Senate Leaders Critical Of Obama’s Mideast Approach
Several veteran US Senators voiced displeasure with US President Barack Obama’s policies in the Middle East during hearings on the subject in Washington on Thursday, while both Israel and the Palestinian Authority were also criticized over the stymied peace process. Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, who just returned from a visit to the region, lamented the situation in the Gaza Strip, saying it is "a great disappointment that so little has been rebuilt" following the war there a year ago and calling for Israel to lift the ban on importing heavy construction materials.

Israel-Palestinian Talks Could Begin Next Week
After the Arab League gave Palestinian leaders leeway to engage in indirect negotiations with Israel on Wednesday, some reports indicate the US-sponsored "proximity talks" could start as early as next week when Vice President Joe Biden arrives for a visit to Jerusalem. US special Mideast envoy George Mitchell will arrive in the region this coming weekend to begin preparing for Biden’s visit and is hoping the two sides will declare the beginning of talks on Sunday, ahead of Biden’s stopover on Monday.

US Circulating New Iran Sanctions Plan At UN
Diplomats at the UN Security Council indicated on Wednesday that the US is circulating a plan for tough new sanctions on Iran’s banking, shipping and insurance sectors and is urging China and Russia to seriously consider the new measures. The new sanctions are focused on banks and companies owned or controlled by the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and do not include the Islamic Republic’s oil and gas sector, as has been repeatedly urged by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Netanyahu Claims Progress In Exposing Iranian Nuclear Threat
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee on Tuesday that there has been "significant progress" lately in getting the international community to understand the severity of the Iranian nuclear threat. "The Iranian [arms] race train is travelling fast compared to the advancement of the international community, which is more like a stalled car," Netanyahu said.

Mayor Barkat Delays Ambitious Building Plans In Silwan
After some coaxing by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday, Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat agreed to delay a plan that would have seen a number of illegally built Arab homes in the flashpoint neighborhood of Silwan demolished and new apartments erected for the residents. Barkat had scheduled a press conference yesterday to explain his ambitious development plan for the controversial "King’s Garden" area, but relented after Netanyahu phoned and asked the mayor to allow more time to reach an understanding with local Arab residents, whom the city has been negotiating with for several months.

Chalabi Takes Center Stage In Iraqi Election Dispute
Inside and outside Iraq, there are many who hope the March 7 parliamentary elections will be a major, unifying event for the country. But those hopes have been clouded by the continuing crisis over the banning of hundreds of mostly Sunni or secular candidates for alleged ties to the former ruling Ba'athist Party.

Palestinian Riots Spread To Temple Mount
Despite heavy rains and Israeli assurances not to disturb the status quo at religious sites in the Holy Land, Palestinian protestors continued to stage violent demonstrations at various Muslim shrines over the weekend, including riots at the ultra-sensitive Temple Mount in Jerusalem. The angry Palestinians protests against Israel’s new list of "heritage" sites important to Jewish and Zionist history spread to the Old City of Jerusalem on Saturday evening when some 30 young Muslim men holed up inside the al-Aqsa Mosque and began throwing rocks at visitors to the Temple Mount on Sunday morning.

Iran Threatens Oil Supplies As US Readies Naval Blockade In Gulf
The US is reportedly preparing to increase its naval forces in and around the Straits of Hormuz to interdict Iranian arms shipments as part of a stepped-up sanctions regime, but the move comes just as a top commander in the Iranian Revolutionary Guards has warned his country controls half the world’s oil supply and will freeze out Europe if it also imposes new sanctions on Tehran.