This Blog is intended for use by students in the Islamic Middle East course at Northfield Mount Hermon School and guest students and teachers from other participating schools.
Lebanon’s Hizbullah has opened a shrine in Nabatiye to its recently deceased commander Imad Mughniyah. Mughniyah, a high ranking member of Hizbullah, died on February 12 in a car bomb attack in Damascus that Hizbullah blamed on Israeli agents. Mughniyah was implicated in the 1985 hijacking of a TWA airliner which was diverted to Beirut [...]
Israeli P.M. Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas have held talks in Jerusalem aimed at moving the peace process forward.
Story from the BBC with links to historical benchmarks in the process and other resources (such as borders, the status of refugees, and water)
IME Course Study Guide for the Arab-Israeli conflict
Go to story, links, and map
IME course guide to the Arab-Israeli conflict
Iranian born Israeli peace activist Abie Nathan has died. Among other things, he founded the “pirate” radio station “Voice of Peace,” famous for its call-sign: “From somewhere in the Mediterranean, this is the Voice of Peace.”
More at BBC
Palestinians are losing their enthusiasm for a two-state solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict and instead are turning their attention more and more to the idea of a binational single state shared with Israel.
Story from the BBC
See also
Course study guide on the Arab-Israeli Conflict
The man nicknamed the “national poet” of Palestine has passed away.
Story at BBC
Story from the BBC
More on problems with water resources in the Middle East: “Water Wars in the Middle East”
A one week old truce between Israel and HAMAS appears to be unraveling with violations reported by both sides. Part of the problem is that HAMAS appears unable to control the behavior of rival Palestinian factions.
Story at the BBC
More on the Arab-Israeli Conflict from the IME course study pages
Hugh Sykes, the BBC’s correspondent in Damascus, profiles Syria’s interests regionally in the Middle East and abroad. Among the topics addressed are prospects for the Turkish mediated peace talks between Syria and Israel that came to light recently. In addition, Sykes interviews HAMAS leader Khaled Meshaal, who has been living in safe house in Damascus.
Go to the [...]
(Read the NYtimes article.)
The Palestinian factions Fatah and Hamas met in Senegal to restore mutual respect. In June 2006 Hamas, ending the monopolistic rule of Fatah, won the parliamentary election and took over Gaza. Mahmoud Abbas, the president from Fatah, declared the Hamas government illegitimate. Since then, hostility between the two groups has been increasing. Hamas has criticized [...]
BBC Middle East