Egypt’s Military Shows No Restraint Egypt’s political factions may soon regret their deal with the military as a pact with the devil in unseating deposed President Mohammed Morsi. By Zenobia Azeem
Extremist Preacher Denies Al-Qaeda’s Presence in Lebanon Salafist preacher Omar Bakri Fostock has denied that al-Qaeda maintains a presence in Lebanon, but doesn’t rule out the establishment of an Islamic emirate in the country. By Haytham Mouzahem (Syria Pulse)
US Must Sell Peace Talks To Israeli, Palestinian Public The US has the additional task of having to convince the Israeli and Palestinian people of the merits of the current talks. By Daoud Kuttab In Amman, reporting on Palestinian politics
Lebanon's Latest Church-State Scuffle In Lebanon’s complex, diverse society, religious institutions often take on vocal roles in protecting what they regard as affronts to the sanctity of their beliefs. By Elie Hajj
Lebanon's Economy Shrinks Under Burden of Syrian Crisis Traditionally bolstered by its larger and more economically diverse neighbor, Lebanon’s economy has felt the sting of the war raging in Syria. By Sami Nader
Lebanon Needs Viable Solutions For Displaced Syrians Just as it is inevitable that displaced Syrians will continue to flow across the Lebanese border, it is also inevitable that the Lebanese state’s inability to keep up with the burden will drag Lebanon into a crisis of its own. By Jean Aziz (Lebanon Pulse)
Israel, US Navigate Slow Trend To Arab Democracy The US and Israel continue to be surprised by events in Egypt and Syria. By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Israeli Arab Knesset Members Protest Change in Electoral Law Despite the theatrical panic show of Arab Knesset members, raising the electoral threshold is just a minor change, not even consolidating Israel’s governability. By Mazal Mualem In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics
The Anguish of Israel's Bedouin Israel's Bedouin tribes are calling upon the government to stop their forced relocation under the Prawer law, and use dialogue and compromise to avoid more violence. By Shlomi Eldar
Iraqi Women Endure Sexual Harassment Increasing awareness of sexual harassment and abuse endured by Iraqi women on a daily basis has shed light on the need for social institutions to combat this kind of injustice. By Wassim Bassem
Israeli-Palestinian Talks: The Perils of Pessimism Some cautiously optimistic signals from the Israeli-Palestinian talks in Washington. By Shlomi Eldar
Why Did Al-Qaeda-Linked Group Hit Turkish Embassy in Somalia? The al-Shabab terrorist attack on Turkey’s embassy in Mogadishu has provoked further conspiracy theories. By Mustafa Akyol
Turkey’s Twitter 'Fenos' Work to Marginalize Critics Women journalists, in particular, face the wrath of pro-AKP pundits. By Pinar Tremblay
Israeli Politician Calls to Annex Palestinians to Jordan Likud Knesset member Gila Gamliel does not believe in the outcome of the Washington negotiations: "The state of Israel is the only state we have" and "The Gaza Strip can annex itself to Egypt, some of the Palestinians can annex themselves to Jordan.” By Mazal Mualem In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics
Israel Reopens Hebron Checkpoint As Gesture to Palestinians A checkpoint near Hebron has been reopened after 12 years, but local Palestinians are skeptical of the "goodwill gesture." By Linah Alsaafin
Iraqi Politician Calls On Maliki to Step Down Iraqi politician Fakhri Kareem has called on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki to form a national salvation government and step down. By Ali Abel Sadah