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Saudi Arabia and nine other Arab states agreed in Jeddah on Thursday to rally behind the United States in its fight against extremists from the Islamic State (IS) as it contends to build an international coalition to help combat the extremist group. In its final statement, the United States and the ten nations declared their “shared commitment to stand united …

The UN’s new Syria envoy on Thursday said that the world needs to confront “terrorist groups” in Syria and in other parts of the world, but that Syria also needs a political solution. “The terrorist groups need to be confronted and that’s clear. But there is no contradiction… in fighting terrorism both with security measures… but also with (an) accelerated …

On Wednesday, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed the “systematic” use of chlorine in chemical warfare in Syria. After an investigation by an OPCW team in Syria, a report publishing the findings established “compelling confirmation” that the chemical was used “systematically and repeatedly” as a weapon in several villages in northern Syria earlier in the year. …

Hamas’ exiled deputy chief Mussa Abu Marzuq on Wednesday said that it would resume indirect talks with Israel and consolidate the ceasefire in Gaza in mid-September in Cairo. Fifty days of lethal fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians caused the death of over 2,200 people. The war ended on August 26th with an open-ended peace deal. Under the terms …

Late on Tuesday, an explosion killed 47 members of pragmatic Syrian rebel brigade Ahrar al-Sham, including most of its leadership, dealing a fresh blow to the nation’s armed opposition which could fragment its most important coalition. The opposition rebels were killed when an explosion occurred during a meeting of its top military and religious chiefs, held in the north-eastern province …

Syrian media on Tuesday accused Arab governments of giving the United States prior consent for military action against extremists. The remarks come ahead of discussions between US Secretary of State John Kerry and US allies in the region to be held on Thursday – they will likely talk about joint action to cope with the threat posed by the Islamic …

On Tuesday, British charity Oxfam called in rich countries to let in at least 5% of Syria’s 3 million refugees, and urged them to improve their aid contributions. It also called on them to stop providing weapons to all parties involved in the Syrian conflict which are committing human rights violations. The charity group slammed most of the international community …

The Palestinian government and the United Nations on Tuesday called for international donors to present $550 million in aid to hundreds of thousands who need help in Gaza. The appeal comes only two weeks after Hamas and Israel ended 50 days of brutal violence, in a war which caused the deaths of over 2,100 people. The donors’ conference will be …

On Tuesday, a Palestinian prisoner arrested by Israeli authorities in July died in an Israeli prison of what the Israeli Prison Authority said was a suicide attempt, an assertion Palestinians deny. The Palestinians identified the man as 35-year-old Raed Abdel Salam al-Jaabari and called for an independent investigation into his death, calling the circumstances as “mysterious”. Sivan Weizman, a spokeswoman …

Canadian ambassador for religious freedom Andrew Bennett said that the current outburst of ethno-religious hatred, expulsions and murders by militants from the Islamic State (IS) in Syria and Iraq has risen to the level of genocide. “ISIS is a barbaric terrorist group that has taken Sunni Islam and warped it, distorted it, twisted it and usurped it for its own …