He has been outspoken about the wave of fascism and religious radicalism around the world. He accused US President Donald Trump of breaking taboos by suggesting bringing back torture, and warned world powers against undermining civil liberties in the fight against terrorism. He criticized Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte’s support for extrajudicial killings, and British Prime Minister Theresa May’s threat to change human right laws if they got in the way of the war on terror.

However, the Royal Family Council decided to respect the sultan’s will, which named his cousin Haitham as his chosen successor. Article 4 of the White Book states: ‘The system of governance is Sultani, hereditary in the male descendants of Sayyid Turki bin Said bin Sultan, provided that whomever is to be chosen from among them as successor shall be a Muslim, mature, rational and the legitimate son of Omani Muslim parents.’

al-Qassemi has gone silent on Twitter, too. A source close to him said that the Gulf crisis might be the reason why he is not interacting on social media anymore. For now at least, it seems that his social media and activism days are behind him. If the Gulf crisis is resolved, he may go back to Tweeting freely again.

Jordan is a leading member of the United States-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (ISIS) in neighbouring Iraq and Syria. The Jordanian army has been tasked with protecting the kingdom from cross-border attacks and infiltration attempts. Yet despite widening a crackdown on ISIS sympathizers at home, it has struggled to cope. On 21 June 2016, six Jordanian soldiers were killed and 14 were wounded after a car bomb exploded in al-Rukban, near the country’s border with Syria.

El-Salahi said that after he completed his studies in London, he was shocked to realize that the public had not appreciated his artistic works. He concluded that such a departure was because available art did not express the cultural legacy of the Sudanese people, prompting him to focus on the value of images in Sudanese culture.

According to Reporters without Borders, Iran has the worst record of Press Freedom in the Middle East. In Iran, there are so-called ‘red lines’ of criticism, ever-changing boundaries imposed by the authorities that dictate what Iranians can and cannot say or write. Many websites are blocked in Iran, and many online journalists and bloggers have been jailed.

The group notably ignored advice from Tehran not to capture Sanaa back in 2014. Al-Houthi’s independence thus suggests that he is primarily driven by a domestic agenda rather than a desire to help Hezbollah and Iran exert control over the region. That could change, of course, if the Saudis leave him no choice but to increase his reliance on Iran.

The Kurds, constitute one of the oldest nations of the Middle East, as well as the largest nation in the world without their own country. They are in the spotlight since 2014 as they fiercely defend their territory against attacks by the IS.

Fanack presents in-depth insight into several topics concerning the conflict, including Arab-Israeli negotiations, Arab-Israeli wars, Palestinian refugees, and Israeli settlements.

Omar Barghouti was greatly inspired by Nelson Mandela’s approach to mobilizing the nations of the world against the apartheid regime in South Africa. This approach was introduced in Palestine after the failure of the Camp David II peace negotiations in July 2000 and the outbreak of the second intifada (uprising) in September 2000 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, followed by a major Israeli military operation in the West Bank in 2002.