Middle East
Latest stories
Crowd attacks Syrian rebel figure over reconciliation push

Angry protesters in Syria's rebel-held enclave have rallied against reconciliation attempts between Turkey and Syrian President Bashar Assad's government and scuffled with a local Syrian opposition figure involved in those attempts.

The crowd of several dozen demonstrators in the rebel-held town of Azaz first chanted slogans against the political efforts, then shouted abuse at Salem Meslet, head of the Turkey-based Syrian National Coalition, who showed up at the gathering.

W140 Full Story
Israel's outgoing army chief rebukes far-right government

Israel's outgoing army chief on Friday warned against plans by Benjamin Netanyahu's new coalition to grant more control to pro-settler lawmakers and make other changes to the Israeli security establishment, joining a loud chorus of criticism against the most right-wing government in the country's history.

In several interviews with Israeli news outlets just days before he steps down, Lt. Gen. Aviv Kochavi took unusually sharp aim at Netanyahu's coalition agreements with hard-line Jewish settler activists who seek to entrench Israeli rule in the occupied West Bank, restructure the Defense Ministry and control a special paramilitary police unit.

W140 Full Story
President of Israel's Supreme Court attacks judicial changes

The chief justice of Israel's Supreme Court attacked the sweeping changes to the country's justice system planned by the new conservative government on Thursday, lending her voice to a growing outcry against the proposed overhaul.

Supreme Court Chief Justice Esther Hayut fired off unusually sharp rhetoric at Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's new justice minister, Yariv Levin, saying his proposed changes would amount to an "unbridled attack on the justice system."

W140 Full Story
Israeli army kills 3 Palestinians during West Bank raids

The Israeli military shot and killed three Palestinians during arrest raids in the occupied West Bank on Thursday, Palestinian health officials said, the latest bloodshed in months of rising violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The military, which has been carrying out near-nightly raids in the territory since early last year, said soldiers who entered the Qalandia refugee camp before dawn were bombarded by rocks and cement blocks. In response, the military said troops opened fire at Palestinians throwing objects from rooftops. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man killed as Samir Aslan, 41.

W140 Full Story
Nighttime Israeli arrests haunt Palestinian kids, families

Yousef Mesheh was sleeping in his bunk bed when Israeli forces stormed into his home at 3 a.m.

Within moments, the 15-year-old Palestinian said he was lying on the floor as troops punched him, shouting insults. A soldier struck his mother's chest with his rifle butt and locked her in the bedroom, where she screamed for her sons.

W140 Full Story
Iran's FM says talks with Saudis could restore relations

Talks between regional rivals Iran and Saudi Arabia are continuing and could eventually restore diplomatic relations that were severed years ago, Iran's foreign minister said Friday.

Hossein Amirabdollahian told reporters in Beirut Friday that he met Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud during a conference in Jordan last month that was attended by Middle Eastern and European officials. The meeting between Amirabdollahian and Prince Faisal was the highest-level encounter between the two countries since they cut relations seven years ago.

W140 Full Story
Tunisia jails all-women jihadist group

Tunisia has jailed nine members of an all-women "terrorist" gang accused of plotting to assassinate a government minister, media reported Thursday.

In the North African nation's first known case of an all-woman jihadist group, two of the ringleaders were jailed for 25 years, while the other seven were handed sentences ranging between three and 14 years. One woman was acquitted.

W140 Full Story
Pakistan's premier visits UAE as his nation seeks flood aid

Pakistan's prime minister traveled Thursday to the United Arab Emirates as his nation seeks international aid to recover from devastating floods.

Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif's visit to the UAE marks his third since becoming premier last April. The seven sheikhdoms of the Emirates are home to some 1.7 million Pakistanis, many manual laborers that power its economy and send money back to their nation.

W140 Full Story
Former top Israeli legal officials oppose judicial reforms

Former Israeli top legal officials spoke out Thursday against sweeping reforms to the country's justice system planned by the new conservative government, lending their voices to a growing outcry against the proposed overhaul.

Seven former attorneys general who have served in the post throughout the last five decades — including two appointed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, whose justice minister is spearheading the reforms — signed a letter of protest, along with four other former senior legal officials. The letter, published in Israeli media, denounced the proposed changes, saying they are destructive to the country's legal system.

W140 Full Story
Israeli army kills Palestinian man in West Bank raid

The Israeli military shot and killed a Palestinian man early Thursday during a raid in the occupied West Bank, the Palestinian Health Ministry said, the latest bloodshed in months of violence between Israelis and Palestinians.

The military, which has been carrying out nightly raids in the territory since early last year, said soldiers operating in the Qalandiya refugee camp were being struck by rocks and cement blocks from rooftops above and responded with live fire. The Palestinian Health Ministry identified the man killed as Samir Aslan, 41.

W140 Full Story