Middle east news

The Turkey trap: Israel has air superiority over Ankara, but no reason to fight - opinion

Israel’s strike in Syria risks turning tensions with Turkey into a confrontation that serves neither country

|ByANDREW FOX
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan holds a press conference during NATO leaders' summit in Ankara, Turkey, July 8. Relations between Israel and Turkey have repeatedly deteriorated and recovered, but their competing interests in post-Assad Syria have introduced a new source of strategic friction.Premium
TURKISH PRESIDENT Recep Tayyip Erdogan shakes hands with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, next to Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, after signing a joint defense agreement in Mecca, on August 7, 2026.

Mecca pact unites Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Pakistan - but what does it mean? - opinion

The significance of the Mecca pact will depend less on the language of the agreement than on its implementation.

|ByVAS SHENOY
Atef Najib, a brigadier general and former head of the Political Security Department in Daraa during Syria's ousted President Bashar al-Assad's rule, who is accused of committing war crimes, attends a trial session at the Palace of Justice, in Damascus, Syria, April 26, 2026.

Assad brothers summoned in absentia as Syria opens landmark trial of former security chief

The court’s summonses for Bashar and Maher Assad added symbolic weight to a proceeding targeting figures once considered untouchable

|ByRIZIK ALABI/THE MEDIA LINE
US first lady Melania Trump presides over a United Nations Security Council meeting, at UN headquarters in New York City, US, March 2, 2026.

Trump, Netanyahu and the irony of Responsibility to Protect in Iran - opinion

Trump and Netanyahu may unintentionally act in line with the UN’s Responsibility to Protect principle.

|ByDAN PERRY

Crisis between Israel, US? Trump warns against collapse of Lebanon ceasefire - exclusive

Sources close to US President-elect Donald Trump have reportedly conveyed a stern warning to Israeli officials.

JANUARY 16, 2025ByAMICHAI STEIN
IDF troops operating in the Litani River area in Lebanon for first time in over two decades

Heart vs head: The hostage deal and the cost of compassion - analysis

The national sense of relief if and when the agreement is finalized will be real, but the true cost may only be fully reckoned in the future. 

JANUARY 14, 2025ByHERB KEINON
Former hostages speak at Tel Aviv's Hostage Square.

CENTCOM, IDF deputy chiefs meet to plan next moves versus Houthis

3 IDF soldiers killed; Kfir Brigade leaves north Gaza with some wins, but questions about Hamas comeback

JANUARY 7, 2025ByYONAH JEREMY BOB, DARCIE GRUNBLATT, JERUSALEM POST STAFF
IDF Deputy Chief of Staff Maj.-Gen. Amir Baram (L) and US Central Command Deputy Commander Admiral Brad Cooper (R), January 7, 2025.

Eight confirmed dead in Cairo building collapse

Cairo is the most populous city in the Arab world and has faced urban planning challenges for years.

DECEMBER 12, 2024ByTHE MEDIA LINE STAFF
Birds fly during sunset with the Cairo skyline visible in the background during foggy cold weather, Egypt, February 1, 2024.

Anti-Zionist rhetoric: Loud but fundamentally flawed - opinion

Why do educated Jews turn so against their own people while an Italian Catholic sees the same matter with a totally different clarity?

DECEMBER 12, 2024ByYISRAEL MEDAD
PEOPLE PROTEST in Berlin outside Humboldt University in support of Israel and against antisemitism, in October. The charge that Israel is perpetrating a genocide is culturally rooted, springing from antisemitic tropes, Cold War politics, and settler-colonial academic theory, insists the writer.

Is France contributing to ongoing problems in the Middle East? - opinion

In the 1920s, France disrupted peace and stability in the Middle East through its assault on Syria.

DECEMBER 12, 2024ByGOL KALEV
A general view of the Grand Al-Nuri Mosque after it was evacuated due to the discovery of explosive devices inside it dating back to the time of the Islamic State in Mosul, Iraq, June 29, 2024.

From fantasy to reality: The vision of an Israel-Iraq highway – opinion

More regional connections mean lower costs, greater economic equity, and less vulnerability to supply chain disruptions —outcomes of enormous importance to US national security in a multi-polar world

DECEMBER 12, 2024ByERIC GALLAGHER
SYRIAN FORCES escape through the border at Al Qaim, Iraq, last Saturday, just before the declared overthrow of the Assad regime. The writer ponders: Imagine renting a car in Tel Aviv and embarking on a scenic road trip through Syria to Iraq.

The fall of Assad does not mean Syria, the Middle East is a safer place - opinion

It’s not a safer place: Syria and the Mideast after Assad’s fall from power.

DECEMBER 12, 2024ByEFRAIM INBAR
SYRIAN CARETAKER prime minister Mohammed al-Bashir attends a meeting with the transitional cabinet in Damascus yesterday. The demise of the Assad regime will not turn Syria, nor the Middle East as a whole, into a better place, the writer maintains.

Israel’s frenzied reality: When destroying an enemy navy isn’t the top news story - analysis

This astounding military achievement was relegated to a secondary headline. It was just one more story in a news cycle overflowing with drama.

DECEMBER 10, 2024ByHERB KEINON
A bombed hangar after the IDF hit weapons depots near the Mazzeh military airport, outside Damascus, on December 9, 2024

San Francisco Hillel building defaced with 'Khaybar' graffiti

"This incident is a reminder that our work to counter antisemitism on college campuses is far from over," the ADL's Marc Levine said in a statement.

DECEMBER 10, 2024ByMICHAEL STARR
Antisemitic graffiti spray painted on a San Francisco Hillel house.