Yemen’s New Government Retains Bad Old Habits The faces of Yemen’s executive cabinet may have changed, but the same inefficiencies and failures reminiscent of the old government still haunt the country. Yemen
How Hamas Uses Mosques To Garner Support Controlling local mosques has long been a Hamas strategy to ensure a large support base. Palestine
Netanyahu Blesses and Curses Europe's Role in the Middle East Decisions by the European Union have the Netanyahu government criticizing it for intervening with sanctions in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, while praising it for blacklisting Hezbollah. Israel
Lapid Criticizes Idle Ultra-Orthodox For Hurting Israeli Economy The absence of the ultra-Orthodox from Israel's job market is a real threat to the state, but the aggressive attempts by Finance Minister Yair Lapid to solve the wrong problem will have the opposite effect. Israel
McKeon, House Cautious on Syria Buck McKeon, Republican chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, says the military’s intervention in Egypt was the right thing to put Egypt’s democratic transition back on track. Egypt
Egyptian General, Muslim Brotherhood Call for Friday Protests Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Sisi's call for Friday protests may be a maneuver to show the world how little support the Muslim Brotherhood has overall in Egypt. Egypt
Israeli Intellectuals Support European Sanctions Many Israeli intellectuals are in favor of the European decision by which future agreements with Israel won't apply to settlements in the territories. Palestine
Islamic Clerics Oppose Lebanese Law Protecting Abused Women The death of Roula Yaacoub, a Lebanese mother of five who was beaten to death by her husband, has drawn attention to Lebanese activists’ fight to ensure women’s rights in the face of religious conservatives. Lebanon
Video of UAE Official Beating Indian Driver Sparks Debate UAE anti-defamation laws are again under scrutiny as the Indian man who filmed the assault is put in jail. United Arab Emirates
Israeli Russian Public Still on Liberman’s Side Despite the trial against former Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, or maybe because of it, the Israeli Russian public stands by him. Israel
Saving Egypt's Third Democratic Transition As Egyptians proceed with their third revolutionary transition, they might finally get it right if based on a broad national consensus and inclusivity. Egypt
Kurdish Security Forces Shield RegionFrom Iraq's Security Woes The Kurdistan Regional Government's sophisticated intelligence network has ensured relative peace in contrast to the rest of Iraq. Iraq
US Appeals Court Rejects 'Jerusalem, Israel' on Passport A US appeals court rejected an attempt by an American couple to have their son's birthplace listed as "Jerusalem, Israel" on his US passport. Palestine
Iraqi Politicians Need to Reconnect With Society Iraqi politicians local election campaigns are out of touch with the needs of the people. Iraq
Egypt's New Rulers Face Crisis With Ethiopia Over Nile Egypt has sent delegations to Ethiopia to push for a compromise on the dam project and sharing the Nile's waters. Egypt
New Muslim Brotherhood Faction Opposes Violence As violence flares again in Egypt, a new group called the Muslim Brotherhood Against Violence is struggling to find a peaceful path to compromise. Egypt
