From The Onion of early 2007: MIDDLE EAST—With the Iraq war in its fifth year, the war in Afghanistan in its sixth, and conflict between Israel and the rest of the region continuing unabated for more than half a century, intelligence sources are warning that a new wave of violence in the Middle East may soon blah blah blah, etc. etc., you know the rest... In Israel, Palestinians and Israelis...

Gordon Brown is in his own mind a genuine and lifelong friend of Israel. But just like that other genuine friend of Israel Tony Blair, where his heart leads him in the Middle East his brain somehow fails to follow. Brown's particular type of tunnel vision is to see every problem as an economic phenomenon, and the Middle East impasse is no exception. So he thinks that if the Palestinians are offere...

It wasn't long ago that this blog looked at the Middle-East and in particular Israel. At that point, it was a case of waiting for Livni to be elected. Now it seems to be sliding into chaos again. Those supporting the Palestinians I find interesting - what do they say to this nonchalant announcement: Hamas militants in Gaza fired several rockets into southern Israel today, while Israel kept it...

The US Special envoy to the Middle East, Arab-American ex-Senator George Mitchell made a trip to Israel and the Palestinian occupied areas of Judea and Samaria to get a feel for how far he could push the new Israeli government and ended up in the middle of what could tactfully be called a 'divergence' of Israeli and American views on the Palestinians and Iran. In fairness, Mitchell'...

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's remarks over the weekend that he will leave it up to the Palestinians whether they negotiate a peace deal with Israel had generated much comment across the Middle East. The Iranian president told the US ABC network: "We are not going to determine anything. Whatever decision [the Palestinians] take, we will support that." Some American media have interpreted thi...

Another flare-up in the Middle East and the usual insults, the polarised opinions proliferate in the blogsphere and elsewhere. For many, Israel can do no wrong - its actions are wholly legitimate and Hamas are terrorists who need to be crushed. Others see Israel as a brutal aggressor inflicting disproportionate suffering on the Palestinians in the name of security. As always, both sides are right ...

Those who are regularly left open-mouthed at the way in which the British media puts across an overwhelmingly Arab narrative about Israel and the Middle East, trasmitting lies and distortions as facts and reversing victim and victimiser to present Israel as the regional aggressor and the Palestinians as their targets, may well also scratch their heads at being told with monotonous regularity that ...

I see that renowned political scientist and erstwhile comedienne Roseanne Bar has come up with a solution for the Middle East... "I am going to move to israel and run for president there and win. When I am elected, I will make peace for my people and help to turn Israel into the socialist paradise that German and Russian Jews meant for it to be. I would first pay all the palestinians really well a...

Today's rundown on Middle East commentary by my old blogging pal Soccer Dad: 1) AIPAC or State? The story's been reported for little more than a day now. Here's the version in the New York Daily News: Israel signaled Tuesday it is ready to show some "flexibility" in its border stalemate with the Palestinians, prompting hope that Middle East peace talks can be revived. Up until now, ...

The Middle East Forum is a US based think tank which seeks to promote a stronger American policy in the Middle East. Its stated aims include 'working for Palestinian acceptance of Israel and fighting Islamic extremism in the Middle East'. The website includes information on the aims, membership and recent activities of the group. It includes free access to press releases, blog postings f...