Gaza civil society organizations aim to empower women The 2017 Women's Leadership Incubator project will empower a team of civil society organizations in the Gaza Strip to strengthen their staff’s sensitivity and response to the needs and rights of marginalized women. By Dina Farwana
Jerusalem's African community stands with Al-Aqsa Jerusalem's African community, with its deep roots in the city, was active in the recent protests at Al-Aqsa Mosque. By Aziza Nofal
Bill allowing Turkish muftis to perform civil marriages stokes concern Turkey's ruling party has introduced legislation authorizing muftis to perform civil marriages, a law critics fear would make it much harder to protect children. By Mahmut Bozarslan
Iranians find shortcut to EU visas Iranians are finding it almost impossible to get a visa to EU countries these days unless they seek assistance from intermediaries known as “visa mafias." By Saeid Jafari
Turkey’s political parties hit each other with coup allegations The Justice and Development Party government and its supporters are using a Republican People’s Party lawmaker's comments to steal the main opposition party’s thunder. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Egyptian, Chinese pottery makers compare techniques Pottery workshop in Old Cairo by Chinese and Egyptian artists highlights the different techniques in creating clay artifacts and everyday objects. By Salwa Samir In Giza, reporting on politics
Rouhani’s proposed second-term Cabinet draws ire Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's proposed second-term Cabinet draws criticism from both moderates and Reformists. By Al-Monitor Staff
Egypt's middle class gets creative to cope with economic crunch As Egypt's economy suffers and inflation soars, middle class citizens are turning to Airbnb, Uber and other nontraditional means of earning extra income. By Shahira Amin
Turkey hints at new operation in Syria Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan raises the stakes in Syria by hinting that Ankara will launch a new incursion to build on its previous one. By Semih Idiz
Are Israelis indifferent to corruption around Netanyahu? Despite political corruption, Israelis keep backing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in polls. By Akiva Eldar
Egypt’s outer space ambitions face real world setbacks While Egyptian officials have said that the country’s first space agency would be launched in September 2018, the law to create it has not been introduced in parliament yet, to many Egyptians' chagrin. By Amr Mostafa
With tourism in decline, Egypt hopes to repurpose former hotspot An Egyptian member of parliament has completed a study on the establishment of a free trade zone in the tourist city of Sharm el-Sheikh, which many criticized for its potentially harmful effects on tourism. By Rami Galal
Religious, not political leaders guided Jerusalem through Aqsa crisis Respected religious authorities dominated the protest movement and did much of the organizing during the past few weeks of crisis at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem. By Ahmad Melhem In Ramallah, reporting on politics
Israeli legislators protest outside attorney general’s home Israeli legislators should not join demonstrations criticizing Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit for taking his time in investigating Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. By Mazal Mualem In Tel Aviv, reporting on politics
Russia, US to maintain contacts on Syria despite sanctions US and Russian officials will try to maintain contacts concerning world hotspots within the limits imposed by US sanctions on the Kremlin. By Maxim A. Suchkov
Islamic writer's comments on smoking leave Turkish women fuming Islamic scholar and columnist Hayrettin Karaman has angered Turkish women by questioning the chastity of those who smoke while wearing the veil. By Riada Ašimović Akyol