Damascus fell into a trap when it sent its troops racing south as fighting erupted between Druze and Bedouins. Why? Because in Israel's arc of fragmentation, Syria is the last piece of the puzzle.

As Israel seeks to reshape the Middle East—militarily, politically, and economically—the Arab world must put forward an alternative vision anchored in the principles of the UN Charter

The Israeli parliament has declared that all land 'from the River to the Sea' is Israel's "legal right". With its biblical references, this is not the politics of pragmatism, but of religious texts.

For more than a century, Jews have been accused of plotting dominion over the Middle East. Recent Israeli military success has simply restored and restoked an age-old canard.

There are political and military inferences from last month's battle. Whether on air defences, sabotage operations, or equipment maintenance, ministries will be making notes and changing plans.

Far from being a technicality, the militia that controls much of Yemen's west and north is using the rial and the physical expression of money to alter the state's identity.

For more than a century, Druze soldiers and politicians have made their mark on today's Syria. They are still writing their own history, as the recent Sweida violence shows.

This Druze-dominated city that has been the scene of fierce fighting in recent days may be a single governorate, but it is home to myriad armed groups with sometimes conflicting agendas.

The terrible violence in southern Syria this month shows what needs to be done by all actors, and shows what fate awaits if they do not.

The seasoned British diplomat and barrister who, until recently, was the United Nations' Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, speaks to Al Majalla about the Middle East.