Palestinian Authority officials confirmed to AFP Sunday that Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani will visit Ramallah for his first ever trip to Judea and Samaria later this month. "The visit of the emir of Qatar has been confirmed but the date of the visit hasn't been determined yet," Nabil Abu Rudeina, spokesman for
While Islamists claim that President Mohammed Mursi has won initial backing from Egyptians for a new constitution, rights groups and opposition parties reported abuses such as polling stations opening late, officials telling people how to vote, and bribery. A first day of voting in a referendum on the draft basic law resulted in 56.5
The leniency with which the European Union (EU) judges Palestinians’ reforms compared to the strictness of EU demands for reform by the Turks reveal Europeans’ duplicity and lack of integrity, and should disqualify the European Union from playing any significant role in the Middle East peace process, under the guise of being an honest broker.
New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman argues that democracy would be considered “failed” in Egypt if in a decade’s time we do not see the post-revolutionary country surfacing with liberal feats, such as the “empowering of minorities.” Friedman wrote that if such a liberal route is taken, this would mirror current party politics in
Bombings against two Shiite places of worship in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk killed 6 people Sunday, while an attack on a Kurdish political office left two dead, police and doctors said. Three roadside bombs exploded near a Shi'ite mosque in the city, and a car bomb and a roadside bomb detonated near
To the West, the Egyptian government led by the Muslim Brotherhood preaches commitment to the peace treaty with Israel. To Egyptians, the Brotherhood has made no secret of its desire to cancel it and lobbies for a military presence in Sinai. Although the Muslim Brotherhood has not changed its hostile position towards Israel, it
Tensions were rising late Saturday over a divisive new constitution being put to Egyptian voters in the first round of a referendum pushed through by President Mohammed Morsi, despite weeks of opposition protests. AFP reported that the opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, accused Morsi's Muslim Brotherhood of "vote rigging" but stopped short of
A video released on Friday shows a group of Palestinian Authority Arab terrorists announcing the formation of a new military brigade, which would start a new intifada (uprising) against Israel beginning in Hevron. According to a report in the Bethlehem-based Ma’an news agency, the video, posted on YouTube, shows eight people covering their faces
Jews have been barred from the Temple Mount in Jerusalem until Sunday, the last day of Hannukah. The Temple Mount is the holiest site on earth according to Jewish tradition. The ban is aimed at preventing a Muslim riot at the site. Riots are thought to be particularly likely following Friday prayers. It
Egypt’s main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, called on Sunday for a repeat of the first round of the constitutional referendum and wants a probe into 4,000 complaints it said took place during the vote. Islamists claimed victory in the initial phase of the referendum, but the opposition alleged the balloting had been
