Significant Developments

Syria. Israel publicly warned Syrian president Bashar Assad to stop transferring advanced weapons to Hezbollah yesterday. In an unusual move, a senior Israeli official contacted the New York Times on Wednesday and was then quoted by the paper saying that “Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah,” arguing that such a move would destabilize the region. The Israeli official warned further: “If Syrian president Assad reacts by attacking Israel, or tries to strike Israel through his terrorist proxies, he will risk forfeiting his regime, for Israel will retaliate.”

Meanwhile, the United Nations General Assembly passed a nonbinding resolution yesterday condemning Syrian authorities and calling for a “political transition” to end the violence in Syria. The resolution passed by a vote of 107-12 with 59 abstentions, less than the 133 votes a similar resolution received last August. In introducing the debate, Vuk Jeremic, president of the General Assembly, raised the official UN death toll to more than eighty thousand people.

Iran. European foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton met Iranian envoy and presidential candidate Saeed Jalili in Istanbul last night. Ashton called the dinner meeting “useful” but announced no plans for a new round of negotiations. Earlier in the day, a senior UN official announced that talks between Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency had failed to break ground on resuming an investigation into “possible military dimensions” of Iran’s nuclear program. Meanwhile two big-name candidates registered as candidates for Iran’s presidential elections just before the deadline on Saturday: former President Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who is close to President Ahmadinejad.

Turkey-Syria. The Turkish government blamed Syria earlier in the week for two car bomb explosions that killed at least forty-six people in Reyhanli, a border town in Turkey. It was one of the deadliest terror attacks on Turkish soil. Officials in Turkey announced that they had arrested nine people on Sunday; all the detainees were Turkish citizens and a number of them confessed to links to Syrian intelligence services.

U.S. Foreign Policy

Talking Syria. President Barack Obama met with Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the White House today to discuss Syria. In a joint press conference, Obama said that there is no “magic formula” for the situation in Syria. Earlier in the week, the president hosted British prime minister David Cameron who visited the White House to discuss Syria and the upcoming G8. Both leaders emphasized, in press conference remarks, the urgency of ending the fighting in Syria; Cameron noted that “Syria’s history is being written in the blood of her people, and it is happening on our watch.” Acknowledging the difficulty of finding a diplomatic solution, Obama said that “It’s going to be challenging, but it’s worth the effort.” Meanwhile, Secretary of State John Kerry sounded cautiously optimistic about plans for an international peace conference to bring together figures from the Syrian opposition and regime. At a press conference in Stockholm on Tuesday, Kerry said that “progress is being made” and the Syrian government had given names of officials who would attend to Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov.

While We Were Looking Elsewhere

Egypt. Gaza’s interior ministry announced a state of alert along its border with Egypt after unidentified gunmen abducted seven Egyptian security officers in the Sinai Peninsula early today. The seven security personnel were in taxis outside of the city of El Arish when masked gunmen ambushed them. Egyptian security officials said that they had been in contact with the kidnappers and that the abduction may have been related to anger over claims that an imprisoned militant had been tortured.

Libya. Libyan officials claimed that a bomb blast in Benghazi that killed three people on Monday could have been an accident instead of a deliberate car bombing. Libyan interior minister Ashur Shwayel said that “all signs point to an accidental explosion.” The car was transporting explosives used to make anti-tank mines when it exploded outside of a hospital.

Yemen. Three kidnapped Red Cross employees were released yesterday by Yemeni tribesmen in the southern province of Abyan. The three men were abducted on Monday. Two Egyptian technicians who had been abducted last week by the same tribe were also released.

Iraq. Bombings in Baghdad and attacks in northern Iraq killed at least seventeen people today, in the latest surge of violence in the past several weeks. More than thirty-five people were killed yesterday as a result of bombings in Baghdad and Kirkuk that seemingly targeted Iraq’s Shiite population.

Bahrain. A court in Bahrain sentenced six people to jail for insulting King Hamad bin Isa al-Khalifa on Twitter. The six were convicted for the “misuse of freedom of expression.” One of those convicted was Mahdi al-Basri, who did not send any tweets, but served as a lawyer for a community account that wrote the offending tweets.

This Week in History

This week marks the thirtieth anniversary of a short-lived U.S.-mediated Lebanese-Israeli peace agreement. On May 17, 1983, Lebanon and Israel signed a peace accord ending the state of war between the two countries since the 1948 Arab-Israeli war. The 1983 agreement, coming on the heels of Israel’s invasion of Lebanon the previous year, called for a phased Israeli withdrawal from the country and was a product of negotiations held over thirty-five sessions between December 1982 and May 1983. Israel’s withdrawal was contingent on a Syrian withdrawal; however, Syria refused to recognize the agreement and nearly forty thousand Syrian troops remained in northern Lebanon. In March 1984, under pressure from Syria, the Lebanese government cancelled the peace agreement with Israel.

“I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog.” –Abu Sakkar, leader of the Syrian rebel Farouq Brigade from Homs, as he bit into the heart of a regime soldier

“What do I care if they destroy Tel Aviv and lose Beirut?” –Amin Hoteit, retired Lebanese colonel close to Hezbollah, on the possibility of escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel

“Israel never bent down before anyone, but they did for him — at least, that is the perception among the Turkish public.” –Cengiz Candar, one of Turkey’s leading political commentators about Israel’s apology to Turkey for the Mavi Marmara incident

“The security forces don’t ask me to make up stories, but I know informants who do because they want more money.” –Ghalib, a Baquba resident and informant for the Iraqi security forces

“We could now envision selling gas to Egypt…The pipeline is there. You can simply change the direction the gas flows.” –Pinhas Avivi, Israeli Foreign Ministry official

“I think the army has an important role to play in this phase — to get us out of this tragedy that the Muslim Brotherhood has put us in.” –Shadi al-Ghazali Harb, a prominent Egyptian liberal activist

Significant Developments

Syria. Hassan Nasrallah announced yesterday that Syria would transfer strategic “game-changing” weapons to the Lebanese group Hezbollah. The televised speech was a response to Israel’s alleged airstrikes near Damascus last Friday and Sunday that reportedly targeted Fateh-110 missiles transiting to Hezbollah from Iran. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attacks, but a senior Israeli defense official said that the airstrikes were intended to prevent weapon transfers to Hezbollah and stressed that Israel was not taking sides in Syria’s civil war.

Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday that Israel warned the United States about an imminent Russian deal to sell advanced ground-to-air missile systems to Syria. Bashar al-Assad’s government has long been trying to buy S-300 missile batteries, which are capable of intercepting both manned aircraft and guided missiles. Western nations have repeatedly asked Russia not to make the sale, which would complicate any potential international intervention in Syria.

Egypt. President Mohammed Morsi swore in nine new cabinet ministers on Tuesday following a major reshuffle that overhauled the government. Morsi replaced the ministers of finance, planning, investment and petroleum in the second reshuffle since he took office last June. Samir Radwan, a former finance minister, warned that the changes could adversely affect Egypt’s negotiation with the IMF over a $4.8 billion loan, saying “IMF officials have told me that each time they get used to a minister, he disappears…We know have our fifth finance minister since the revolution; this is a sign of instability.”

U.S. Foreign Policy

Syria. U.S. secretary of state John Kerry told reporters in Rome yesterday that Syrian president Bashar al-Assad would not be a component of a transitional government. His comments came two days after Kerry and Russian foreign minister Sergey Lavrov announced in Moscow that they would seek to hold an international conference within the coming month focusing on finding a political solution to the civil war in Syria. Kerry and Lavrov told reporters that they would push to have both Bashar al-Assad’s government and the Syrian opposition attend. Lavrov told reporters that Russia is not interested “in the fate of certain persons…We are interested in the fate of the Syria people.”

Israel-Palestine. Secretary Kerry told reporters in Rome that he would travel to the Middle East in two weeks. Kerry made the announcement following his meeting with Israeli peace negotiator Tzipi Livni, saying he intended to meet with Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas. “We are working through threshold questions and we are doing it with a seriousness of purpose that I think Minister Livni would agree with me has not been present in a while,” Kerry said at the U.S. ambassador to Italy’s residence before meeting with Livni in private. His trip to the region will be his fourth since becoming Secretary of State.

While We Were Looking Elsewhere

Turkey. Kurdish militants began to withdraw their forces from Turkey to their stronghold in Iraq on Wednesday, the latest step in a peace process meant to end a three-decade long conflict. The withdrawal process is expected to be mostly complete by the end of June. Turkey’s deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc cautiously asserted that “we feel that we are nearing the conclusion,” but would not confirm the beginning of the withdrawal.

Iran. Former parliament speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel, a close adviser to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, joined the presidential race today. Haddad Adel is part of the Coalition of Three that includes two other Khamenei loyalists who have declared their candidacies: former foreign minister Ali Akbar Velayati and Tehran mayor Mohammed Baqer Qalibaf. Iranian media has speculated that two of the three will step aside in favor of whomever appears to be in the strongest position as the race heats up. Meanwhile, Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, former president of Iran from 1989 until 1997, told his students at Tehran University on Sunday that he would run if convinced that his presence would be beneficial to the country. Registration for candidates began on Tuesday morning and will continue until tomorrow. The election is slated for June 14.

Libya. Two police stations in Benghazi were hit by bombs early this morning. It is the fourth time in the past month that police stations in the city have been attacked with explosives. Meanwhile, Libya’s General National Congress passed the Political Isolation Law on Sunday excluding former officials from the Qaddafi era from public office. The law’s passage comes after heavily armed militiamen blockaded the foreign and interior ministries from April 28 to May 5 demanding legislators back the bill. Proponents of the law have made clear their intention to specifically exclude from public office former prime minister Mahmoud Jibril.

Israel. Israeli security forces detained Mohammed Ahmad Hussein, the grand mufti of Jerusalem, on Wednesday and held him for questioning on suspicion of involvement in the latest disturbance at al-Aqsa Mosque. Following six hours of questioning, the grand mufti was released without charges. His detention sparked small demonstrations against Israel in Jordan and Egypt.

This Week in History

This week marks the fifty-second anniversary of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi dissolution of Iran’s parliament, paving the way for his modernization agenda and the “White Revolution.” On May 5, 1961, Iranian prime minister Jafar Sharif Imami and his cabinet resigned a day after fifty thousand demonstrators clashed with security forces during a teacher’s strike. The following day, the shah appointed Ali Amini as prime minister. On May 9 he dissolved both houses of parliament, receiving a mandate to rule for six months by cabinet decree. Under Amini, the cabinet adopted a land reform law, which redistributed land from the minority to small-scale cultivators. The land reform law was a prelude to the shah’s “White Revolution,” a more ambitious package of social, political, and economic reforms that were approved by popular referendum in 1963.

Significant Developments

Syria. Syrian officials today denied international allegations that Bashar al-Assad’s forces had used chemical weapons in Syria. Yesterday, the White House sent a letter to Congressional leaders stating that U.S.  intelligence agencies assessed “with varying degrees of confidence” that Assad’s government had used the chemical agent sarin on a small scale. Israel’s senior most military intelligence analyst, Brigadier General Itai Brun, said on Tuesday that the Syrian government had repeatedly used chemical weapons last month. The British and French governments told the United Nations last week that they have “credible evidence,” based on soil samples and witness testimony, that Assad’s government has used small amounts of chemical weapons against its own people.

Iraq. Bombings at multiple Sunni mosques in and around Baghdad today killed four people and wounded fifty more in the latest of a string of attacks that have killed more than one hundred and fifty people in the past four days. Iraqi prime minister Nouri al-Maliki appeared on national television yesterday to appeal for calm and blamed Baath party remnants for the attacks. The latest violence began on Tuesday when security forces clashed with anti-government protesters in Hawijah, leaving fifty-three people dead. The escalating violence came as the preliminary results were announced for provincial elections held on Saturday. Al-Maliki’s State of Law bloc was set to win the most votes in eight of the twelve participating provinces with 87 percent of the vote counted.

U.S. Foreign Policy Developments

Jordan and Qatar. President Obama hosted Jordan’s king Abdullah at the White House today, one month after Obama had visited the Hashemite kingdom. Earlier in the week, on Tuesday, the president met Qatari emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani. Regional security and the situation in Syria dominated both visits.

Hagel to the Middle East. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel wrapped up his first visit to the Middle East and the Gulf as the Pentagon’s top official yesterday. Hagel visited Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the UAE in an attempt to reach out to U.S. partners in the region and discuss regional threats. He also sought to finalize an arms deal to Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the UAE worth ten billion dollars. During his two-day stop in Israel, Hagel asserted that there is “no daylight” between the United States and Israel on the goal of preventing a nuclear-armed Iran, but that “there may well be some differences” in the specific approaches.

Palestine-Turkey. Secretary of State John Kerry returned to the region this weekend and met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas in Istanbul. Kerry and Abbas discussed ways to improve Palestinian living conditions as part of an attempt to restart peace talks with Israel. Kerry also met with Turkish foreign minister Ahmet Davutoglu to discuss “the importance of completing the task with respect to the renewal of relations between Turkey and Israel.” Kerry was in Istanbul to attend an international conference on how best to aid rebels in Syria. He announced that the United States would double its nonlethal aid to the Syrian opposition with an additional $123 million.

While We Were Looking Elsewhere

Turkey. The Kurdistan Worker’s Party (PKK) announced on Thursday that it will begin withdrawing all of its forces from Turkey on May 8. Murat Karayilan, the current commander of the PKK, announced in a news conference that the guerilla fighters will move to bases in northern Iraq as part of peace efforts. Karayilan also called on the Turkish government to take specific measures including enacting a new constitution and releasing Kurdish prisoners. The Kurdish withdrawal is a major step forward in peace talks that began in January between the Turkish government and imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan.

Libya. A car bomb heavily damaged the French embassy in Tripoli on Tuesday, wounding two French guards in the first major attack against a western target in Libya since the killing of American ambassador Chris Stevens last September. No one claimed responsibility for the attack, although both the French and Libyan governments labeled it as an act of terrorism and pledged to “find the perpetrators and bring them to justice.”

Israel. The Israeli military shot down an unmanned aerial drone approaching Israel from the Mediterranean Sea on Thursday. A spokesman for the Israeli military said that it was unclear who was behind the drone, but confirmed that it flew down from the Lebanese coast. This is the second drone in the past seven months that has entered Israeli territory; in October 2012, Israel shot down a drone that had intruded thirty-five miles across its southern border. Hezbollah denied responsibility for this week’s drone, though its leader Hassan Nasrallah claimed responsibility for last year’s drone incursion, pledging that it “was not the first time, and it will not be the last.”

Bahrain. Juan Mendez, the UN special rapporteur on torture, said Wednesday that Bahrain “postponed indefinitely” his visit scheduled for May. Mendez warned that the Bahraini move could be “perceived as if there is something to hide.” This is the second time Bahrain has put off at short notice a scheduled visit by Mendez. The announcement coincided with the Bahraini government’s expression of dismay over a recent U.S. State Department assessment of human rights in the country. The State Department annual report said that the Bahraini government had failed to implement the most important recommendations of the Bahrain Independent Commission of Inquiry.

King Abdullah of Jordan is slated to meet President Obama at the White House on Friday. Though meetings between the two leaders are frequent and even commonplace, it is still noteworthy that the Hashemite leader is meeting the president just four weeks after hosting him in Jordan. World leaders don’t meet that frequently unless there is something urgent to discuss, and there is: Syria.

The crisis in neighboring Syria is of utmost concern to King Abdullah, and it should be. Half a million Syrians having taken refuge in Jordan so far—10 percent of the kingdom’s population—and there is no end to the refugee flow in sight. Abdullah noted when he met Obama in Amman that though the number of Syrian refugees in Jordan could easily double by the end of the year, the kingdom would not shut its border to Syrian refugees—“It’s not the Jordanian way,” the king quipped. Still, Syrian refugees are starting to spark social tensions in Jordan and the cost of housing them is expected to reach one billion dollars this year. And cash-strapped and resource poor Jordan already has its fill of Palestinian and Iraqi refugees from previous Middle East wars.

Recognizing that leaving the Syria crisis unaddressed only makes matters worse, Abdullah was the first Arab leader to call on Assad to step down. Taking such a bold step publicly while the UN and the United Sates refuse to provide military support to Assad’s opponents has left Abdullah feeling extremely vulnerable, given that his capital is a mere one hundred miles away from Assad’s.

When the two leaders met in Amman last month, President Obama said before King Abdullah, as he has repeatedly over the past year, that “the use of chemical weapons by the Assad regime would be a game-changer from our perspective because once you let that situation spin out of control it’s very hard to stop, and can have enormous spillover effects across the region.”

Yet the British and French governments told the United Nations last week that they have “credible evidence,” based on soil samples and witnesses, that the Syrian regime has used small amounts of chemical weapons against its own people in recent months. Israel’s senior most military intelligence analyst yesterday said the Syrian government had repeatedly used chemical weapons last month.

In the month since Abdullah and Obama met the game has apparently changed, to use the president’s term. What will the President say about it when he hosts King Abdullah in the Oval Office on Friday?

“We don’t need an atomic bomb. … And besides, it is not atomic bombs that threaten the world, but Western morals and culture declining in values.” –Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad

“Look, I respect their prowess and their struggle…I respect their ideology, even if I strongly disagree with it, on one condition! They must remain one faction among many other factions of the revolution and one component of Syrian society which has many other components.” –Abu al-Hasan, an Aleppo activist speaking about Jubhat al-Nusra

“The Americans say they hold our sons to rehabilitate them. They can return them to us and we could take care of them.” –a mother of a Yemeni detainee in Guantanamo

“The march of hatred of the Israel-haters and followers of the path of the Mufti of Jerusalem… is added proof that any agreement with the Palestinians must also include within it Israeli Arabs.” –Yisrael Beytenu leader Avigdor Liberman criticizing Israeli Arab participation in the annual “Right of Return” march in Wadi Ara

“How can you be patriotic if you’ve fled?” –Syrian president Bashar al-Assad on the Syrian opposition in a rare television interview

“The problem is not Fayyad and never was Fayyad…The problem is the Israeli occupation and a lack of any kind of political or diplomatic horizon.” –Awaida Ahmed Awaida, chief executive of the Palestinian Stock Exchange

“We don’t need imported charters or a new understanding of the nation’s religion…We won’t be doing our population, and our nation, any service if we pledge our allegiance to those who don’t know a thing about our reality.” – a statement by the Syrian Islamic Liberation Front, referring to the alliance between Syria’s Nusra Front and the Qaeda branch

Significant Developments

Palestine. Palestinian Authority prime minister Salam Fayyad’s resignation was accepted over the weekend by President Mahmoud Abbas. Fayyad will reportedly remain in the post until Abbas names a replacement. Political tensions rose between the two Palestinian leaders in early March when Finance Minister Nabil Qassis announced he was quitting. Fayyad accepted the resignation, but was overruled by Abbas, in contravention of the Palestinian Basic Law–in effect challenging the prime minister’s authority to hire and fire cabinet ministers and sparking a constitutional crisis.

Syria. Opposition forces seized a military base in Homs today after weeks of fighting for control of the facility. The opposition had been trying to make gains in strategically located areas near the Lebanese border. Meanwhile, European Union members reached preliminary agreement yesterday to relax sanctions against Syria’s oil sector in a bid to provide an economic boost to oil-rich regions in opposition strongholds. EU foreign ministers are likely to endorse the agreement next Monday.

In Damascus, Syrian president Bashar al-Assad issued a new amnesty on Tuesday that reduces death sentences for all crimes except those of “treason, espionage, and terrorism.” Moaz al-Khatib, leader of the Syrian National Coalition, said that Assad would need to release over 160,000 prisoners, mostly women and children, before the amnesty could be considered meaningful.

Egypt. Former president Hosni Mubarak was moved back to prison from an army hospital today after he appeared in good health in court on Saturday for the opening of his retrial. The judge, however, recused himself from the trial. The next session is scheduled for May 11 with a new judge. Meanwhile, a team from the International Monetary Fund left Egypt without securing a deal for an aid package after nearly two weeks of talks.

U.S. Foreign Policy

Syria. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel told the Armed Services Committee yesterday that the Pentagon is sending approximately two hundred soldiers to Jordan. The troops will assist efforts to contain violence along the Syrian border and in planning for any necessary contingencies involving chemical weapons. The new troops, all hailing from the 1^st Armored Division, are replacing a similar number of U.S. forces currently stationed in Jordan, who came from various units, in an effort to increase teamwork. An unnamed U.S. official reportedly said that the number of troops in Jordan could expand to some 20,000 in certain contingencies. Hagel’s announcement comes ahead of his trip to the region beginning this weekend that will take him to Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates primarily to discuss Syria and Iran.

General Martin E. Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told the same Armed Services Committee hearing that he no longer thinks the United States can clearly identify the right people to arm amongst Syria’s opposition. According to Dempsey, “It’s actually more confusing on the opposition side today than it was six months ago.” In contrast, Secretary of State John Kerry told the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday that the Syrian opposition has a clear ability to “make sure what goes to the moderate, legitimate opposition, is in fact, getting to them.” Kerry also said that the United States is coordinating “very, very closely” with those providing lethal aid to the Syrian opposition.

Israel-Palestine. Secretary of State Kerry warned the House Foreign Affairs Committee yesterday that he believes that the window for a two-state solution is closing. He said that “we have some period of time, a year, a year-and-a-half, or two years or it’s over.” Kerry pledged to honor the urgency and “see what we can do to move forward.”

While We Were Looking Elsewhere

Iraq. Separate attacks in Mosul and Baghdad killed four people and wounded eight more today in the latest of spate of violence in the run-up to Saturday’s provincial elections. The local elections will be the first since the withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq in 2011. Attacks have occurred every day this week, leaving at least seventy-two dead. Meanwhile, Iraq’s self-ruled Kurdish region decided today to set September 21 as the date for new parliamentary and presidential elections.

Iran. General Majid Bokaei, Iran’s deputy defense minister, declared on Tuesday that Iran had test-fired a new land-to-sea ballistic missile in the Gulf. The announcement came two days before Iran’s commemoration of National Army Day today, an occasion often marked by the unveiling of military technological advances.

Kuwait. Kuwaiti police fired teargas yesterday to disperse thousands of protesters demonstrating against the conviction of prominent opposition leader and former MP Mussallam al-Barrack. A Kuwaiti court sentenced al-Barrack on Monday to five years in prison for insulting the country’s emir. The protesters marched to the central prison chanting “We will not let you,” a phrase taken from al-Barrack’s fiery speech at a political rally in October.

Tunisia. Amine Mati, head of the International Monetary Fund mission to Tunisia, said on Tuesday that the IMF and Tunisia are “very close” to concluding a $1.75 billion loan agreement. The loan was delayed amidst the turmoil surrounding the assassination of opposition politician Chokri Belaid in February. However, the restoration of calm has facilitated the return of the IMF, and Mati suggested that a deal may be signed in May.

This Week in History

Yesterday marked the sixty-seventh anniversary of Syria’s independence from France. Celebrated as “Evacuation Day,” the national holiday commemorates the departure of the last French soldier from Syria on April 17, 1946, marking the end of the French Mandate. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad gave a rare interview to Syrian state television channel al-Ikhbariya in commemoration of Evacuation Day yesterday claiming that Western nations would suffer for funding al-Qaeda in Syria, as they did in Afghanistan. The state television channel previewed Assad’s interview with footage from the French Mandatory era, drawing parallels between “the heroes of independence” and today’s Syrian army. Earlier in the day, Syria’s foreign ministry warned France to not interfere in Syria’s domestic affairs and said that “the Syrian people will not allow France to return to their country through its support for armed terrorist groups, and by conspiring to cause Syrian blo

“Enough already of formations, committees and groups and whatever else…We want action not words and, let me say this, there are many names and committees but there is no action on the ground.” -Coptic pope Tawadros II’s reaction to Egypt president Mohammed Morsi’s handling of the attack against

“What was taken by force can only be restored by force.” –Dr. Mustafa Barghouti, to the Palestinian National Security Conference

“There are no objective sources of information on either side, neither with the regime nor the rebels…We need to get out of this Facebook phase, where all we do is whine and complain about the regime.” –Absi Smesem, 46, a veteran reporter and editor of Sham, a new weekly Syrian newspaper

“We are the ones that suffer…Whatever I do on the local level, whatever the minister of tourism does, it has a ceiling. We will never get back what was without political stability or security.” –Ezzat Saad, the governor of Luxor on the plummeting rates of tourism in Egypt

“We need them to return and rebuild their towns…We will start with the youth and young men and activists who are needed to run the towns, and then later the kids and families will return.” –Mohammed Qadah, a Dara’a representative of the National Coalition of Syrian Revolutionary and Opposition Forces

“This just shows to all those who thought the people on the ship were peace and human rights activists that they were hard-core Islamists supportive of Hamas and Islamic Jihad.” –an unnamed Israeli official on the news that a survivor of the Mavi Marmara plans to donate his compensation money to Hamas and Islamic Jihad

“On the one hand it complicates the situation for Kerry, on the other hand it says something about the need to intensify American efforts… If things will be left to local and internal dynamics, things might get out of hand.” –Ghassan Khatib, vice president of Birzeit University on violent West Bank clashes following the death of a Palestinian prisoner in Israeli custody

Significant Developments

Egypt. An Egyptian Coptic Christian died today from injuries sustained during sectarian violence over the past week, bringing the total number of deaths to eight. Violence erupted outside Egypt’s main Coptic Christian Cathedral in Cairo on Sunday after street battles between Christians and Muslims in the town of Khosoos left five people dead on Saturday. Christian mourners leaving a funeral service clashed with local residents, who threw rocks and firebombs. Riot police seemingly joined in against the Christians, raining tear gas canisters inside the compound of the cathedral. At least ninety people were injured. An angry Pope Tawadros II announced that he had cancelled his weekly sermon and postponed the mourning period for those killed in protest over the authorities’ handling of events.

Syria. Abu Mohammad al-Golani, the leader of the Syrian Islamic opposition group Jabhat al-Nusra, confirmed for the first time yesterday his group’s ties to al-Qaeda. In an audio message, al-Golani pledged allegiance to al-Qaeda chief Ayman al-Zawahiri. The announcement came a day after a merger between al-Qaeda and Jabhat al-Nusra was announced by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq. Al-Golani denied that he had been consulted on the merger, but did not deny the action itself.

Meanwhile, UN officials reported their discussions with the Syrian government over a possible investigation into the alleged use of chemical weapons are at an impasse. Syrian president Bashar al-Assad’s regime rejected entry into the country of a UN chemical weapons inspection team waiting to deploy from Cyprus on Monday. Syria has asked the UN to investigate what it claims to have been a rebel chemical weapons attack in Aleppo in March, while the UN also wants to investigate two other alleged attacks—one near Damascus in March, and one in Homs in December.

Iran. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announced Iran’s expansion of uranium production capabilities on Tuesday during a ceremony for National Nuclear Technology Day, a holiday he created in 2006. Secretary of State Kerry responded by saying that “the clock that is ticking on Iran’s program has a stop moment and it does not tick interminably.” The announcement came just days after negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 in Almaty, Kazakhstan ended without a deal or plans for another round of discussions.

U.S. Foreign Policy

Israel-Palestine. Secretary of State John Kerry visited Israel and the West Bank Sunday and Monday to explore the possibility of renewing peace talks between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. Kerry met with Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas, prime minister Salam Fayyad, Israeli president Shimon Peres, and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. While Kerry has not discussed details of the discussions, he has referenced an economic initiative to supplement a political track.

Syria. Citing U.S. officials, the New York Times reported that President Obama is nearing final approval of battlefield aid for Syria’s opposition, including body armor and night-vision goggles. Meanwhile, Secretary Kerry, along with British foreign minister William Hague and other foreign ministers from the Group of Eight, met with representatives from the Syrian opposition on Wednesday, and promised to meet again on April 20 in Turkey.

While We Were Looking Elsewhere

Libya. Mohamed Ali Ghatous, Libyan prime minister Ali Zidan’s chief of staff, was released Tuesday after being held captive for eight days by militiamen. Libya’s parliament passed a law that criminalizes torture and abduction, imposing penalties of up to ten years. It remains unclear how the law will be enforced, given the state’s reliance on militias for security.

Jordan. Jordan opened a second camp for Syrian refugees yesterday in Mrajeeb al-Fhood, approximately twenty-three miles from the Syrian border. The UAE-funded camp welcomed its first 110 refugees the same day. Jordan is currently hosting nearly half a million refugees, but the number is expected to more than double in the next six months.

Bahrain. Human Rights Watch reported yesterday that Bahraini police arrested twenty opposition figures in anticipation of Bahrain’s Formula One Grand Prix, scheduled for April 21. Last year’s race was marred by violent clashes between protesters and riot police. Bahraini information minister Sameera Rajab denied the report.

Yemen. Yemeni president Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi announced a major military purge yesterday, aimed at allies of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh. Hadi removed Saleh’s son Ahmed from his post as chief of the Republican Guard by appointing him ambassador to the United Arab Emirates. Two of Saleh’s nephews were also removed from their posts as deputy intelligence chief and head of the Presidential Guard.

Significant Developments

Lebanon. Tamam Salam, a Lebanese member of Parliament and former minister of culture, has emerged as the consensus candidate to become Lebanon’s next prime minister. Lebanese president Michael Sleiman began two days of consultation today to nominate the successor to Najib Mikati, who resigned on March 22. Salam has already been endorsed by the Western-leaning March 14 coalition and Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze bloc. He is expected to be backed by Hezbollah’s March 8 bloc soon. If President Sleiman taps Salam to become prime minister, his main task will be to hold the country together amidst escalating sectarian tensions as it moves towards elections slated for June.

Iran. Nuclear negotiations between Iran and the P5+1 countries (the United States, Russia, Great Britain, France, China, and Germany) resumed today. While Ali Baqeri, deputy head of the Iranian delegation, claimed that Iran had put forward a new “comprehensive” proposal, Western officials reported that the Iranian offer was merely a “reworking” of a proposal it had offered last summer in Moscow. The talks are slated to continue tomorrow.

Syria. Turkish television aired a rare interview with Syrian president Bashar al-Assad this evening. Assad warned that if his regime falls, it will create a domino effect that will create “a period of instability for long years and maybe decades.” Assad also attacked Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan as having not said “a single word of truth since the beginning of the crisis in Syria” and the Arab League’s legitimacy. Meanwhile, Syrian rebels claim to have taken an army base today that defends the main southern border crossing with Jordan.

Israel-Palestine. Thousands of Palestinians joined West Bank demonstrations and funeral processions on Thursday just prior to the arrival of Secretary of State John Kerry. The death of Maysara Abu Hamdiyeh, who was serving a life sentence, sparked accusations that Israel had withheld proper care from the terminally ill prisoner. Tensions then escalated Wednesday when Israeli troops shot dead two Palestinian youths who were throwing rocks and Molotov cocktails at a fortified watchtower. Some mourners at the funerals called for a third intifada.

U.S. Foreign Policy

UAE, Jordan, Qatar, and Turkey. White House press secretary Jay Carney announced today that President Obama will host the leaders from the UAE, Jordan, Qatar, and Turkey at the White House over the course of the next month.

Israel, Palestine, and Turkey. Secretary of State John Kerry is set to make his third trip to the Middle East in the span of two weeks in an attempt to restart the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians. Kerry will first visit Turkey on Saturday to discuss Syria and regional security, before going to Jerusalem and Ramallah on Sunday to meet with Israeli and Palestinian leaders. State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said on Sunday that Kerry’s diplomacy “will be based on what he hears from the parties.”

While We Were Looking Elsewhere

Egypt. President Mohammed Morsi’s office and the U.S. Embassy in Cairo exchanged criticisms on Twitter Wednesday after the Egyptian government arrested popular satirist Bassem Youssef on Saturday. The U.S. Embassy’s Twitter page shared a link to a “Daily Show” video in which Jon Stewart mocked Morsi for investigating Youssef rather than tackling violence against women or improving Egypt’s ailing economy. Morsi’s office responded with a tweet calling it “inappropriate for a diplomatic mission to engage in such negative political propaganda.” American ambassador Anne Patterson temporarily shut down the U.S. Embassy’s Twitter page; the controversial tweet was deleted when the page came back online Wednesday evening.

Gaza. Hamas urged the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) today to resume its operations in Gaza after the agency suspended its food distribution yesterday. UNRWA has said it will not resume work unless Hamas provides assurances for the safety of its staff after protesters stormed its headquarters in Gaza City over aid cutbacks. Meanwhile, rockets from Gaza struck southern Israel this week, triggering an Israeli airstrike against Gaza on Wednesday, the first since November’s ceasefire. Also, after reported lobbying by Egypt and Qatar, Hamas’ Shoura Council on Tuesday reelected as its leader Khaled Meshaal, who played an integral role in the Egypt-brokered talks between Israel and Hamas that led to the ceasefire.

Tunis. Moncef Trabelsi, the imprisoned brother-in-law of ousted Tunisian dictator Zine El Abdine Ben Ali, died in custody last night after attempts to operate on a brain tumor. Trabelsi was imprisoned on January 14, 2011, after trying to leave the country. He was tried and convicted of embezzlement.