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By Ayman Mohyeldin in Middle East on June 15th, 2010
Picture from AFP

Despite the fact East Jerusalem remains, under international law, an occupied city, many Israeli officials, including West Jerusalem's Jewish Mayor Nir Barakat, profess that Jerusalem is a city open for all to live in and move around freely within, including Arabs.

Israel claims even Palestinian residents of the city (who endure systematic discrimination, home evictions, demolitions, land confiscation and other forms of state and non-state duress and oppression) are free to live where ever they please. 

But a new report by two Israeli human rights organizations says that the real estate market in Jerusalem is not free and that "80% of lands in Jewish neighbourhoods in Jerusalem cannot be purchased by Palestinians". 

So Palestinians in East Jerusalem whose homes and lands are constantly confiscated,

By Al Jazeera Staff in Middle East on June 1st, 2010
The Mavi Marmara nearing Ashdod Monday night. (Photo: AFP)

We'll once again be keeping tabs on the latest reaction to Israel's deadly attack on a flotilla of activists carrying humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Yesterday's live coverage is here.

The death toll has been revised down to 10, according to the Israeli army, which also says seven Israeli soldiers were wounded in the attack. Those numbers have been impossible to confirm independently, because the Israeli army has restricted access to the ships, which have been towed to Ashdod port. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

If you have comments.

By Gregg Carlstrom in Middle East on May 31st, 2010
Protesters in Istanbul wave Palestinian flags after the raid (Photo: AFP)

Early Monday morning, Israel attacked a flotilla of aid ships bound for the Gaza Strip; up to 10 people were killed in the pre-dawn raid, according to organisers and media sources.

We'll be live-blogging the aftermath of this incident throughout the day; keep checking back for international reaction, news from our correspondents on the ground, photos and video. (All times are GMT, except where noted.)

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By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on May 10th, 2010
Photo from Reuters

I turned up outside the Prime Minister's Office in West Jerusalem two and a half hours before his press conference was due to begin.  His press people insisted we had to arrive that early for security reasons  – I don't even turn up two and a half hours before an international flight I argued, but it was no use.

By Sherine Tadros in Middle East on May 5th, 2010
Photo by AFP

On, off and now on again... well almost.

The so-called “proximity talks” between Israel and the Palestinians have already experienced more ups and downs than the new Rock ‘n’ Rollercoaster ride at Disney World.

They’ve also received a lot of criticism from politicians, analysts and almost everyone else who cares enough to still be following this story.

Why? A simple dictionary definition shows how farcical these talks are.

Proximity means “close, near, adjacent, and next to”. These talks, if and when they happen, won’t even see the two sides in the same building, let alone in the same room, or around the same table.

So what is so proximal about them? It’s certainly not their stances.

The term was invented by the Obama administration to describe what they were already doing.

By Clayton Swisher in Americas, Middle East on April 25th, 2010
Photo by AFP
From my Doha perch it's easy to avoid the whole "dual loyalty" debate currently raging in Washington.  That does not mean that as a reporter I have shied away from raising it where appropriate. 
 
But in case anyone missed it, there has been a growing argument in recent weeks among Washington policy wonks over this very issue, with scathing editorial salvos fired between the formidable Harvard Professor Stephen Walt and the pro-Israel Washington Institute's equally outspoken Robert Satloff. 
 
By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on April 8th, 2010
Photo by EPA

The leak is now credible. The New York Times has confirmed what the Washington Post published a day earlier: the Obama administration is considering proposing its own framework for a negotiated settlement between Israel and the Palestinians.
 
Frustrated by its failure to freeze Jewish settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories, and subsequent failure to get the negotiations back on track, the US government is putting the two parties on notice: Define the contours of a solution by autumn and negotiate its details, or we shall do it for you.
 

By Mike Hanna in Africa on March 26th, 2010

The Arab League Summit is being held in Libya this year by default.  

The venue of the conference is determined on a rotational basis among the organisation's 22 members.

This year it was Iraq's turn to host the summit meeting: however it was mutually agreed that this might not be an appropriate time.

Next in the roster was Djibouti: but this Republic in the Horn of Africa decided to opt out as host, and so in rotation the summit came to Libya.

By Amr El Kahky in Middle East on March 26th, 2010
Photo from AFP
Arab Leaders gather in the Libyan town of Sirte on Saturday for their annual summit.
 
On Thursday, the Arab League's foreign ministers put together a proposal on an action plan on Jerusalem where Israel continues its settlement activities in defiance of the international community.
 
But the Arab public opinion remains unconvinced that this annual gathering will solve any of the problems facing the region.
 
By Marwan Bishara in Imperium on March 24th, 2010
photo from AFP

Soon after the US-Israeli fallout over the settlement issue in Jerusalem took the form of a public spat, Joe Lieberman, the leading backer of Israel in the US senate, demanded an end to the family feud.
 
Considering his dual loyalties, it's no wonder that the Zionist senator is worried. "Let's cut the family fighting, the family feud… it's time to lower voices, to get over the family feud... it just doesn't serve anybody's interests but our enemies."
 
But, like that of Tiger Woods, the US-Israeli spousal scandal continues unabated despite the warnings. As Binyamin Netanyahu, the prime minister, continued to embarrass his US partner in public, Barack Obama refused to be seen with him in public.
 
Instead, Netanyahu was let in from the back door of the White House, away from the cameras.
 

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