Middle East

Israel OKs Major Housing Development With More to Come

Staff / Truthdig Aug 11, 2011 Israel's Interior Ministry has approved a 1,600-unit housing complex in East Jerusalem. It's the same complex that was announced last year, embarrassing a visiting Vice President Joe Biden, and it comes with the promise to build an additional 2,700 units of housing in the occupied Palestinian area of the city. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

New Violence Against Syrian Demonstrators

Staff / Truthdig Aug 10, 2011 An estimated 2,000 people have been killed in the five months since Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began assaulting the pro-democracy protesters he refers to as terrorists. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Mubarak’s ‘Day of Judgment’

Staff / Truthdig Aug 4, 2011 The criminal trial of Hosni Mubarak, televised for all the Arab world to see, began Wednesday with the once-powerful, longtime autocratic ruler of Egypt denying all formal charges against him of corruption and of complicity in the killing of protesters. (more) Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Ignoring Iceland’s Revolution

Staff / Truthdig Aug 4, 2011 Iceland's revolution goes unperceived by U.S. media; Greece worries about the China-ization of its country; and Egypt questions the need for a violent uprising. These discoveries and more after the jump. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

Sex Ed? Palins Flunk Again

Staff / Truthdig Jul 24, 2011 Sarah Palin's strict views have turned her into a grandma for the second time; al-Qaida takes a page out of Disney's book to recruit children; meanwhile, Facebook fights Google+ by adding news to its online community. These discoveries and more after the jump. Dig deeper ( 2 Min. Read )

New Egyptian Cabinet Sworn In

Staff / Truthdig Jul 21, 2011 Egyptian military officials swore in a new, temporary Cabinet on Thursday in response to rising pressure from protesters demanding a faster transition away from the Mubarak regime. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Bread and the ‘Tropic of Chaos’

Staff / Truthdig Jul 21, 2011 Christian Parenti, who writes regularly for The Nation magazine, has published a book detailing some of the present and future social impacts of climate change. In an essay on Tom Dispatch.com, he connects the rising cost of bread to the revolutionary uprisings in the Middle East and Northern Africa. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Israel Intercepts Gaza-Bound Boatload of Activists

Staff / Truthdig Jul 19, 2011 Israeli commandos intercepted a boat full of pro-Palestinian activists bound for the Gaza Strip on Tuesday. The yacht carrying 16 people was the only vessel of a planned protest flotilla to attempt the voyage. Greek authorities had blocked the others from leaving port. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Israel Bans the Boycott

Staff / Truthdig Jul 13, 2011 Israeli legislators passed a law Monday prohibiting any and all domestic boycotts against the country and its West Bank settlements as part of an attempt to oppose what they see as a global attack on the state's legitimacy. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Pro-Gov’t Protesters Descend Upon U.S., French Embassies in Syria

Staff / Truthdig Jul 11, 2011 Syrian protesters siding with Prime Minister Bashar Assad's regime made their displeasure with the U.S. and France apparent, after those countries showed support for the opposition, by attacking their embassies in Damascus on Monday. Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

10 Warnings for Arab Democracies

Staff / Truthdig Jul 10, 2011 Truthdig columnist Juan Cole has some sobering words of caution for those in the Arab world with a "once-in-a-century" shot at making their nations into thriving, functional democracies. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )

Israel Braces for Pro-Palestinian ‘Flytilla’

Staff / Truthdig Jul 7, 2011 Hundreds of pro-Palestinian activists are expected to arrive at Tel Aviv's Ben Gurion airport Friday in a "flytilla" that the organizing campaign "Welcome to Palestine" says is simply an invitation to supporters to visit friends in the West Bank and Gaza. An ever-jittery Israeli government, however, isn't taking any chances. (more) Dig deeper ( 1 Min. Read )