Tel Aviv

By Clayton Swisher in Middle East on August 20th, 2010
Photo by AFP
I have recently returned from Afghanistan, but without successfully shaking the Arab-Israeli conflict from my mind. 
 
That's because in Kabul I ran into none other than retired US Army Colonel PJ Dermer, whom I've known since his defence attaché days at the US Embassy in Tel Aviv. 
 
Colonel Dermer spent the bulk of his 30-year career in the Middle East, as a regional specialist tackling some of the most challenging issues. You can read more about him from this earlier blog post.
By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on June 1st, 2010
The Mavi Marmara nearing Ashdod Monday night. (Photo: AFP)

We'll once again be keeping tabs on the latest reaction to Israel's deadly attack on a flotilla of activists carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Yesterday's live coverage is here.

The death toll has been revised down to 10, according to the Israeli army, which also says seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack. Those numbers have been impossible to confirm independently, because the Israeli army has restricted access to the ships, which have been towed to Ashdod port. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

If you have comments.

By Gregg Carlstrom in Middle East on May 31st, 2010
Protesters in Istanbul wave Palestinian flags after the raid (Photo: AFP)

Early Monday morning, Israel attacked a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip; up to 10 people were killed in the pre-dawn raid, according to organisers and media sources.

We'll be live-blogging the aftermath of this incident throughout the day; keep checking back for international reaction, news from our correspondents on the ground, photos and video. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

Tags: Ahmet Davutoglu, Algeria, Ali al-Shami, AM CDT, Amman, Amr El-Kahky, Amr Moussa, Angela Merkel, Arab League, Arab socialist party, Ashdod, Ashkelon, Australia, Avigdor Lieberman, Avital Leibovich, Ayman Mohyeldin, Baghdad, Ban Ki-Moon, Barack Obama, Beijing, Belgium, Bill Burton, Binyamin Netanyahu, Cairo, Canada, Catherine Ashton, Chicago, China, Congress, Egypt, Ehud Barak, European Parliament, European Union, Facebook, Fatah, Filippo Grandi, Gabi Ashkenazi, Gaza, George Washington University, Germany, Greece, Greek government, Greta Berlin, Guido Westerwelle, Ha'aretz, Haifa, Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani, Hamas, Hillary Clinton, IDF, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Israeli army, Israeli consulate, Israeli consulate in Istanbul, Israeli embassy in Amman, Israeli government, Israeli military, Israeli navy, Israeli police, Istanbul, James Jones, Jerusalem, Jerzy Buzek, Jordan, Kamel Khatib, Kampala, Kuwait, Lebanon, London, Mahmoud Abu Attar, Malaysia, Malcolm Smart, Marc Lynch, Mohammad Dahlan, Moqtada al-Sadr, Nabil al-Sharif, Nablus, navy, New York, Norway, Oscar Fernandez-Taranco, Palestine, Palestinian Authority, Paris, Physicians for Human Rights, Raed Salah, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Robert Serry, Ron Ben Yishai, Saad Hariri, Saeb Erekat, Salam Fayyad, Serbia, South Africa, Stephen Harper, Sweden, Tel Aviv, The Los Angeles Times, Turkey, Turkish consulate in Istanbul, Twitter, Uganda, Umm, Umm al-Fahm, UN security council, United Kingdom, United Nations, United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, United Nations Security Council, United States, Washington, White House, William Hague, Yang Tao
By Jamal Elshayyal in Middle East on May 27th, 2010
Picture from AFP

As the much anticipated departure of the Freedom Flotilla nears, Israel has been busy issuing statements and press releases as how it intends to deal with the humanitarian aid convoy of ships bound for Gaza.

Israel's military says it has completed the construction of a mass detention centre in Ashdod where it plans to hold the 800 or so activists, humanitarians and journalists on board the nine ships. 

Tel Aviv has declared the waters off the shores of Gaza a military zone, deeming any unauthorised entry  tress passing. 

But the problem is, Gaza's waters are just that - waters belonging to Gaza. Israel's navy has no right under any law to enter those waters let alone declare the area a military zone. In fact ask any of Gaza's one and a half million residents and you will find that anything related to Israel is not welcome.

The Freedom Flotilla on the other hand, is welcomed by Gaza's besieged people.

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on April 25th, 2010

ipadgetty565.jpg

It can handle the flak from the international community, condemnation from powerful states and the scrutiny of the world's press, but when Israel's technorati decided to go to war with the state over its ban of Apple's iPad, something had to be done.

And it was.

Two weeks after imposing a ban on bringing iPad's into the country, the communication ministry on Sunday decided to lift the restriction. 

They provided as little information as to why they lifted the ban as they did about why they imposed it in the first place. The bottom line - iPads are now kosher.

Authorities say they have carried out "intensive technical scrutiny" on the little shiny tablet which appears to no longer be the security threat it was yesterday.

Confiscations

By David Chater in Asia on December 1st, 2009
Photo by GALLO/GETTY

Biting into another Oreo made in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, I cannot escape that uncomfortable feeling I’ve lived through this moment before.

I'm sitting in much more comfortable circumstances than usual: a room in the 5-star Serena Hotel in the centre of Kabul, watching the outpourings of the cable channels across the world as President Obama’s moment of history approaches.

I began my career in journalism just as the war in Vietnam was ending. The images of that debacle - which only with hindsight now seems inevitable - did much to propel me into a career as a television correspondent and a check-in to the world’s conflict zones.

In the opening stages of the civil war in Sri Lanka I was staying in the Hotel Oberoi as the bloody pogroms against the Tamils were underway on the streets of Colombo.

By John Terrett in Americas on November 10th, 2009
Photo by AFP

Binyamin Netanyahu addressed a major American Jewish conference at a big hotel in Washington, DC on Monday and argued there's still life in the moribund peace process.

"My goal is to achieve a permanent peace treaty between Israel and the Palestinians and soon ... it's high time that we stopped negotiating about the negotiations - lets get on with it. Lets move."

At one point, his speech was interrupted by a lone protester. "I have to say I got a better reception at the United Nations," he joked.

Among the rest of his audience, however, there was a far warmer welcome for the Israeli leader.

"I can't say whether they've done enough - enough is a hard word to say - but the attitudes - and I've been there many times - is that peace is what they want," one audience member said.

Al Jazeera Live

What's Hot


Recent Comments

This work is licensed under Creative Commons. Please read our attribution policy.