Significant Developments

Syria. Israel publicly warned Syrian president Bashar Assad to stop transferring advanced weapons to Hezbollah yesterday. In an unusual move, a senior Israeli official contacted the New York Times on Wednesday and was then quoted by the paper saying that “Israel is determined to continue to prevent the transfer of advanced weapons to Hezbollah,” arguing that such a move would destabilize the region. Read more »

“I swear to God we will eat your hearts and your livers, you soldiers of Bashar the dog.” –Abu Sakkar, leader of the Syrian rebel Farouq Brigade from Homs, as he bit into the heart of a regime soldier

“What do I care if they destroy Tel Aviv and lose Beirut?” –Amin Hoteit, retired Lebanese colonel close to Hezbollah, on the possibility of escalating tensions between Hezbollah and Israel Read more »

Significant Developments

Lebanon. Tamam Salam, a Lebanese member of Parliament and former minister of culture, has emerged as the consensus candidate to become Lebanon’s next prime minister. Lebanese president Michael Sleiman began two days of consultation today to nominate the successor to Najib Mikati, who resigned on March 22. Salam has already been endorsed by the Western-leaning March 14 coalition and Walid Jumblatt, the leader of the Druze bloc. Read more »

“Their lives are worthless when it comes to the interests of Egypt and Egyptians…I am a president after a revolution, meaning that we can sacrifice a few so the country can move forward. It is absolutely no problem.” –Egyptian president Mohammad Morsi responding to violent clashes between members of the opposition and the Muslim Brotherhood Read more »

“The Lebanese are asking this government to unmask its true face and say to the Arabs and the world that it is the government of Bashar Assad and Hezbollah…in Lebanon.” –Former Lebanese prime minister Saad Hariri

“It is a bad decision for the president and bolsters the feeling that his decisions are never thought out and that his advisers are not competent.” –Mustafa Kamel al-Sayyed, a Cairo University professor on the Egyptian courts’ decision to delay parliamentary elections Read more »

“We don’t want old faces. We tried that…We are worried…We can help Jordan not go the same way as Syria and Egypt.” –Khalid Hammad, 28, a lawyer who voted in Amman, in support of a friend, a fellow lawyer who was a first-time candidate Read more »

“It’s a very big victory for the Islamic groups…They are the strongest in Syria now because the Western countries won’t help.” – The director of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights using the pseudonym Rami Abdulrahman, speaking about the rebel capture of a key military air base last week Read more »

Significant Middle East Developments

Egypt. The National Salvation Front, Egypt’s newly formed opposition group headed by prominent figures Mohammed El Baradei, Hamdeen Sabahi, and Amre Moussa, urged followers yesterday to vote “no” on Saturday’s referendum on the draft constitution. They conditioned the opposition’s participation in the vote on full judicial oversight at all polling places, independent and international monitors, and adequate security. Read more »

“In the United States, you have a new elected president every four years. But here we are living with a king and the same prime minster for forty-two years.” – Yousif al-Muhafdah, a Bahraini human rights activist on Friday

“The behavior of the Syrian popular forces  is very similar to that of the Iranian Basij, therefore it is assumed that Iranian forces are present…If we are talking about the transfer and sharing of experience [between Iran and Syria] then it is only natural that such a thing should exist, but we are focusing on the fact that there are no Iranian forces present in Syria.” – Muhammad Reza Naghdi, commander of Iran’s Basij volunteer paramilitary force, said Wednesday according to the Iranian Students’ News Agency Read more »

Significant Middle East Developments

Syria. The Syrian National Council (SNC) lashed out at the United States today, accusing Washington of trying to “undermine the Syrian revolution.” The SNC was reacting to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announcement on Wednesday that the United States would work to reshape the Syrian opposition. Read more »