Current Analysis Three Updates on Palestinian Political Prisoners Update 1 on prisoners and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, from the halls of the State Department: Last week, the United States considered releasing Jonathan Pollard, an American convicted of espionage on behalf of Israel, in exchange for Israel doing, as political analyst Yousef Munayyer put it, “ Amahl Bishara • 4 min read
Current Analysis Preening Like a State On Tuesday, Mahmoud ‘Abbas surprised peace processers by making use of Palestine’s recently upgraded status as a UN-recognized “state” to sign 15 international agreements, mostly concerning human rights, humanitarian law and diplomatic protocol. The move was announced at a hastily convened meeting of the PLO executive committee, but appears Darryl Li • 4 min read
Current Analysis Refugee 101 Crossing the border at Masna‘, al-‘Abboudiyya or Mashari‘ al-Qa‘a, Syrian refugees entering Lebanon face an immediate choice: Stay in the tented settlements in the north and the Bekaa Valley or make their way to coastal cities such as Beirut and Sidon. Their experiences will vary greatly depending o Sarah Parkinson • 8 min read
Current Analysis Patronizing Women President Barack Obama capped his visit to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on Saturday by presenting [http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/30/world/middleeast/obama-saudi-arabia.html] the International Women of Courage award to Maha al-Muneef, a pediatrician and executive director of the anti-domestic violenc Sheila Carapico • 2 min read
Current Analysis Stuck (or Not) in a "Special Relationship" What to make of the anxieties surfacing [http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/next-test-for-obama-soothing-the-saudis] in the press in advance of President Barack Obama’s stopover in Saudi Arabia? Is the US-Saudi “special relationship” [http://www.sup.org/book.cgi?id=10072] really Toby Jones • 3 min read
Current Analysis Romancing the Throne President Barack Obama plans an overnight stay in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia on March 28-29 for a rendezvous with King ‘Abdallah. The enduring but always strange bedfellows [http://merip.org/mer/mer220/decline-not-fall-us-hegemony-middle-east] have been quarreling of late over Saudi Arabia’s bellig Sheila Carapico • 4 min read
Current Analysis In-Laws and Outlaws A jury today convicted on all counts Sulayman Abu Ghayth, a Kuwaiti preacher who made televised statements in support of al-Qaeda shortly after the attacks of September 11, 2001. As expected, war-on-terror liberals are seizing upon the outcome as proof that civilian courts are a superior alternative Darryl Li • 7 min read
Current Analysis The Diplomatic Dance with Iran A six-month diplomatic [http://www.dawn.com/news/1084989/iran-nuclear-deal-possible-in-six-months] dance with Iran is underway—each step as dainty as a minuet because any misstep is weighted with danger. The issue is Iran’s nuclear research program and the UN inspections that are taking place as a Chris Toensing • 2 min read
Current Analysis Sulayman Abu Ghayth's Last Stand It has been a dramatic week in a federal courtroom just off Foley Square in southern Manhattan, where the trial of Sulayman Abu Ghayth has been taking place. The Kuwaiti preacher and one-time confidant of Osama bin Laden was pulled off a plane while transiting through Jordan last year under mysterio Darryl Li • 4 min read
Current Analysis The First International Yemeni Film and Arts Festival March 18 was the third anniversary of what Yemeni “peaceful youth [http://merip.org/mer/mer269/demonstrators-dialogues-drones-dialectics]” call the Jum‘at al-Karama massacre, the day in 2011 when snipers opened fire on Friday of Dignity protesters in the space they had begun to call Midan al-Taghyir Annelle Sheline • 3 min read
Current Analysis Nowruz Mobarak It’s been a long, cold, snowy winter across much of the globe, so we thought we’d do something to celebrate spring. Nowruz is the traditional Persian new year’s holiday, observed in Iran, Afghanistan, Kurdish lands and beyond where Persian culture has had an influence. A pre-Islamic holiday, Nowruz The Editors • 3 min read
Current Analysis A Darkly Intimate Thriller The first time I watched Omar [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2852406/], the latest Oscar-nominated work [http://www.merip.org/mero/interventions/paradise-nows-understated-power] by Palestinian director Hany Abu-Assad [http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0009463/?ref_=tt_ov_dr], I nearly leapt out of my seat as Max Weiss • 3 min read
