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.
08 Mar 10
A suicide bombing in Baquba, north of Baghdad, killed at least 33 people. Tensions have rose preceding a general election in Iraq on March 7th.
George Mitchell, Obama’s envoy to the Middle-East, will set off to the region to initiate another round of ‘proximity talks’ between the Israeli’s and the Palestinians. The Arab League has welcomed the news of the negotiations, which have stalled for over a year.
28 Feb 10
Israeli opposition leader Tzipi Livni has applauded the controversial killing of Hamas commander Al-Mabhoub in a hotel in Dubai last week. Dubai authorities are still investigating the assassination, tracing the trail of 22 people believed to be involved. Israeli intelligence agency Mossad has been widely accused of the killing, though declines to comment on the issue. Diplomatic tension between Israel and Western states have grown.
Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi criticised a Swiss vote against the building of minarets, and urged all Muslims to boycott the country. Libyan-Swiss tensions date back to 2008, when Mr. Gaddafi’s son was arrested in Geneva, accused over assaulting two servants. The Swiss foreign ministry declined to comment on Gaddafi’s call to Jihad.
18 Feb 10
Dubai released footage of a suspected hit-squad responsible for executing senior Hamas commander Mahmoud Al-Mabhouh. The 11-man squad, suspected to be tied to Mossad, travelled on European passports. Israeli reports suggest that Al-Mabhoub was in Dubai to acquire weapons for Hamas from Iran.
US-Syrian diplomatic relations are being restored as the US nominated its first ambassador to Syria in five years.
13 Feb 10
Fighting continued between Houthi rebels and the Yemeni government a mere 12 hours after a ceasefire deal was announced. At least one soldier and a government official were killed in the northern district of Iqab.
Prime Minister Saad Hariri of Lebanon expressed his concerns over ‘escalating threats’ posed by Israel to the Middle-East. His comment came just days after aggressive exchanges of accusations between the foreign ministers of Syria and Israel, fueling media speculations over a next ‘imminent war’.
