The worst terror atrocity in Egyptian history and among the bloodiest worldwide in the last decade was carried out during Friday prayers on November 24 at the Sufi mosque of al-Rawdah near Bir al-'Abd in northern Sinai.
In the wake of President Trump's decision on Jerusalem, the Palestinian leadership promptly decided to "fire" the American mediator – and pretend to look for alternatives – which the Russians, the Chinese, even the Japanese, seem eager to provide if possible.
It is now seven years, almost to the day, since the eruption of the raging regional tumult (some naïve souls still call it "the Arab Spring"). The Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan remains an island of stability in the eye of the storm – indeed, of several storms seemingly sweeping stronger states into the abyss.
As might have been expected, President Trump's short speech on December 6 changing the U.S. stance on the status of Jerusalem, albeit in line with Congressional legislation dating back to 1995, unleashed a firestorm of excited verbiage both pro and con, much of it overblown and at times absurd.
Benjamin Netanyahu's historic visit to Africa this week is the first by an Israeli prime minister in close to 50 years. While the occasion is to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the Entebbe raid in which he lost a brother and Israel's military prowess dazzled the world, Israel has considerably more to celebrate in Africa today. Little of this is publicly known, as it is a fraught story of people-to-people affinities ill-served by frequent government-to-government misalliance.