IPS correspondents bring you independent perspectives on what is happening in Iran, Iraq and across the Middle East.

POLITICS: U.N. Inquiry Critical of Israeli Attacks in Gaza
By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS (IPS) – A detailed 184-page report critical of Israeli attacks on U.N. personnel and buildings during the Gaza conflict last December-January has been meticulously stripped down to a 27-page document – mostly due to political sensitivities and on security grounds.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46733

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RIGHTS-IRAN: Damaging Forced Confessions
By Ranjit Devraj
NEW DELHI (IPS) – Iranian political refugees living in India say there is an all too familiar ring about the supposed confessions of arrested journalist Roxana Saberi, which they expect to see footage of on television soon.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46713

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MIDEAST: Environment Emerges as a Major Casualty
By Erin Cunningham*
GAZA CITY (IPS/IFEJ) – Countless fruit groves across the Gaza Strip are now gone, entire farms bulldozed. The remains of thousands of destroyed homes emit toxic asbestos, while dilapidated infrastructure dumps raw sewage into the Mediterranean Sea. An already deepening environmental crisis in the besieged Gaza Strip has been further compounded by the recent war.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46709

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MIDEAST: Hamas Gaining International Legitimacy
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – Delegations from the rival Fatah and Hamas organisations have again failed in Cairo to bridge their differences meant to usher in a Palestinian unity government, but this has in no way slowed inroads which the Islamist movement has been making to increase its international legitimacy – much to Israel’s concern.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46676

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ENVIRONMENT: Israel Stripping West Bank Quarries
By Mel Frykberg
RAMALLAH (IPS) – Israeli human rights organisation Yesh Din is taking the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF), the Israeli civil administration and a number of Israeli mining companies to court.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46682

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LEBANON: Generals’ Release May Influence June Election
Analysis by Helena Cobban*
WASHINGTON (IPS) – On Wednesday, a judge at the Hague-based “Special Tribunal for Lebanon” (STL) ordered Lebanon to release four senior Lebanese generals imprisoned since 2005 on suspicion of involvement in killing former prime minister Rafiq Hariri in February of that year.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46687

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MIDEAST: 60,000 Palestinians at Risk in Jerusalem, UN Warns
By David Cronin
JERUSALEM (IPS) – A report published Friday by a United Nations agency has warned that the problems facing the people of Silwan, who are facing eviction from their homes, are replicated throughout East Jerusalem.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46697

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POLITICS-US: AIPAC Conference Comes Amid Turmoil
By Daniel Luban and Ali Gharib
WASHINGTON, May 3 (IPS) – The American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), Washington?s powerful and hawkish pro-Israel lobby, kicked off its annual policy conference this weekend during a period of unusual turbulence both for the organisation and for the U.S.-Israel relationship.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46704

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EGYPT: Viral Time Bomb Set to Explode
By Cam McGrath
CAIRO (IPS) – It is a health crisis of alarming proportions. Up to nine million Egyptians have been exposed to hepatitis C, and tens of thousands will die each year unless they receive a liver transplant.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46723

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MIDEAST: Israel Hit by Doubts Over U.S.
Analysis by Jerrold Kessel and Pierre Klochendler
JERUSALEM (IPS) – Almost a full fortnight before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is received at the White House, and already political nerves here are all a-jangle. Is a showdown with Israel’s staunch ally about to materialise?
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46739

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MIDEAST: A Former ‘Terrorist’ Speaks Out
By Mel Frykberg
JENIN, Northern West Bank (IPS) – A former high-level Palestinian resistance fighter, who spent years on the run from Israel’s security forces, has just been appointed to the Palestinian Ministry of Prisoners’ Affairs, and made honorary theatre director.
www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=46681

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DON’T MISS IPS EXCLUSIVE COVERAGE OF THE OBAMA ADMINISTRATION.

U.S. President Barack Obama has inherited wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, a tanking economy, and global crises like climate change. IPS reports on the implications of the new administration not just for U.S. citizens, but for the world.
www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/us_elections2008/index.asp

For more IPS reporting on the Middle East – www.ipsnews.net/middle.asp

Iraq: Beyond the Green Zone – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iraq/

Iran: The Parthian Shot – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/iran/

Holy Land/Unholy War – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/israel_palestina/

Afghan Divide – www.ipsnews.net/afghanistan/

Bush's Legacy – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/warII/

IPS coverage of terrorism – www.ipsnews.net/new_focus/terrorism/

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