 November 2010

The US has offered Israel an incentive package to reinstate a ban on West Bank settlement building, in an effort to revive stalled peace talks with the Palestinians, diplomatic sources said today.

Life sentence for Islamist leader

Saturday, 13 November 2010

A Lebanese military court has sentenced the Islamist militant leader Omar Bakri Mohammed, who is banned from returning to Britain, and 21 others to life in prison for carrying out "terrorist acts".

Radical cleric given life sentence over terror

Friday, 12 November 2010

A radical Muslim cleric has been convicted of terrorism charges in a military court and sentenced him in absentia to life in prison, Lebanese officials said today.

Comatose ex-Israeli PM moved home from hospital

Friday, 12 November 2010

Israel's comatose former prime minister, Ariel Sharon, was moved home to his ranch today, nearly five years after being incapacitated by a series of strokes while still in office.

Maliki to stay PM but leaders cut his powers

Friday, 12 November 2010

Patrick Cockburn: Iraqi leaders have ended eight months of political stalemate by supporting the reappointment of Nouri al-Maliki, but have sought to rein in his authority.

How Lebanon can't escape shadow of Hariri's murder

Friday, 12 November 2010

Robert Fisk: Five years after former PM was killed, rising sectarian tensions and teetering government are threatening new conflict.

Pope makes plea to Ahmadinejad

Friday, 12 November 2010

Pope Benedict XVI has told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of the discrimination and violence Catholics suffer in the Middle East and said he hopes relations between the local Catholic Church and authorities can improve.

Aid workers held captive in payment row

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Seven British aid workers are being held captive on a ship in the Libyan sea today in a dispute with the captain over money.

Sun sets on US influence in Iraq as deal on new government looms

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Patrick Cockburn: The United States is facing a decisive political defeat in Iraq over the formation of a new government.

Iraqi Christians living in fear as 11 bombs explode in Baghdad, killing five

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Christians in Iraq came under attack again yesterday when 11 roadside bombs exploded in three areas of Baghdad killing five people.

Chile's freed miners accept trip to Holy Land

Thursday, 11 November 2010

The Chilean miners trapped underground for 69 days have accepted Israel's offer of an all-expenses-paid trip to the Holy Land for Christmas – but only if they can take their 70 friends and relatives with them. Israel is inviting the 33 miners – whose dramatic rescue from a collapsed shaft half a mile underground last month captivated the world – for a week-long trip to visit the Christian holy sites.

Abbas presses UN over West Bank settlements

Thursday, 11 November 2010

Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian President, has asked for a UN Security Council meeting to discuss the building of Jewish settlements on occupied land.

A happy ending to the worst atrocity of Saddam's regime

Wednesday, 10 November 2010

Catrina Stewart: Ali Ahmad survived the 1988 chemical attack but always thought his mother hadn't.

Eight months without a government. Can Iraq's leaders finally do a deal?

Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Iraq's leaders moved closer to forming a new government yesterday when they met for the first time since an election in March produced a political stalemate.

Jerusalem homes will still be built

Tuesday, 9 November 2010

Israel is pushing ahead with plans to build 1,300 new apartments for Jewish families in Arab East Jerusalem, despite fierce opposition from Palestinians.

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