14 May 10
Approximately 100 Iraqis, almost all civilians, were killed on May 10th during a series of bombings throughout Baghdad, Basra and Hilla. It was the highest death toll in one day this year.
The long-awaited ‘proximity’ talks between Israelis and Palestinians were resumed via American intermediary after an 18-month pause. Israeli PM Netanyahu was embarrassed by having to deny an earlier statement from the US State Department that Israel would halt settlement-building for 2 years.
09 May 10
Indirect talks (under American mediation) between Israel and mainstream Palestinians were set to resume after the Arab League endorsed the conditions. USA’s Middle-East envoy George Mitchell went to the region to meet members of both sides.
Iraq’s incumbent prime minister Nuri Al-Maliki, whose State of Law Alliance ended second in the latest elections, made a deal with the third placed group (Iraqi National Alliance), a religiously oriented Shia group. Followers of Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia with strong Sunni support who ended first in the elections, would be outraged if he was to be excluded from a government.
01 May 10
At least 58 Iraqis were killed during a series of bombings. Sunni jihadists are believed to be behind the attacks, in response to the killing of three Al-Qaeda affiliated leaders last week.
26 Apr 10
Three leaders of Al-Qaeda affiliated Sunni extremist groups were killed in a joint US-Iraqi strike: Abu Ayyub al-Masri (believed to be head of Al-Qaeda in Iraq), Abu Omar Al-Baghdadi and Ahmed Al-Obeidi (believed to have organized attacks around Mosul).
19 Apr 10
Shimon Perez, President of Israel, accused Syria of supplying scud missiles to Hezbollah in the south of Lebanon. Syria has dismissed the accusations as “fabrications”, and believes Israel is trying to set the stage for “Israeli aggression”. Last year Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah said his organization could hit “any city in Israel”, but did not give details.
At least two Palestinian militants were killed in an Israeli army strike in the Gaza strip. The Israeli military says it hit a Palestinian group which was planting explosives near Gaza’s perimeter fence.
12 Apr 10
At least 100 Iraqis were killed by bombings in and around Baghdad. Al-Qaeda is believed to be behind the terror, in an effort to bring instability and sectarian strife to the post-election situation.
01 Apr 10
The Iraqi National Movement, led by Iyad Allawi, won Iraq’s General Election by securing 91 out of the 325 seats in parliament. The State of Law alliance, the party of incumbent Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki, became second with 89 seats. A Shia religious movement got 70. Two main Kurdish parties secured 43 seats together. It may take months for a coalition to emerge.
29 Mar 10
Dubai announced it would provide $9.5 billion to help recapitalise Dubai World. It will also convert debt claims (worth $10 billion) into equity. Creditors will receive their money back under the proposal, albeit after a delay.
Saudi forces announced the arrest of 113 people suspected of having ties to Al-Qaeda.
The foreign secretary of Britain denounced the Israeli secret service Mossad for forging passports in the name of 12 British citizens for an operation targeting the execution of an Hamas official in Dubai.
Barack Obama received Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu in the White House, in a period of a chilled relationship between the USA and Israel. Obama is said to be hardening his stance on recent Israeli settlement pushes in the East Jerusalem.
21 Mar 10
American patience with Israel is running out, following Israeli intent to initiate new settlements in East Jerusalem. The announcement of the settlements coincided with Joe Biden’s visit to Israel, and was taken as an insult by the Obama administration. America’s envoy to the Middle-East, George Mitchell, cancelled his visit to Israel, and Hilary Clinton reportedly berated Benjamin Netanyahu for 45 minutes over the phone.
With 80% of votes counted after Iraq’s general election, an electoral alliance led by current prime-minister Nuri Al-Malaki is tied with a group led by Iyad Allawi.
14 Mar 10
Iraq held its general elections on the 7th of March, accompanied by scores of bombings in Baghdad. Turnout was lower than in 2005, and preliminary results showed that no group will win an outright majority in parliament. Forming a coalition may take months.
Israel declared that another 1600 houses would be built for Jewish settlers in Israeli-annexed suburbs that Palestinians hoped for as their future capital. The news came briefly after ‘proximity talks’ between Israel and Palestine were announced to be resumed.
Egypt’s senior cleric Sheikh Muhammad Tantawi died at the age of 81 in Saudi Arabia. Tantawi was a moderate cleric who angered radical Muslims by denouncing their insistence that Muslim women should be wholly covered.
