All Middle East
Suez Canal 2.0: Egyptians pour savings into president's ambitious projectSelling a vision of greatness restored, cash-strapped Egypt has raised $8.4 billion from the sale of investment certificates to its citizens. But experts caution that the retooling of the Suez Canal may not pay off so quickly.
Islamic State: Iraqi leaders created the problem 鈥� and can end it, say SunnisUnjust treatment on the part of Iraq鈥檚 Shiite government has pushed Sunnis into the arms of Islamic State militants. Addressing their grievances is as important as any anti-IS military campaign.
Focus on Islamic State has left Baghdad residents vulnerable to crimeWhile security forces focus on stopping the Islamic State advance, Baghdad residents are falling victim to a rise in opportunistic crime. Increasingly, Shiite militias rule the streets.
From IS-controlled Raqqa, tales of the group's resilienceThe jihadis of the Islamic State beheaded another hostage on video this weekend in Syria, as the US and other western states vowed to destroy the group. But the militants are well dug in.
As Obama seeks allies against Islamic State, Lebanon is already in the fightThe Lebanese army and Hezbollah militiamen are mired in a sporadic war with militants from the Islamic State along the country's Syrian border, where two abducted hostages have been beheaded.
How the world responded to Obama's Islamic State speechPresident Obama's plan to defeat the self-styled Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has sparked global reactions on the legalities and consequences of American military power in the Middle East.
Why Obama faces tough task leading regional coalition against Islamic StateWhile some allies in the Middle East appear ready to support US airstrikes in Syria, their agendas differ from Washington's. Secretary of State John Kerry is in Baghdad today.聽
Amid epic destruction, weary Gaza struggles to rebuildIsrael's summer confrontation with Hamas inflicted more damage to homes and infrastructure in the Gaza Strip than at any time since 1967. But the reconstruction so far has been piecemeal.
A brush with death in the fight against the Islamic State in IraqA member of Iraq's Methboub family, which the Monitor has tracked since 2002, nearly lost his life in the fight against the so-called Islamic State in central Iraq.
Iran's supreme leader said to approve military cooperation with USThe BBC reports that Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has approved joint military efforts with the US to contain Sunni militants in Iraq. The unconfirmed report comes amid signs of de facto US-Iranian cooperation.聽
Few gains for Gaza after Hamas 'victory' over IsraelHamas promised it would break the Israeli-led economic blockade of the Gaza Strip as a result of the latest war with Israel. So far, it isn't working out that way.
Gaza fishermen see shrimp-sized gains from Israel-Hamas cease-fireThe only change on the ground under the current cease-fire is the doubling of the fishing zone to six miles. But the daily catch is already less than half what it was last week.
After Gaza war Hamas on a high 鈥� but for how long?Hamas has seen a short-term surge in support from Palestinians following its recent war with Israel. But with the massive needs of the Gaza Strip still to be met, support may falter.
Potential splits between Islamic State and other militant groups in SyriaA UK-based professor who tracks radicalization and militant Islamist movements says the brutality and prominence of foreign fighters within the ranks of the Islamic State is a source of contention with other militant groups in Syria.
Aid to Sunni Arabs in Kurdistan comes with a side of suspicionSunni Arabs have found shelter from Iraq's spreading war in Kurdish controlled camps. But ethnic hostility is close to the surface.
Erdogan's first term as Turkish president: 4 things to watch forRecep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's first directly elected president, faces civil wars on his borders, a possible economic slowing, and accusations of authoritarianism.
Israel believes it's developing regional support for hurting HamasThe Israel-Gaza cease-fire agreed yesterday appears to be holding. Many in Israel are optimistic they're going to get the support of Arab states in weakening Hamas.
Finally a real cease-fire between Hamas and Israel?An agreement to stop the fighting was apparently reached in Cairo. But there are differences between the claims that Hamas and Israel are making for the contents of the agreement.
Will US work with Syria's Assad as Islamic State makes gains?Many say the US needs to spread its airstrikes campaign from Iraq into Syria in order to check IS. That could mean working with a regime the US sees as a pariah.
Israel says no difference between Hamas and Islamic State: True?The Israeli government has been working hard to convince the world that Hamas and the Islamic State, the jihadi group in Iraq and Syria, are cut from the same cloth.
