Newsletter: Daily Briefing Netanyahu leads, but no majority in sight With more than 85% of votes counted in Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc leads with 54 seats to opposition leader Gadi Eisenkot’s bloc’s 49, but neither side has a clear path to a governing majority. By Gabrielle Debinski In New York City, reporting on the Middle East
Syria slams Jordan over crossborder strikes, denies coordination: What to know Jordan said its airstrikes targeted ISIS fighters, while Syria said civilians were killed, sparking outrage. Syria
Culture Syrian women easy target in Sharaa’s drive to consolidate power Syria’s interim president is balancing Western demands for inclusion with pressure from Islamist hard-liners as he seeks to consolidate power and shed his jihadi past. Syria
Analysis How Israel’s elections could bring thaw with Syria The next Israeli government could have an opportunity to secure several diplomatic wins involving the United States and Iran by improving relations with Syria. By Ezgi Akin In Ankara, reporting on diplomacy, EU-Turkey ties, NATO
Analysis How Hormuz crisis is reshaping economic ties between Iraq and Syria By Shelly Kittleson In Baghdad, reporting on Iraqi politics
Analysis 'The problem and the solution': Netanyahu-Sharaa call exposes Israel's Syria dilemma By Ben Caspit In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense
Newsletter: Daily Briefing Netanyahu says he spoke with Syria’s Sharaa By Beatrice Farhat In Beirut, reporting on regional news, culture, conflict
Is Turkey Digging a Hole With Its Syria policy? Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is also the enemy of Salafists fighting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Syria
Smugglers Easily Cross Iraq’s Border Despite the efforts of Iraq and the six countries bordering it, Iraq’s borders are easily navigated by professional smugglers. Saudi Arabia
Aleppo’s Children Left Behind As War Shutters Schools Schools across Syria have been shut down, damaged or used as shelters, denying millions of children the chance to attend. Syria
Pressure Mounts on Turkey Over Radical Groups in Syria A recent Human Rights Watch report has drawn further attention to the need for Turkey to control its border and prevent the influx of jihadists to Syria. Syria
The Iranian Trend And Geneva Nuclear Talks Al-Monitor’s coverage of Iran as negotiations commence this week in Geneva with expectations of progress on the nuclear file, and implications for Syria and the region. Israel
Syrian Arab Village Welcomes Kurdish Fighters Villagers consider arrival of Kurdish People's Defense Units (YPG) forces a liberation in light of the presence of al-Qaeda-affiliated groups. Syria
UN Body Led by Ahmet Uzumcu Wins Nobel Peace Prize Turkish President Abdullah Gul expressed deep pride for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize winner, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, led by a Turk, Ahmet Uzumcu. Syria
Lebanon Stability Depends On Iran-Saudi Entente The warming trends in US-Russia and US-Iran ties may or may not benefit Lebanon, unless Iran and Saudi Arabia end their sectarian regional policies. Saudi Arabia
Is Iran Changing Its Policies In Syria, Lebanon? While eyes are on the Oct. 15-16 nuclear talks in Geneva, Iranian policies in Lebanon and Syria may already be showing a more moderate trend under President Hassan Rouhani. Lebanon
Syria’s Kurds Divided Over Geneva II Conference Syria’s Kurdish parties consider whether to be represented independently or as part of the Syrian National Coalition. Syria
Syrian Kurdish Leader Urges Turkey To End Support for Salafists Saleh Muslim, co-chairman of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party, had messages for Ankara in an exclusive interview with Al-Monitor. Syria
Rabinovitch Says Israel Benefits From US-Russia Deal on Syria Former Israeli ambassador to the US, Itamar Rabinovich, says Israel benefited from the chemical weapons agreement with Syria, but warns of a weakening US position relative to Russia in the region. Israel