Hamas Responds to Trump The Palestinian movement appears to have, for the moment, successfully thrown the ball back into the US-Israeli court.

Exceptionally good analysis by Mouin Rabbani.

open.substack.com/pub/mouinrab...

Cross-Border Shuffle: Refugee Movement Between Lebanon and Syria after Assad The demography of both Lebanon and Syria is in flux, after the fall of Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad. Thousands of people are now on the move, inside

Finally got around to reading this excellent, deeply researched report on the refugee flows between Syria and Lebanon since the end of Assad’s regime, and on what conditions govern refugee return more generally. Highly recommended!

@abujamajem.com
@centuryintl.bsky.social

tcf.org/content/repo...

YouTube video by Security in Context Security in Context Attends 2024's G20 Summit

Brazil hosted the G20 Summit 2024 in Rio de Janeiro. Fernando Brancoli, Senior Researcher with @SecurityContext covered the proceedings, including Global South position on global inequalities, climate change, development & energy transition. Watch our video summary here: youtu.be/k0Flc219L8M?...

YouTube video by Arab Council for the Social Sciences حلقة نقاش بعنوان "المرحلة الانتقاليّة في سوريا: منظورات أكاديميّة"

A recording of @acss_org discussion (in Arabic) I moderated with Rabie Nasser, Salam Said, Katty Alhayek "Syria in Transition: Academic Perspectives" : youtu.be/xlYy-kmDh6M

Harvard AAUP on Termination of CMES Leadership The Executive Committee of AAUP-Harvard Faculty Chapter condemns the abrupt termination of the leadership of Harvard’s Center for Middle Eastern Studies (CMES): Professor Cemal Kafadar as Director and...

www.jadaliyya.com/Details/46618

Asli Bali, president of MESA: Columbia’s capitulation to Trump could be a “death knell” for Middle East programs.

“Now their universities are on notice that the govt is looking for a settlement that includes abridging the autonomy of centers and departments devoted to the study of the Middle East.”

Exclusive: Syria's sectarian violence reached capital, terrorizing Alawites, residents say Close to midnight on March 6, as a wave of sectarian killings began in western Syria, masked men stormed the homes of Alawite families in the capital Damascus and detained more than two dozen unarmed men, according to a dozen witnesses.

@reuters.com's Maya Gebeily, Timour Azhari and Feras Dalatey: As anti-Alawite violence was escalating on Syria's coast earlier this month, masked men abducted more than two dozen unarmed Alawite men in Damascus neighborhood al-Qadam; at least eight were killed: www.reuters.com/world/middle...

The Case Against European Rearmament If We Truly Want To Strengthen Europe, the First Step Is Not To Rearm

Yanis Varoufakis with some wisdom. Glad to see someone in Europe hasn’t lost their minds savageminds.substack.com/p/the-case-a...

Palestinian journalist Hossam Shabat “was deliberately killed,” says Sharif Abdel Kouddous, a colleague of Shabat.

“He was assassinated by the Israeli military. They have openly said this. They called him a terrorist.”

People should maybe take note, before they join hands with guys like this to sanction their countries of origin into the dirt:

I decided to start a #thread 🧵 of stories about legal residents and tourists being (illegally) arrested, detained and/or deported by the Trump regime. I'll only post stories from serious sources, as rumors and conspiracies are really not needed in this authoritarian moment.

Mahmoud Khalil writes from an ICE detention facility: "The Trump administration is targeting me as part of a broader strategy to suppress dissent." mondoweiss.net/2025/03/lett...

Mahmoud Khalil’s Letter from ICE Detention Mahmoud Khalil—a peace protestor who has committed no crime—has written a thoughtful, analytically sound, morally wrenching letter from ICE detention.

Must read Mahmoud Khalil’s letter from ICE detention: “I have always believed that my duty is not only to liberate myself from the oppressor, but also liberate my oppressors from their hatred and fear.” www.un-diplomatic.com/p/mahmoud-kh...

Israeli checkpoints in West Bank

"the Netanyahu government has violated its assurances under National Security Memorandum 20 and that it is not in compliance with the Humanitarian Aid Corridor Act (Section 620I of the Foreign Assistance Act)... These determinations should trigger a pause in U.S. offensive security assistance..."

It's our first starter pack... check out the experts who are part of the Forum's community and here on Bluesky.

(We are about 50/50 men/women... not sure why Bluesky oversampled in the photos it chose to put in the pack... we value diversity)

go.bsky.app/U4jPcYY

Sign Up Sign up here to be added to the Forum on the Arms Trade email list.

The next packed edition of "The Week in Arms Trade Publications" is coming later today featuring articles and reports on landmines, business and human rights, arms to Israel, Ukraine, events, and more. Be sure it hits your inbox by signing up here: www.forumarmstrade.org/get-on-the-l...

Israeli government imposes sanctions on Haaretz, cuts all ties and pulls advertising ***

First Al Jazeera now Haaretz.

President Biden’s reprehensible decision to transfer antipersonnel #landmines risks civilian lives & sets back international efforts to eradicate these indiscriminate weapons - @hrw.org statement www.hrw.org/news/2024/11...

The Biden administration plans to send internationally banned antipersonnel landmines to Ukraine.

@marywareham.bsky.social details this "shocking and devastating" development:

Ending day 1 of #AAA2024 on a super high note, with a visit from Samar Al-Bulushi, author of War-Making as Worldmaking: Kenya, the United States, and the War on Terror.

Israeli defence firm Elbit reports robust quarterly profit, looks to laser technologies Elbit Systems , , one of Israel's biggest defence companies, reported a 29% rise in third-quarter profit on Tuesday and said it is stepping up development of laser systems to knock out enemy rockets.

Death and Destruction is good for business.

One Palestinian prisoner with surgical drains another with crutches. Despite these horrific images in the eyes of western governments the Israeli “victim” can do no wrong.