Haaretz's latest Middle East analyses and opinions: Rivalries in Kobani play into hands of ISIS | In Egypt's fight against terror, it's the anti-terror Bedouin who suffer most | Israeli citizens fighting for Islamic State: a small, yet worrying trend
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7:09 A.M. Anti-ISIS Coalition must shift focus to Aleppo, France says
The coalition fighting ISIS must now save Syria's second city Aleppo as moderate rebels face destruction by attacks from forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and jihadist militants, France's foreign minister said.
In a column in French daily Le Figaro, the Washington Post and pan-Arab Al-Hayat, Laurent Fabius said the city, the 'bastion' of the opposition, was almost encircled and abandoning it would end hopes of a political solution in Syria's three-year civil war.
'Abandoning Aleppo would condemn 300,000 men, women and children to a terrible choice: the murderous siege of the regime's bombs or the barbarity of the Islamic State terrorists,' Fabius wrote.
'It would condemn Syria to years of violence. It would be the death of any political perspective and would see the fragmentation of the country run by increasingly radicalized warlords. It would also export the internal chaos of Syria towards already fragile neighbors Iraq, Lebanon and Jordan.'
As U.S. warplanes bomb Islamic State in parts of Syria, Assad's military has intensified its own campaign against some of the rebel groups in the west and north of the country that Washington considers its allies, including in and around Aleppo. (Reuters)
0:03 A.M. Egypt's Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis militants swear allegiance to ISIS
Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis, Egypt's most dangerous militant group, has sworn allegiance to Islamic State, a statement from Ansar said Monday night.
Ansar is waging an insurgency against the government that has killed hundreds of security personnel in the Sinai Peninsula, and has looked to Islamic State, also known as ISIS, for inspiration and advice in the past. (Reuters)
8:38 P.M. Egypt, Gulf Arab allies eye anti-militant alliance
U.S. Arab allies Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait are discussing the creation of a military pact to take on Islamic militants, with the possibility of a joint force to intervene around the Middle East, bberitaa.blogspot.com has learned.
The alliance would also serve as a show of strength to counterbalance their traditional rival, Shiite-dominated, Iran. Two countries are seen as potential theaters for the alliance to act, senior Egyptian military officials said: Libya, where Islamic militants have taken over several cities, and Yemen, where Shiite rebels suspected of links to Iran have seized control of the capital. (AP)
Posted by Unknown on Tuesday, November 4, 2014 - Rating: 4.5
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