Surf Arab States

Arab States Weekly Review 31 Dec 2011 – 6 Jan 2012

A team of observers of the Arab League visited Syria in an effort to persuade President Assad’s regime to withdraw its troops from towns, to free all political prisoners and talk to the opposition. The violence continued.

Egypt’s three-stage general election drew to a close with a final run-off to occur on January 11th. The relatively moderate Muslim Brotherhood is expected to gain most votes, though have indicated to prefer a coalition with secular parties rather than the extreme Salafists.

Israeli and Palestinian negotiators met in Jordan and had their first talks for more than a year.