After Gezi, Is Turkey’s AKP Correcting Course? A report indicates that the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) may be implementing a course correction in its handling of the Gezi park protests to better position itself for next year’s elections. Turkey
Friday Sermons Used to Incite At Iraqi Mosques With the liberation afforded by the fall of former Iraqi president Saddam Hussein’s regime, Friday sermons at Iraq’s mosques have become platforms for oftentimes escalatory political discourse. Iraq
Hamas to Persist With Public Executions Despite Objections Hamas will go ahead with public executions by the end of August despite an outcry by human rights groups. Palestine
Israeli Army Seeks to Evict Villagers to Expand Firing Zone The Israeli army wants to evacuate the Palestinian West Bank villages of Masafer Yatta to accomodate its live-fire training area. Palestine
Saudi Arabia Keeps Tight Grip on Yemen Saudi Arabia is treading carefully in Yemen, especially following the overthrow of Mohammed Morsi in Egypt. Saudi Arabia
Hamas Monitors Facebook Activism Hamas' security services in Gaza are keeping a close eye on Facebook activity for hostile opinions and planned protests. Palestine
Has Al-Qaeda Infiltrated Lebanon? Amid regional chaos, some fear that al-Qaeda may have spread to Lebanon in the form of sleeper cells. Lebanon
Iran on Quest to Legitimize Velayat-e Faqih in Iraqi Seminaries Iran has always tried to secure religious legitimacy for its velayat-e faqih doctrine by supporting loyalists in the Qom and Najaf Shiite seminaries. Iraq
Will Syria War Mean End of Sykes-Picot? There is speculation that the Syria war could signal a change in long-standing borders. Near East
US Rep. Keith Ellison Calls For Obama-Rouhani Summit In an interview with Al-Monitor, Ellison says, “If the United States had direct negotiations with Iran, the first item should be stopping the bloodshed in Syria.” Palestine
Morsi Is Not Arab World’s Mandela In response to Tawakul Karman's recent article in Foreign Policy, Bassem Sabry and Hani Sabra write that Mohammed Morsi is no Nelson Mandela. Egypt
Will Release of Palestinians Who Killed Israelis Bring Peace? How can the release of the Palestinian prisoners who murdered Israeli peace activist Ian Feinberg promote peace negotiations between the two sides? Palestine
Iran-Hamas Rebuild Ties Following Morsi’s Ouster After the ouster of Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood from power, Hamas is again looking to Iran for support. Palestine
Are Gul, Erdogan Playing 'Good Cop, Bad Cop' With Egypt? It appears Turkey’s president and prime minister are playing a "good cop, bad cop" routine on Egypt, but their differences are real. Turkey
Baghdad Nightlife Cloaked in Fear Amid curfews and an unstable security environment, Iraqis in the nightlife business live in constant fear of militia attacks, security raids and customer brawls. Iraq
New Housing Units No Obstacle To Israeli-Palestinian Negotiations The new tenders for construction in the settlements were intended to provide the Israeli right with an imaginary achievement, allowing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to continue negotiations. Israel
