Orientul Mijlociu

Israel intensified its attacks on Gaza and Lebanon, deadly state repression across Iran halts protests, and violence escalated between state forces and the SDF in northern Syria.

Gaza: Violence escalates amid the US launch of phase 2 of the Gaza peace plan

Violence intensified in Gaza in January, with the highest number of Israeli attacks since the current ceasefire began on 10 October. At least 160 Palestinians were killed during the month — double the previous month’s toll — as Israeli forces continued to use lethal force against civilians approaching the Yellow Line or collecting firewood, while also targeting militants attempting to cross into Israeli-controlled areas or plant explosive devices. Israel also carried out repeated strikes across Hamas-controlled areas in response to incidents in Rafah, including two attempted attacks on Israeli troops by Hamas gunmen emerging from tunnels, a failed missile launch, and militant activity near the Yellow Line. On 31 January, Israel carried out its deadliest attack wave of the month, killing at least 32 Palestinians, including civilians, militants, and police officers.1

The first Friday Ramadan prayers at Al-Aqsa since the Israel-Hamas ceasefire have revived the Third Temple debate. Here’s why Jerusalem’s Temple Mount keeps the world on edge.

An image plastered across dailies this Saturday morning showed thousands of Muslim devotees offering their prayers on the first Friday of Ramadan at the Al Aqsa Mosque on Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. This was the first Ramadan prayers offered at the mosque since the fragile ceasefire deal was signed between Israel and Hamas in October 2025. The images got me thinking. About the significance of the Temple Mount and how many of us truly see it as the political and religious tinderbox that it is.

Former officials and strategists warn that Israel’s new land registry laws and military pressure in the occupied West Bank are the final prelude to the ‘alternative homeland’ scenario.

For decades, the “alternative homeland” – the notion that Jordan should become the Palestinian state – was dismissed in Amman’s diplomatic circles as a distant nightmare or a conspiracy theory.

Iran’s foreign minister said Tuesday that “good progress” had been made in indirect nuclear talks with the United States in Geneva, describing broad agreement on guiding principles for a potential deal even as tensions between the two countries remained high.

The negotiations, mediated by Oman, took place in Switzerland against a backdrop of military maneuvers by both sides in the Persian Gulf.

Serious concerns are emerging over the ability of the Syrian government to maintain security in the northeast of the country following its recent offensive against the Kurdish-led, U.S.-allied Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

A Syrian government spokesman admitted on February 17 that since the end of January, thousands of detainees had absconded from the al-Hol detention camp previously run by the SDF. “Families escaped while we were present because the camp is large and the smuggling routes are very varied,” said Fadi al-Qassem.

On February 9, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that Turkey would begin developing nuclear weapons should Iran obtain them. During a televised interview with CNN Turk, Fidan warned that Iranian nuclearization would upset the “balance of power” in the Middle East and likely initiate a regional nuclear arms race, which Turkey may be compelled to join. The foreign minister declined to comment when asked if he believed Turkey should possess nuclear weapons.

Occupied West Bank (QNN)- Israel has approved, for the first time since 1967, the registration of land in the occupied West Bank as “state property”, a move that will facilitate the dispossession and displacement of Palestinians, violate international law, and “bury the idea of a Palestinian state.”

The Syrian government released a number of detainees affiliated with the Islamist-oriented Hizb ut-Tahrir party who had been imprisoned in Idlib (northwestern Syria) on Monday, February 16.

Abdo al-Dali, a member of the media office of Hizb ut-Tahrir, Wilayah Syria, confirmed to Enab Baladi that several party members detained in Idlib had been freed, most notably Ahmad Abdel Wahab, head of the party’s media office in Syria.