Aric Lapter on left, and Rasheed on right shake hands at Silverstone
The political magazines are talking about the bloodshed in Gaza one year on and how peace remains as elusive as ever for Israelis and …

Hamas’ participation is essential not only because it is in control of Gaza, but because it is a disciplined grass-roots movement,with a substantial social, political and security apparatus, coupled with a charitable economic structure that provides for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians. Whilst it is certainly a radical, violent, militant group, it wields too much influence over its followers to be discounted. If ignoring Hamas has not helped to marginalise it in the past, how do US President Barack Obama and the leaders of moderate Arab states bring about reform and inclusion ofHamas in the peace process?

(c) Mark Sardella
This week saw Barack Obama celebrate a year since his inaugration as the USA’s 44th President. As the senator election in Massachusets triggered by the death of Edward Kennedy took place, it became …

A year on since Operation Cast Lead, the situation in the Middle East is as bleak as ever. The people of Gaza still live in desperation and poverty; whilst on the other side of the …

Almost a year on from Operation Cast Lead, and the Israeli retaliation to persistent rocket fire, the situation in the Middle East is little better. Ross Kemp’s recent investigation into life on both sides of …

‘Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran…’ Oh how we laughed at John McCain. ‘There he goes again, singing about bombing Iran’, some said. The idea of military action has been sitting for a while at …

(c) Chadica
This week the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) issued voluntary guidance on the labelling of products from the West Bank. Up until now, products from the West Bank have simply …

(c) eamoncurry123
The mouthpiece of Scotland’s trade union movement, the Scottish Trades Union Congress (STUC), last week encouraged Celtic fans to wave Palestinian flags during their Europa League match against Israeli side Hapoel Tel-Aviv. This attracted praise …

(c) FaceMePLS
So, apparently the Israel lobby is primarily and solely concerned with the interests of the state of Israel. Channel 4’s documentary last night reaches this shocking conclusion from a tortuous hour long analysis. Peter …

“Iran is not your typical adversary in the military sense. Its available arsenal doesn’t simply include conventional weapons. Rather it is their unprecedented influence in post-Saddam Iraq, their domination of the fragile Afghan economy and their support for Hezbollah in Lebanon that, combined with their nuclear programme, pose such a serious threat to the regional interests of the United States and, perhaps most notably, Israel.”

(c) D G
Judge Daphne Wickman this week rejected a call for an arrest warrant for Israel’s defence minister, Ehud Barak, for his role in the Gaza war, under the auspices of the claim that Israel …

News that Israel’s police recommended indicting Foreign Minister Avidgor Lieberman, was met outside of Israel with a fairly uniform media response: a reminder that Lieberman is a controversial right-wing politician of Moldovan origin who used …

Image by Kamel Cabrera
Director Ken Loach’s latest movie, “Looking for Eric” is playing host to a great deal of media coverage. This is partly due, of course, to the sheer animal-magnetism of its aging star- …

(c) jetheriot

Benjamin Netanyahu gave a fascinating speech last week, if only because it demonstrated the cunning new power of Barack Obama’s peace initiative. In calling for a demilitarised Palestinian state that confronts Hamas, Netanyahu has …