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Yesterday Human Rights Watch made several specific allegations of war crimes committed by Israeli troops in Gaza. These included incidents where, according to local residents, Israeli forces had shot fleeing civilians when "no Palestinian fighters were present at the time and no… Read more
The power to grant a pardon can be a useful element in any country's legal system. It allows a measure of discretion in cases where the law is believed to have treated someone unfairly.
But debates about the principle stretch back centuries – certainly to the time of Plato – and in 1776… Read more
Israel now says that Second Lieutenant Hadar Goldin – who it earlier claimed had been "kidnapped" by Hamas – was actually killed while fighting in Gaza.
On Friday morning, the Israeli military announced:
"We are conducting extensive searches in S. Gaza in order to find a missing IDF… Read more
The "bitter truth", according to a headline in the Daily Mail this week, is that Iraq and Libya "were better off under the tyrants toppled by an arrogant and naive west". In the article below, columnist Stephen Glover asked:
"Where would you prefer to try to live a half-normal life – in… Read more
Whenever I hear Israel's supporters defending the war in Gaza I wonder what they are hoping to achieve. Who do they think they are going to persuade?
Something has gone seriously wrong with Israel's once-reliable hasbara. Far from shifting opinion in Israel's favour, it is now having the… Read more
The big picture is very clear. Israel's onslaught against Gaza is killing large numbers of civilians, including many children. Nobody can seriously dispute that.
When the big picture is so clear it's easy to slip into the habit of seeing every new incident as further confirmation, but war is rarely… Read more
Algeria is one of the most under-reported of the Arab countries, at least where English-language media are concerned. In the article below, Alex Russell discusses a little-noticed conflict which has been rumbling on for several months in the city of Ghardaïa. The article was first published… Read more
Click here to enlarge image
Last Friday, @IsraelinIreland, a Twitter account belonging to the Israeli government and apparently managed by its embassy in Ireland, posted a series of images (above). One showed a famous Dublin landmark – the statue of Molly Malone – clad in a burka… Read more
Yesterday, I got into a Twitter conversation with Benjamin Weinthal, a Europe-based correspondent for the Jerusalem Post. Weinthal asked:
"How does one explain that 1,700 people died in Syria over last seven days and zero protests in Europe. Hardly any media coverage."
It's an interesting… Read more
ARAB ART ONLINE: Susan Hefuna: Al Sabr Gamil (Patience is Beautiful) 2007. Ink stained on wood 140 x 170 cm. More information | Click to enlarge
