Archives for June, 2021

Israeli Knesset members (L to R) Gideon Saar, head of Israel's New Hope party, Ayman Odeh, leader of the predominantly Arab Joint List and the Hadash party, and Mansour Abbas, head of the conservative Islamic Raam party, attend a special session at the parliament in Jerusalem, on June 13, 2021.

New Israeli government to renew controversial law banning Palestinians from uniting with families in Israel

The Israeli government is expected to renew the law on citizenship and family reunification, which prohibits Israelis from passing on citizenship or residency to their Palestinian spouses residing in the West Bank or Gaza Strip for family reunification purposes.

Israeli parliament member and former Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat meets voters during the election campaign for the Likud party, at Mahane Yehuda market, Jerusalem, March 19, 2021.

Israeli opposition entangled in succession battle

Former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu keeps appearing in public as if he had not been defeated, but his rivals within the Likud party are already preparing for battle.

Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi holds a press conference at Shahid Beheshti conference hall, Tehran, Iran, June 21, 2021.

Raisi's economic agenda may depend on Iran nuclear deal

As the JCPOA parties prepare for a return to the seventh round of nuclear talks, incoming hardline Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi might actually welcome a done deal before taking office.

Smoke rises from buildings following an airstrike by Syrian government forces in the eastern city of Deir ez-Zor, on Oct. 31, 2017.

US forces in Syria come under attack after airstrikes on Iran-backed militias

Renewed fighting in Iraq and Syria is bound to set off scrutiny in Congress.

A Nordwind Airlines check-in desk stands at Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport, on June 22, 2021. Russia resumed flights with Turkey, suspended in April 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Turkey stops flights from six countries due to virus variants

Turkey is in the process of opening up amid lower COVID-19 cases and vaccine progress.

A Palestinian girl cries as Israeli excavators demolish some of the construction belonging to Palestinians for allegedly being unauthorized and being in zone C, at Yatta district in Hebron, West Bank, on Sept. 30, 2020.

Palestinian children 'feel abandoned' after home demolitions: study

Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi (not seen), Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordanian King Abdullah II (not seen) meet with Iraqi President Barham Salih (not seen) following the "Tripartite Summit" at the Presidential Palace in Baghdad, Iraq on June 27, 2021.

Egypt's Sisi discusses Gaza reconstruction with Israeli PM Bennett

During their first phone call since Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett took office, the two leaders agreed to meet soon.

A child sits near displaced Syrians lining up to collect plates of food prepared by a local charity for the Ramadan fast-breaking meal at a camp for people displaced by conflict in the town of Sarmada in Syria's northwestern Idlib province on April 13, 2021.

Blinken calls Syrian humanitarian situation 'untenable'

At a meeting of the members of the US D-ISIS coalition in Rome, the US secretary of state makes appeal for "stabilization."

Search and Rescue teams look for possible survivors in the partially collapsed 12-story Champlain Towers South condo building on June 27, 2021 in Surfside, Florida.

Israeli military sends rescue team after Miami building collapse

Rescuers from Mexico also joined the massive effort to locate more than 150 people after a condo partially collapsed in the southeastern United States.

HACO BISKIN/Gazete Duvar/AFP via Getty Images

Turkish officials defend journalist's violent arrest at Istanbul Pride march

Eyewitnesses describe photographer Bulent Kilic being shoved to the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back as police placed their feet on his spine and demanded his press card.

DELIL SOULEIMAN/AFP via Getty Images

Intel: Blinken urges allies to repatriate IS fighters from Syria

The Syrian Democratic Forces are holding an estimated 10,000 suspected Islamic State fighters, a situation Secretary of State Antony Blinken said is "untenable."

A child hugs his father who is part of a group of soldiers at a farewell ceremony ahead of going for their duty in Jarablus district in Syria, which was cleared from the Islamic State, at the Gaziantep Gendarmerie General Command in Gaziantep, Turkey, June 7, 2021.

Turkey arrests 26 in raids against Islamic State

There are concerns about the Islamic State's ability to still operate within and close to Turkish territory.

Iran's President-elect Ebrahim Raisi attends his first press conference after winning the election in Tehran, Iran, on June 21, 2021.

Raisi's election brings rise of Iran's Hezbollahis

The election of Ebrahim Raisi as president of Iran reflects a more revolutionary turn under the direction of Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (2nd L) gives an award to Ronesans Holding Member of Board Ferit Seyfi Yagmuroglu (2nd R) during Turkey's 500 Largest Service Exporters Award Ceremony in Istanbul, Turkey, on Dec. 21, 2018.

Turkish-Danish hospital deal might be more than meets the eye

A Turkish company known as a presidential favorite is ceding its lucrative hospital operation business, a move observers believe is driven not only by financial hardship but also apprehension over Erdogan’s political future.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) greets Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid ahead of their meeting in Rome, on June 27, 2021.

Israel’s Lapid puts Iran talks on table in meeting with Blinken

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is committed to repairing ties with the US administration and opening discrete dialogue channels on the Iranian file.

Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei meets with the head of the judiciary, president-elect Ebrahim Raisi, and other Judiciary officials in Tehran, June 28, 2021.

Khamenei defends Iran’s 'epic' elections

Iran's supreme leader in a speech Monday defended the latest presidential elections, which saw the lowest voter turnout in the Islamic Republic's history.