Archives for December, 2023

Interview

Syrian Kurdish commander tells Washington not to sell F-16s to Turkey

In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, SDF commander-in-chief Mazlum Kobane called on the United States to shore up flagging Kurdish faith in Washington and block any new F-16 sales to Turkey.

Mazlum Kobane

Mazlum Kobane

SDF commander in chief

Genuine images like this one from Rafah in Gaza have to compete with those misappropriated from other conflicts

War of narratives: Syrian imagery falsely illustrates Gaza

Agence France-Presse

What canceling of 'Crimson Buds' TV series says about Turkey's religious split

Turkey’s television series and films, once heralded as Turkey’s top exports and a symbol of its soft power abroad, have become a political battlefield at home throughout 2023.

HAZEM BADER/AFP via Getty Images

Day 84 of Hamas-Israel war blog: Friday, Dec. 29

Turkey says it foiled ISIS attack on Istanbul synagogues, churches

Turkey's interior minister said that 29 people have been detained over suspected links to the Islamic State, thwarting attacks on Jewish and Christian places of worship in Istanbul.

An Iranian woman holds a poster with a picture of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria, during his funeral ceremony at the Imam Hossein Square in Tehran, Dec. 28, 2023.

Iran executes four alleged spies for Israel as regional tensions flare

The executions follow accusations that Israel was responsible for the death of Sayyed Razi Mousavi, commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in Syria.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP via Getty Images

Naftali Bennett: Israel attacked Iran drone base, killed IRGC commander in 2022

Former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett accused the current government of ignoring the war Iran is waging against it and letting its leaders off the hook.

Analysis

Can Turkey's Erdogan godfather Palestinian Hamas-Fatah reconciliation?

Uniting the Palestinians is a complicated task that will prove a challenge to the Turkish president's influence.

Fehim Tastekin

By Fehim Tastekin

In Paris, reporting on Turkish politics

Only around 2,000 Armenians remain in Jerusalem's Old City, and like the annexed area's Palestinians, most are not Israeli citizens

Jerusalem's Armenians vow to keep up fight against 'settler' project

Agence France-Presse

Bibi and Tony

Analysis

Israel's Netanyahu bows to far right's demands on postwar Gaza as US frustration grows

Minutes before the first war cabinet meeting on the plan for the aftermath of the Gaza war, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu removed the issue from the agenda.

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

A child eats amid the rubble of destroyed buildings following Israeli bombardment in Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip

Israel bombs south Gaza as Hamas officials due in Cairo for truce talks

Agence France-Presse

People gather and mourn in front of 500 baby dolls wrapped in a shroud, in remembrance of children killed in the Gaza Strip, in New York on December 28, 2023.

NYC protesters for Gaza ceasefire hold mock funeral

Agence France-Presse

Netanyahu and Biden

Analysis

2023 in review: Biden bets his Middle East strategy on Gaza war

By giving Israel carte blanche support for its war in Gaza, Biden is putting his national defense strategy — and its focus on multilateralism — to the test.

Jared Szuba

In Washington, DC, reporting on defense, national security, military

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman greets Syrian President Bashar Assad during the Arab summit in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on Friday. Saudi Press Agency / Saudi Press Agency via AP

2023 in review: Syria triumphant in Arab League as Israeli strikes, Iran ties continue

Coming in from the cold, Damascus — still riddled with economic challenges and Western sanctions — restored crucial relations with Saudi Arabia and the Arab League, fortifying its regional position after being frozen out for over a decade.

An employee of the Saudi Arabian Mining Company (Ma’aden) is pictured in this undated image.

Saudi mining firm Ma’aden announces gold discovery

Saudi Arabia seeks to boost its mining sector, including via investment at home and abroad.

Israel Katz

Israel Katz set to become new Israeli foreign minister in cabinet rotation

As part of a coalition government agreement negotiated in 2022, Israel’s government approved the rotation of Israel Katz as the new foreign minister while former foreign minister Eli Cohen will become the new energy minister.