Free Republic

An Arab newspaper reported on Saturday that Israel and Qatar are hammering out a deal that would allow Hamas to operate a sea crossing between Gaza and Cyprus. According to the Lebanese Al Akhbar, the prospective seaport is part of a wider Egyptian-brokered cease-fire between Hamas and Israel. While Hamas demands that the crossing be monitored through video cameras, Israel wants both Israeli forces and international elements to monitor the seaport to prevent weapons smuggling. The report comes as a long-term cease-fire between Israel and Hamas appears to be gaining traction. A central part of the deal has been Qatar's...

The biggest risks posed by unilateral recognition of Kosovo's independence are in the South Caucasus, a region that abuts the tinderbox of today’s Middle East. Here, there is a real danger that Russia may recognise breakaway regions in the South Caucasus, — and back them more strongly than it does now Look before you leap is as sound a principle in foreign policy as it is in life. Yet, once again, the Bush administration is preparing to leap into the unknown. Even though lack of foresight is universally viewed as a leading cause of its Iraq debacle, the United States...

THE ISSUE of Kosovo does not make many headlines in Cyprus, but there is no doubt that, behind the scenes, the government is following developments very closely, concerned at the way events might unfold. Beyond any sentimental solidarity with the Serbs, Kosovo matters to Cyprus. There are too many parallels and it is too close to home to dismiss any final outcome to the dispute as irrelevant to our own. Put bluntly, Kosovo is another TRNC, a part of Serbia over which the recognised central government has no control, lost in the aftermath of a war, overwhelmingly populated by a...