All Middle East
- Why Netanyahu sees much-criticized address to Congress as a net gain
Netanyahu apparently calculated that the electoral upside from the speech outweighed the diplomatic fallout. Friday an Israeli official said Boehner's invitation had been regarded as bipartisan.
- As public cries for vengeance, Jordan talks of wider intervention in Syria
A visit by Jordan's King Abdullah to the mourning tent for Lt. Kassasbeh, the pilot murdered by the Islamic State, turned into a pro-war rally, a dramatic turn in public sentiment toward the US-led coalition.
- For Bedouin Arabs guarding Israel's borders, new challenge to loyalty
Bedouin trackers have played a crucial role in Israel’s military for decades. But land disputes are souring the community's ties to the state, and enlistment is down.
- After defeating Islamic State in Kobane, what next for Syria’s Kurds?
The Syrian Kurds' willingness to sacrifice won them allies in the battle for Kobane. But obstacles remain to rebuild the city and translate military into political gains.
- Bilingual collection of poems and prose joins young Arabic, Hebrew writers
Called 'Two,' the anthology focuses on daily life and love as much as on politics, offering Israeli Arabs and Jews a unique perspective into the humanity of the other.
- In northern Iraq, Kurds struggle with IS booby traps
Improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, are proving a difficult weapon to overcome for Iraq's Kurds, much as they were for US forces in the country after 2003.
- How hostage pilot drama is feeding an antiwar movement in Jordan
Jordan has refused to pull the trigger on a prisoner swap, saying it lacked proof the pilot held by Islamic State jihadists was still alive. Jordan says its role in the US-led coalition has not diminished.
- Deadly Sinai attack undercuts Egyptian army claims of anti-IS success
The coordinated attack by Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis in the northern Sinai, the worst in decades against Egypt's military, appeared to expose flaws in the country's counterterrorism strategy.
- Is Hezbollah tunneling into Israel? Army looks into village's old complaint.
With tensions high on the Lebanese border, the Israeli army has begun investigating a months-old complaint from villagers who reported hearing sounds of digging.
- Briefing: Could an Israel and Hezbollah face-off bring war?
The context of Hezbollah's retaliatory strike against an Israeli patrol near the Golan Heights in which two soldiers were killed, and the chances of a wider conflict.
- Hezbollah strikes back at Israel: Why escalation is not inevitable
Hezbollah fighters fired antitank missiles at a convoy, killing two Israeli soldiers. The much-anticipated reply to an Israeli strike 10 days before showed the challenge both sides face: retaliation without escalation.
- Are falling oil prices pushing Iran to make risky economic choices?
Iran may bring back a controversial policy of selling military exemptions to help fill government coffers emptied by lower oil prices and nuclear sanctions.
- In Hamas leader’s exit from Qatar, signs of growing Saudi-Egyptian influence
With the strengthening of an Egyptian-Saudi axis in the Gulf that is hostile to the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar could no longer serve as a base of political operations for Hamas leader Khaled Meshal.
- King Abdullah an 'advocate of women'? What he did and didn't achieve.
IMF Chief Christine Lagarde applauded the late Saudi monarch's record on women's rights, such as granting women the right to vote in the notoriously conservative kingdom. Yet many human rights advocates say his work didn't go far enough.
- Passing of Saudi King Abdullah felt in Yemen's chaotic descent
As the regime in Yemen crumbled this week, the normally attentive Saudis were absorbed with their own leadership transition: the passing of King Abdullah.
- Israel elections 101: Did merger of Arab parties create a power-broker?
A new law raising the minimum threshold for representation in Israel's next parliament pushed Israeli Arab parties to merge, raising Arabs' hopes of increased clout.
- Mubarak sons walk free in Egypt. Will the former dictator be next?
Convicted last year of corruption, Alaa and Gamal Mubarak walked out of jail Thursday in Cairo after a court overturned the verdict. Former President Hosni Mubarak, who was overthrown in 2011, has also been cleared for release.
- Iran buries general 'martyred' in Syria and vows Israel will pay
Gen. Mohammad Ali Allahdadi of Iran's Revolutionary Guard, who died on Syria's Golan Heights Sunday alongside senior Hezbollah fighters, was buried Wednesday in Tehran. Israel has not officially commented on the incident.
- Netanyahu says 'incitement' behind Palestinian's rush-hour knife attack
Wednesday's stabbings in Tel Aviv left at least nine people wounded. Any upsurge in violence could impact Israel's parliamentary elections due in March, and politicians, including Netanyahu, were quick to respond.
- Iraq's Kurds scramble to fend off new Islamic State assault
Islamic State militants are trying to recapture territory in northern Iraq and confronting US-backed Kurdish forces. President Obama said in his State of the Union address that 'American leadership' had stopped militants' advance in Iraq and Syria.