Interview

Former PM Olmert: 'Netanyahu is finished'

In an exclusive Al-Monitor interview, former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu will fail to form a government after the Sept. 17 elections and will be cast aside by Likud before a third round of elections.

How Jordan handled fuming crisis over cigarettes

Residents of the border city of Ramtha in the north of Jordan have protested recently against new government measures to curb smuggling, which would further add to their economic burdens.

Jordan

Cash-strapped Jordan imposes new taxes; public anger ensues

Economists suggest the Jordanian government should cut its own expenses and those of its staff instead of imposing taxes that add to the people’s economic burden.

Jordan

Will Jordanian prisoners in Israel complete sentences at home?

Questions arise as to whether Israel will send Jordanian prisoners to complete their prison sentences in their country, in an attempt to avoid releasing them in a possible prisoner exchange.

Palestine

Syrians in makeshift displacement camp face ‘impossible choice’

A joint United Nations-Syrian Arab Red Crescent mission has arrived at the Rukban camp, near the Jordanian border, where more than 10,000 people are living in dire conditions, to ask them if they want to go back to the government-held area of Homs province.

Jordan

Jordan warns against changing status quo at Al-Aqsa Mosque

Jordan summoned the Israeli ambassador over Israeli violations at Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem, while Jordan’s Parliament called for his expulsion amid tension at the Muslim holy site.

Palestine

A win-win solution on the Temple Mount

Many have tried, but always failed, to resolve the issue of tensions occasionally flaring over praying on the Temple Mount/Haram al-Sharif, but the solution is not so difficult.

Palestine

Israelis praying at Petra shrine sparks outrage in Jordan

Jordanians expressed anger toward the government after pictures and videos began circulating showing Israeli tourists praying at a Muslim shrine in Petra, forcing the government to close the site.

Israel

Jordan's Baha'is struggle for basic civil rights

Jordan does not recognize the Baha'i faith as a religion, which has created difficulties for adherents in regard to marriage, inheritance and overall civil rights.

Jordan

Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum to promote regional energy cooperation

The founding countries of the Eastern Mediterranean Gas Forum have recently held a meeting in Cairo, and some experts say the forum is part of the "deal of the century."

Palestine

How avocado became king in this West Bank city

Increasing numbers of Palestinian farmers in Qalqilya and Tulkarm are opting to grow avocados given the potential earnings from local demand as well as from export.

Palestine

PA mulls over importing fuel from Iraq

The Palestinian Authority weighs its options to import fuel from Iraq through Jordan as a step toward economic disengagement from Israel, but will the Paris Protocol allow it to do so?

Palestine