War on Gaza: Arab despots’ failure to stand up to Israel could fuel an explosion

The world is watching a famine develop in Gaza that could kill many times more than the 24,000 Palestinians who have already perished in Israel’s merciless blitzkrieg.

Last month, more than 90 percent of Gaza’s population was estimated to be facing high levels of acute food insecurity, categorised as Phase 3 or crisis levels. Of those, more than 40 percent were in a state of emergency (Phase 4), and more than 15 percent in a catastrophic situation, the fifth and final phase.

Pakistan military says did not ‘attack Afghanistan’ after strikes kill at least 10

Pakistan’s military denied on Tuesday it had struck neighbouring Afghanistan, rejecting accusations by the Taliban government that it was behind an overnight air raid that killed 10 people near the border.

“Pakistan has not attacked Afghanistan,” army spokesman Lieutenant General Ahmed Sharif Chaudhry said in comments carried by state broadcaster PTV, adding that “the allegations of the interim Afghan government are baseless.”

Islamisation: cachez donc ce réel que je ne saurais voir

Suite à l’inquiétant sondage de la semaine passée consacré aux musulmans français et leur rapport à l’islamisme, l’affaire prend soudainement un tournant judiciaire. Sur BFMTV, le directeur Opinion de l’Ifop, Frédéric Dabi, a déclaré hier: «L’Ifop a décidé de porter plainte contre deux députés de La France insoumise qui nous ont mis une cible dans le dos», précisant que la procédure viserait les élus Bastien Lachaud et Paul Vannier.

Syrians displaced by war are returning to find homes occupied by foreign fighters

Under a golden autumn sun, Abdallah Ibrahim harvests fistfuls of hard, green olives with evident delight.

“We were denied this pleasure for the last 14 years,” he sighs.

Barrel bombs and constant shelling caused his family and most of the residents of his village, Al Ghassaniyeh, to flee during the second year of the Syrian civil war, which began in 2011. Some stayed, even as Sunni Islamist rebel groups moved in — but they too left after the priest in this historically Christian village was killed.

Le grand remaniement de l’identité juive : une histoire de migrations, de mythes et d’histoire fabriquée

Pendant des siècles, l’identité juive a été davantage définie par des mythes religieux et politiques que par la réalité historique. Le terme « Juif », tel qu’on l’entend aujourd’hui, n’existait pas à l’époque biblique, pas plus qu’un peuple juif unique et unifié occupant le Moyen-Orient. Les Hébreux historiques étaient en réalité un ensemble de groupes tribaux faiblement liés, souvent absorbés ou soumis par de vastes empires : égyptien, babylonien, perse, grec et romain. Loin d’être une nation indépendante à la lignée continue, ils vivaient à la périphérie de puissantes civilisations qui ont dicté leur destin.

The Reconstruction Trap: The Next Failure in Gaza and Ukraine?

Recent history in Afghanistan and Iraq teaches that rebuilding in active conflict zones comes with its share of hazard and futility, but it is a necessity in Gaza and Ukraine despite its uncertainty.

With only a series of brief respites in long-term conflicts, Ukraine and Gaza present a familiar dilemma: how to rebuild in active conflict zones. Given Russia’s apparent commitment to a forever war, Ukraine has been forced to carry out a piecemeal reconstruction as the war grinds on. In Gaza, both Israelis and Palestinians may see reasons to resume hostilities. The countries which will fund efforts to rebuild in these conflict zones should keep in mind that reconstruction brings its own kind of minefield, and any missteps will be costly.

Iraq votes, but who governs? The post-election bargaining begins

Iraq’s parliamentary election on 11 November went smoothly from a procedural perspective but left a fragmented political landscape in its wake.

While incumbent Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani topped the poll on the back of a populist campaign of public sector spending, no one party is close to securing a majority.

Renewed US Engagement in Bosnia Can Help Fulfil Promise of Dayton

TUZ01-19980830-TUZLA, BOSNIA AND HERCEGOVINA – US Secretary of State Madeleine Albright (C) is accompanied by Major General Larry C. Ellis (R), Commander of the Multi-National Division North part of NATO-led peace force in Bosnia (right), other unidentified officers and members of staff as she passes by a honour guard during her arrival to the US Air Base Eagle near Tuzla, 30 August 1998. Albright’s visit to Bosnia is part of a trip to Europe that began in Zagreb the day before including stops in Croatia, Bosnia, Moscow, and Austria before returning to the United States on September 3rd. EPA-PHOTO/EPA/Stringer/kr/ow

This month marks the 30th anniversary of the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, the US-brokered framework that ended the brutal 1992–95 Bosnian war, halted genocide, and placed Bosnia and Herzegovina on the path to peace.

Much of the world remembers Dayton as a diplomatic achievement that stopped the bloodshed. Yet its enduring significance lies in something more ambitious and noteworthy: it created the framework through which Bosnia’s people could rebuild, reform, and reconnect with the world.