What Carter Can Teach Obama About Mideast Peace-Making If President Barack Obama has no set objectives in his forthcoming trip to the region, he should learn from Jimmy Carter and get serious about Middle East diplomacy, writes Geoffrey Aronson. Israel
Aid to Palestinian NGOs Caught in Politics Palestinian NGOs face political pressure and scrutiny, writes Asmaa al-Ghoul. Palestine
Hezbollah Death Stirs Sectarian Tensions in Lebanon Tensions between Sunnis and Shiites in Lebanon are rising as a result of the conflict in Syria, reports an Al-Monitor correspondent in Lebanon. Lebanon
Syria Warns Lebanon On Border Infiltrations Syria's Foreign Ministry has warned Lebanon not to allow armed groups to cross from Lebanon into Syria to conduct operations against regime forces, with Syria threatening military action if it continues, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
What Russia Learned From the Iraq War Moscow believes that "strategic insanity" has taken hold in Washington since the Iraq war, based upon the erosion of the pillars of regional stability and its flirtation with Islamists, writes Fyodor Lukyanov. Iraq
Lebanon Pays a Price For Syrian Economic Collapse The worrying economic situation in conflict-ridden Syria has sent tremors through Lebanon, a country that maintains strong economic ties with its eastern neighbor, writes Elie Hajj. Lebanon
Uncertainty Lingers Over Turkey'sNegotiations with Ocalan Tulin Daloglu writes that PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan is expected to call for the end of armed struggle in Turkey, and asks what the state is promising in return and why the government is seeking Ocalan’s blessing. Turkey
Algeria Proposes 'Imam Syndicate' To Confront Salafists To confront the rising Salafism in the country and better control subversive preaching in remote mosques, Algeria may form an “imam syndicate,” writes Kaci Racelma. Originals
Turkey, PKK Learn From Past Mistakes Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) are striving to avoid repeating past missteps and keep the peace process on track, writes Ilnur Cevik. Turkey
Israel's Use of 'Crowd Control' Weapons Faces Scrutiny Israeli forces are using "crowd-control" weapons which can severely injure or kill, Jillian Kestler-D'Amours reports. Palestine
Hamas Offers Collaborators Amnesty Hazem Balousha reports on a new Hamas campaign offering amnesty to Palestinians in Gaza who have collaborated with Israel. Palestine
Obama's Roadmap for the New Israeli Government Mazal Mualem sketches a guide to the new Israeli coalition for US Pesident Barack Obama. Israel
Iraqi Judiciary Fails Rape Victims Incidents of rape are not receiving much attention in Iraq, as political divisions and protests take center stage in the country’s media, reports Bushra Al Mudhafar. Iraq
Israel Must Integrate Ultra-Orthodox Akiva Eldar writes that Israel is being distracted from the real ultra-Orthodox issue: Integration into civil society is more urgent than being drafted into the army. Israel
Kerry to Assad, Opposition: 'Come to the Table' US Secretary of State John Kerry calls on Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to “come to the table” to begin negotiations; the bitter springs of Tunisia and Egypt; and Gaza Salafists fight in Syria. Egypt
Women Face Same Barriers In Morsi's Egypt Yasmine Nagaty writes that the treatment of women under Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi is more of the same pattern of economic oppression experienced under Hosni Mubarak. Egypt
