Full Coverage: Middle East

30.07.2004 In an apparently self-contradictory move, the U.S. military this week conferred “protected status” on members of an Iranian armed group that is listed as foreign terrorist organization by U.S. authorities. With this new status, members of the People’s Mujahideen (Mujahedin-e Khalq) cannot be extradited from their current base in Iraq to face trial in Iran and are protected by the Fourth Geneva Convention.

29.07.2004 Families of Iraqi civilians allegedly killed by British troops have begun a legal battle with implications for future military operations in foreign countries. Lawyers for the families argued that the soldiers' actions in Iraq are covered by the Human Rights Act and that an independent inquiry must be set up to decide whether the killings were unlawful.

29.07.2004 After months of skirmishing with US forces, insurgents and citizens in the central Iraqi town of Ramadi say that they are preparing to drive out the Americans altogether. They are attempting to emulate their neighbours in Fallujah, where the US Marines have essentially abandoned the town to the insurgents.

28.07.2004 Construction of a strategic pipeline that is to run from Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean has been stopped after the environmental authorities in Georgia found that the British Petroleum-led consortium that is building it had failed to get the proper clearances.

28.07.2004 Construction of a strategic pipeline that is to run from Caspian Sea to the Mediterranean has been stopped after the environmental authorities in Georgia found that the British Petroleum-led consortium that is building it had failed to get the proper clearances.

28.07.2004

© International Confederation of Free Trade Unions

Middle East expert Conn Hallinan believes that recent revelations of the Israeli government’s instigation of Kurdish separatism in Iraq, Iran and Syria are reminiscent of colonial Britain’s divide-and-conquer strategy using “ethnicity, religion and privilege to construct a society with built-in divisions.” However divide and conquer fails in the long run, but only after it inflicts stupendous damage, engendering hatreds that still convulse countries like Nigeria, India and Ireland.

27.07.2004 Learn more about what Israelis and Palestinians think about the conflict. This resource facilitates discussion and helps people understand the complex situation between Israelis and Palestinians by providing background information, maps and analyses from members of the International Quaker Working Party, who had discussions with more than 90 individuals representing a range of personal histories and political views during their recent visit to Israel, Palestine and neighboring countries.

27.07.2004 For the children of Al-Huda, a sprawling squatter community that sprung up in Baghdad after the war started, shoes were high on their wish list when staff of a U.S.-based non-governmental organization visited last year. Weeks later, after the organization sent 400 pairs of shoes to the community, getting to school in their new shoes was foremost thought on the children’s minds.

26.07.2004

Bandiera della Lega Araba

Anti-American sentiment - based primarily on U.S. policies, rather than on its values - has risen to new heights in the Arab world, according to two new surveys conducted in May in six countries, all of whose governments have been closely allied with Washington for the past several decades.

23.07.2004 Amid new reports of abuses by U.S. soldiers of Iraqi and other detainees, a major survey of U.S. public attitudes shows strong opposition to torture and many of the other more-coercive methods that were authorized under some circumstances by Pentagon chief Donald Rumsfeld and used against prisoners held by U.S. forces.

23.07.2004 Campaigners have condemned the extension by the Israeli Knesset of a law (Citizenship and Entry into Israel Law) which denies thousands of Israeli Arab citizens the right to live as a family. "Israel invokes spurious 'security' justifications for a law which institutionalizes racial discrimination and violates international law," Amnesty International said.

23.07.2004 A wetlands restoration project funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) is re-flooding the Marshlands in Iraq 13 years after Saddam Hussein drained them. About 1,000 square miles of the wetlands has already been re-flooded, bringing life and hope to the Marsh Arabs who once raised buffalo on their banks.

22.07.2004

22.07.2004

22.07.2004 Phyllis Bennis and Michael Sochynsky argue that if the June 28 “hand-over of sovereignty” in Baghdad was a ploy to boost support for the Iraq war by reducing casualties of coalition forces, it has not worked. With 36 U.S. military casualties in less than one month, the withdrawal of the Filipino, contingent and the planned withdrawal of New Zealand and Australian troops, public support for the war in the U.S. and among coalition partners is at the lowest level ever.

16.07.2004 Prime Minister Iyad Allawi’s newly acquired power to impose martial law is not necessary because “Iraq is essentially already under martial law with the U.S. military patrolling the streets,” argues Dahr Jamail. Imposing a greater version of martial power will deepen resentment and incite more Iraqis to support the resistance.

16.07.2004

The Wall in Palestine built by Israel / Muro en Palestina construido por Israel © Solidaridad Internacional

Ian Williams explains that the International Court of Justice’s (ICJ) ruling on the illegality of the Israeli wall in the Occupied Territories is a victory for the Palestinians not only because “it was such ICJ rulings that led to independence for Namibia and East Timor,” but also because the ruling obligates states that subscribe to various charters, conventions and treaties that constitute international law to ensure Israel’s compliance with the Court’s opinion.

16.07.2004

Iraq Occupation

Officials at Baghdad’s Karkh and Abu Ghraib prisons are restricting access to more than 150 child detainees. While the International Committee of the Red Cross was able to visit the children between January and May this year, international human rights organizations have not had any access to them.

15.07.2004 Civilian adventurers from Bosnia, Nepal, Colombia and South Africa have happily joined the war effort in Iraq because "it pays much better," say military analysts. The U.S. recruited them not only because its military is stretched thin but also because these contractors and weekend warriors “don’t fall under U.S. military law or Iraqi law.”

14.07.2004 The Philippine government's decision to withdraw "as soon as possible" from Iraq in response to threats against one of its citizens being held hostage there is the latest sign of cracks in the coalition the United States is trying to hold together.