The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer

  By James M. Dorsey The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey depends on the support of its readers. If you believe that the column and podcast add value to your understanding and that of the broader public, please consider becoming a paid subscriber by clicking on the subscription button at http://www.jamesmdorsey.substack.com and choosing one of the subscription options. Thank you. To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click  here. An audio podcast is available on Soundcloud . The timing of US and Israeli allegations that United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) staff participated in Hamas’ October 7 attack on the Jewish state was hardly coincidental. The allegations, that have yet to be substantiated, and the halt in UNRWA funding by ten Western countries , including the United States, Britain, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Australia, raise questions that go far beyond UNRWA’s potential culpability. The nine countries’ move freezes US...

  By James M. Dorsey The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey depends on the support of its readers. If you believe that the column and podcast add value to your understanding and that of the broader public, please consider becoming a paid subscriber by clicking on the subscription button at http://www.jamesmdorsey.substack.com and choosing one of the subscription options. Thank you. To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click  here. An audio podcast is available on Soundcloud. Israel and Hamas are likely to be buoyed in efforts to secure a ceasefire and a new round of prisoner exchanges by an International Court of Justice ruling that Israel’s conduct in Gaza risks acts of genocide, even though the court’s decision failed to satisfy either party. To be sure, Hamas was not a party to the court case initiated by South Africa nor is it at the top table of the negotiators. Even so David Barnea, the head of Israel’s foreign intelligence servi...

  The Turbulent World with James M. Dorsey depends on the support of its readers. If you believe that the column and podcast add value to your understanding and that of the broader public, please consider becoming a paid subscriber by clicking on the subscription button at http://www.jamesmdorsey.substack.com and choosing one of the subscription options. Thank you. To watch a video version of this story on YouTube please click  here. An audio podcast is available on Soundcloud. If one listens to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and Hamas leaders, there is only one conclusion: an end to the Gaza carnage is nowhere in sight. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Abir Sultan/Pool Photo via AP If anything, judging by their increasingly maximalist statements, Mr. Netanyahu and Hamas are determined to fight to the bitter end irrespective of the carnage in Gaza and the fate of more than 100 people held hostage by the group. Mr. Netanyahu’s categorica...