Author: Steven Sahiounie

The Palestinian leadership will hold an emergency meeting to formulate a response to a forthcoming US Middle East peace plan expected to be announced on Tuesday, chief negotiator Saeb Erekat said. “We’ll have an emergency meeting tomorrow. Our answer will be immediately after we hear what [US President Donald] Trump will say and what [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu will say,” Erekat said on Monday. Trump announced that he would unveil on Tuesday a long-awaited initiative to reconcile Israel with the Palestinians, dubbed by Washington as the “deal of the century,” in an attempt to remove a major stumbling block on…

Late on Sunday night, several projectiles landed next to the ‘green zone’ in the Iraqi capital city of Baghdad, where the US embassy and various Iraqi government buildings are located. The attack occurred less than a week after a previous shelling hit the heavily-fortified area. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a Monday phone call with Iraqi Prime Minister Adil Abd al-Mahdi said that Sunday’s attack resulted in one injury and expressed “outrage at the continued assaults by Iran’s armed groups against US facilities in Iraq”, according to a statement issued by US Department of State. “The Secretary underlined once again…

Steven Sahiounie, political commentator The Middle East was recently brought to the brink of a regional war, if not a world war. Few analysts compare to Sabtain Ahmed Dar, a Pakistani geopolitical analyst, and expert on the Middle East. He is an author of two theses; “The Clash of Islam and Zionism” and “Pakistan and Global Game for a New World Order”. I reached out to him for understanding in this interview of timely importance. Steven Sahiounie: In your opinion, why did the Trump administration kill General Soleimani at this time? Sabtain Ahmed Dar: Firstly, the timing of the incident…

“Israel” has killed more than 3,000 children since 28 September 2000 when the Second Intifada began until the end of April 2017, a new report has found. The Palestinian Ministry of Information said in a report released ahead of Children’s Day that the Israeli forces have injured more than 13,000 children and arrested more than 12,000 others, and continues to hold 300 children in its prisons. The report published yesterday said that 95 per cent of children were tortured and assaulted during their detention. On average, the report said, Israeli forces arrest nearly 700 children annually, but this has increased…

Libya’s National Oil Company (NOC) says its oil production has plunged by 75 percent since forces loyal to the country’s military strongman Khalifa Haftar laid siege to oil fields a week ago. The NOC announced the news in a statement on Saturday, adding that the fall from 1.2 million barrels a day to just over 320,000 has caused estimated losses of $256 million since major oil fields and ports in the eastern and southern parts of oil-rich Libya were shut down. Since 2014, two rival seats of power have emerged in Libya: the internationally-recognized government of Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj,…

Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar declared Libya’s capital of Tripoli and its surrounding areas as a “no-fly zone.” He threatened to hit “civilian planes,” but in the meaning that planes carrying Turkish-backed militants being transported to Libya to fight on behalf of the UN-assigned Government of National Accord would be targeted. LNA Spokesperson Brigadier General Ahmed Al-Mesmari, spokesman for Haftar forces, said on social media forces declared the off-limit area from Giryan, 120 kilometers (75 miles) south of the capital city, to Terhune city, 90 kilometers southeast (56 miles) and to the Tripoli beach, including Mitiga…

the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) advanced further in the outskirt of the city of Ma`arat al-Nu`man in southeast Idlib. According to pro-government forces, the SAA captured the town of Ma’ar Shamshah, to the southeast of Ma`arat al-Nu`man. The army also imposed fire control over the strategic M5 highway, which pass through the city. A few hours earlier, the SAA reached the outskirt of Ma`arat al-Nu`man after capturing the town of Talmenes, east of Ma’ar Shamshah. The army is now only 700 meters away from Ma`arat al-Nu`man. The city, which was captured by rebels all the way back in 2012, is the biggest…

A new poll has found more than a quarter of Americans believe that US President Donald Trump should face war crimes charges in the International Criminal Court (ICC) over the January 3 killing of Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Quds Force commander General Qasem Soleimani. “Iran announced it will pursue war-crime charges against President Donald Trump at the International Criminal Court in The Hague over the assassination of Gen. Qasem Soleimani. Do you agree or disagree with such charges?” asked a recent Business Insider poll given to a total of 1,083 Americans. According to the outlet, a total of 27.4% of…

Trump himself is in no better position, as Democrats are trying to remove him from office via an impeachment trial in the Republican-controlled Senate. While his chances to win the case are high due to the party’s dominance, several defectors might still turn the tide and result in his removal, which in turn puts the peace plan’s implementation into jeopardy. The “deal of the century” peace plan was announced by US President Donald Trump years ago, but yet very little is known of its contents, apart from the economic portion and various media reports, which POTUS has labelled as “purely…

On 24 January, a strong 6.8 magnitude earthquake hit Turkey’s east leaving 22 people dead and about 1,030 injured, the state-run Anadolu news agency reported on Saturday, citing the national disaster agency. A 5.1 magnitude earthquake hit Elazig province at 16:30 p.m. GMT on 25 January, the Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute reported. According to the report, the epicentre of the quake was located at a depth of 7.2 kilometres. There have been no immediate reports about casualties or material damages caused by the tremor. Turkey is located in a seismically active zone and often suffers from powerful earthquakes. Death…