Clinton Leaves to Applause, Mixed Record on Middle East Outgoing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton mastered the memes of 21st century diplomacy but her substantive legacy, especially on the Middle East, is thin. Pan Arab
Will Hamas Make Bid For PLO Leadership? Geoffrey Aronson writes that Khaled Meshaal and Hamas may soon be able to make a bid for leadership of the PLO, given President Mahmoud Abbas’ present weakness. Palestine
Israeli Textbooks Under Scrutiny Akiva Eldar reports that the Israeli Ministry of Strategic Affairs has tried to prevent publication of the results of a study on Israeli textbooks. Palestine
Racism in Israeli Sports Should End After fans of Beitar Jerusalem's soccer team demonstrated against the signing of two Muslim players this week, Shlomi Eldar writes that such racism remains a problem in Israeli sports and society. Israel
Jabhat al-Nusra Disrupts Syrian Opposition Mohammad Harfoush analyzes the growing influence of the Salafist jihadist group Jabhat al-Nusra, and concludes that despite its military success, it has "contributed to the disarray of the revolution." Lebanon
NGOs Face Challenges in Gaza NGOs in Palestine, particularly in the Gaza Strip, have faced constant roadblocks to carrying out their work as they clash with local political interests, writes Hazem Balousha. Palestine
Turkey May Find Itself With 'AKP Constitution' Mustafa Akyol assesses the politics of Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's initiative for a new constitution. Turkey
Erdogan Serious About Turkey's Bid For Shanghai 5 Membership Kadri Gürsel writes that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is serious about his bid to join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization. Turkey
Will Egypt Reach a Consensus? Nervana Mahmoud writes that Egypt needs to achieve a so-far elusive consensus to avoid collapse. Egypt
Erdogan Boxed In by Syria Prime Minister Erdogan finds himself boxed in by his Syria policy, both in domestic politics and in dealing with a growing regional and humanitarian crisis, writes Tulin Daloglu. Turkey
Assad’s Final Days More Hope than Reality Ali Hashem writes that perceptions of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s final days are giving way to the reality that he may not be leaving soon. Syria
Islamists in Syria Empowering PKK The Islamization of the Syrian opposition is giving the PKK and its local affiliate, the Democratic Union Party (PYD), a new source of strength and local support, writes Denise Natali. Syria
Relocation Plan Threatens Israel's Bedouin Community Israel has announced a relocation plan for its Bedouin community which may displace thousands, writes Jillian Kestler-D'Amours. Israel
Violence in Tunisia Increases As Ennahda Stands By Islamist extremists in Tunisia are increasingly resorting to violence to implement their ideology, while the Ennahda government is accused of fence-sitting, writes Kaci Racelma. Tunisia
Iraq in Crisis Over Terror Death-Penalty Law There are growing calls in Iraq among the Sunni opposition to annul an article in the Anti-Terrorism Law that Sunnis say discriminates against them, reports Ali Abel Sadah. Iraq
