After Jordan, Emirates also furious with Netanyahu Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not only managed to get into a diplomatic row with Jordan, he also succeeded in angering the Emiratis. Israel
Iran operating new advanced centrifuges, nuclear watchdog finds According to an International Atomic Energy Agency report, Iran is now using IR-4 centrifuges to enrich uranium in violation of the nuclear accord. Iran
Lawsuit filed to close pro-Kurdish party after lawmaker stripped of parliamentary seat Omer Faruk Gergerlioglu, a pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party deputy known to focus on human rights abuses, was stripped of his parliament seat and a lawsuit was filed to close the party March 17. Turkey
Netanyahu courts Arab voters as 'Abu Yair' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has adopted a new strategy for the Arab public: cynically rebranding himself as "Abu Yair." Israel
New 'Party of God' Will Divide Kurdish, Turkish Islamists Turkey's newest political party, Huda-Par, a legal Islamic Kurdish party from within Hezbollah, marks a rapid divergence of the paths of Kurdish and Turkish Islamists, writes Kadri Gursel. Turkey
Regional Chaos Makes Israel Seem Like an Island of Stability Israel, stable and predictable for the first time in many years, worries about the changes and chaos in which its neighbors have been caught up, writes Ben Caspit. Israel
Liberman Resigns — Like a Fox Avigdor Liberman has resigned immediately from his post as foreign minister — a plan which, writes Ben Caspit, may return him to the head of a new Israeli government in March 2013. Israel
Hezbollah Plans to Aid Displaced Syrians As the year-end holidays approach, Hezbollah reportedly plans to donate food and blankets to Syrian refugees in Lebanon, Nasser Chararah reports. Lebanon
For Lebanese, Syrian Crisis Cuts along Sectarian Lines Within both the March 8 & 14 Alliances, reactions differ at the grass-roots level regarding the events transpiring in the country bordering Lebanon, Elie Hajj reports Lebanon
The Debate Over Lebanon's 'Democracy' Intensifies There is intense debate about the need for a new elections law in Lebanon, which has not witnessed a rotation in power as a result of elections in its 60 years of independence, writes Jean Aziz. Lebanon
Russia Will Not Change Its Position on Syria Fyodor Lukyanov writes that Russia's fundamental interests in Syria remain unchanged, and that while Moscow will support a political settlement to what it views as a sectarian and regional war, it will not support a Western intervention to depose Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria
New Jerusalem Neighborhood Threatens Territorial Solution The plans for a new Jewish neighborhood in East Jerusalem will preclude any possibility of a territorial solution along the lines of the Clinton Parameters and render those proposals for Israeli-Palestinian peace null and void, writes Akiva Eldar Palestine
Syrian Minister Says US Ignores 'Lessons of Afghanistan' In an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor, Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who rarely speaks to the Western press, cast violence in Syria as a war against Salafi terrorists backed by predominantly Sunni Arab nations. "If ending the violence was in the hands of the Syrian government, then I assure you we would have ended it yesterday," Moallem said. Syria
