After meeting Netanyahu, Kushner agrees Hamas disarmament precedes Israel's withdrawal Israel and the Gaza Board of Peace have agreed that the Israeli military will begin withdrawing from the Gaza Strip after Hamas disarms. Israel
Analysis How Israel's rivalry, defense deals prompted Turkey to join Mecca pact Turkey’s growing rivalry with Israel and mounting regional instability are driving its defense alignment with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, despite risks of strategic entanglement and friction with NATO partners. By Barin Kayaoglu In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Israel moves against West Bank settlers after Huckabee criticism Who benefits from Lebanon’s amnesty law; Turkey's Fidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi-led defense pact; and more. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Analysis Fidan heads to Egypt amid questions over Saudi Arabia-Turkey-Pakistan pact Conflicting accounts of why Egypt stayed out of the agreement have exposed the competing interests shaping the region’s emerging defense architecture. By Amberin Zaman Reporting on geopolitics, minorities, human rights, culture
Newsletter: FutureVerse Red Sea tech risks resurface By Samuel Wendel In Washington, DC, reporting on regional business and tech
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Iran denies negotiations with US after Trump calls off strikes By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Al-Azhar keeps up campaign against Charlie Hebdo Al-Azhar has criticized French authorities' silence over the controversial cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad recently republished by satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo. Egypt
Egypt reaches out to Greece amid tension with Turkey Egypt is making diplomatic moves to counter Turkey’s growing involvement in the Eastern Mediterranean region amid escalating tension. Egypt
Is Egypt sidelining its Libyan ally? Egypt has for the first time hosted a delegation from western Libya, which may point to the possible marginalization of eastern military commander Khalifa Hifter in upcoming peace talks. Egypt
'Cuties' spurs calls by Egyptian authorities to censor Netflix There have been increasing calls in Egypt to censor certain Netflix content, while art critics believe it would be difficult to censor the work of the global network. Egypt
Muslim Brotherhood appoints acting guide after arrest of leader The recent arrest of acting Muslim Brotherhood leader Mahmoud Ezzat raises many questions, especially among younger members, about his potential successor and the fate of the organization in Egypt. Egypt
Many Egyptians unmoved by heroic 'train lady' story A woman who offered to pay a conscript's train fare has been celebrated as a national hero in Egypt, but skeptics suggest the incident was staged to deflect attention from bigger challenges faced by the country. Egypt
Russia pushes COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt Moscow is busily promoting its COVID-19 vaccine in Egypt, which it hopes to recruit for testing and production purposes. Egypt
Intel: Pompeo questioned over State's declaring Egypt’s ex-PM immune from torture suit Rep. Gerry Connolly said he was "shocked to learn" the State Department had issued a certificate of immunity for Egypt's former prime minister. Egypt
Egypt’s presidency clashes with religious institutions over verbal divorce Calls for new legislation in Egypt to annul verbal divorce, namely by President Abel Fattah al-Sisi, raise the ire of Al-Azhar and other religious institutions already at odds with the president. Egypt
Why Egypt chose Chinese COVID-19 vaccine over Russian one As Egypt and China are set to sign an agreement for the distribution of a Chinese coronavirus vaccine, questions arise as to the efficiency of this vaccine. Egypt
What does Egypt have to gain from building a dam in Tanzania? Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi called for completing the construction of the Julius Nyerere dam in Tanzania, while the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam negotiations faltered. Egypt
Egypt rallies Arab League to counter Turkey's regional policies Egypt called on Arab countries to adopt a unified policy to deter the Turkish interference in the Arab region, especially in Libya, Syria and Iraq. Egypt