Middle East

http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/fdd-policy-brief The Free Syrian Army last week released forty seven Iranian citizens and their Syrian interpreter in exchange for 2,130 prisoners held by the Syrian government. The exchange of hostages was facilitated through the good...

http://www.danielpipes.org/13202/danny-danon Danon (right) is widely seen as a thorn in Netanyahu's side, as in this Ha'aretz cartoon. "Lunacy." That's how Danny Danon describes Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu's decision to hand over 104 killers to the Palestinian...

http://thehill.com/blogs/global-affairs/middle-east-north-africa/319513-leaked-documents-reveal-us-sees-israel-as-a-major-spying-threat The Obama administration views Israel as one of the top spying threats facing its intelligence services, leaked documents reveal. A secret budget request obtained by The Washington Post from former NSA contractor Edward Snowden lumps...

A leading member of the military's General Staff suddenly says that Hamas suddenly serves Israel's interests in Gaza. Maj. Gen. Sami Turgeman said Israel wants to maintain Hamas' hold over Gaza Strip, "What we want is...

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/article/20573 Al-Qaeda Entrenchment in Syria 1. During the Syrian civil war two branches of Al-Qaeda established themselves among the rebel organizations fighting to overthrow the regime of Bashar Assad. The most prominent is the Al-Nusra...

http://www.terrorism-info.org.il/en/article/20575 In August 2013 the Iranian president presented his new government, which is largely comprised of technocrats with an extensive academic education. One of Rowhani’s government’s distinctive characteristics is the prominent presence of graduates of...

Motzei Shabbat (After Shabbat) From multiple sources I am picking up considerable concern regarding the broad implications -- diplomatic and security -- with regard to any relinquishment by Israel of full control of the Jordan...

Officials said Hizbullah has set up weapons caches in at least 200 communities in southern Lebanon. They said Hizbullah was storing rockets and missiles in thousands of apartment buildings in an effort to evade...

http://www.algemeiner.com/2014/05/21/how-unrwa-perpetuates-the-palestinian-crisis-review/ UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, was created in 1949 after the Arabs rejected the 1947 UN Partition Plan for Palestine, and five Arab armies...

http://www.commentarymagazine.com/2014/06/26/no-separating-palestinian-corruption-from-terror-fatah-hamas-kidnapping/ As the second week of the search for the three Israeli teenagers abducted by Hamas terrorists comes to an end, the announcement of the names of two prime suspects in the kidnapping is all...