As Lebanon's government "focuses dwindling political capital on diplomacy and the immediate needs of over 1.2 million displaced citizens, resources for the disabled and neurodivergent community have vanished,” Adnan Nasser writes. Read more: dawnmena.org/for-lebanons...

The new EU sanctions on some violent Israeli settlers are meaningful, writes DAWN’s Michael Schaeffer Omer-Man, but they “did not in fact target the institutions and leaders guilty of facilitating the extremist and violent colonization of the West Bank … the State of Israel and its leaders.”

At a time when public trust in the Israeli government has reached historic lows, Congress is quietly considering a measure that could tie the U.S. military to Israel more closely than ever before, writes Ben Freeman of quincyinst.bsky.social. Read more: responsiblestatecraft.org/israel-us-mi...

“Long before the genocide, Gaza suffered from one of the highest unemployment rates in the world,” Ghada al-Rozzi writes from Gaza. Today, “talented and driven students ... spend their days searching for electricity, internet access or humanitarian aid." Read more: dawnmena.org/a-future-del...

Israel's settler movement has its eyes set on more territory, this time in southern Syria. Backed by the Israeli far-right, the settler group Halutzei HaBashan (The Pioneers of Bashan) sees Syria's instability as an opportunity, writes Ahmed Abdelhalim.

Benjamin Netanyahu says he's given orders to Israel's army to seize control of 70% of the Gaza Strip in a move that would torpedo the tattered ceasefire and create catastrophic humanitarian conditions in the already devastated territory, @theguardian.com reports: www.theguardian.com/world/2026/m...

Israel's targeting of Nabatieh is part of its "strategy to essentially cripple the Shia community in Lebanon and one way to do that is by destroying different economic engines and the capacity of that community and one of the largest economic engines of the south is Nabatieh.” — @mbazzi.bsky.social

"Democrats cannot hope to offer ... a compelling alternative vision of governance while turning a blind eye to the previous Democratic administration’s abuses. Accountability for Gaza is both good policy and good politics.” — @mattduss.bsky.social, CIP Read more: www.thenation.com/article/poli...

“There are multiple reasons why Sudan is the world's worst human crisis today, multiple bad actors. But the UAE is one of the worst, with its support for the brutal RSF militia committing mass murder and mass rape. Pres. Trump, having taken $500m from the UAE, is silent." — @nickkristof.bsky.social

Trump's threat to blow up Oman if it collaborates with Iran to control the Strait of Hormuz, resembles comments of "a mafia boss," said DAWN's Raed Jarrar. “The UN Charter prohibits the threat of force against any state, and that prohibition binds the U.S., exactly as it binds everyone else."

In March, Israel "approved $730 million for its public diplomacy and information efforts, or hasbara," an historic investment, writes @ramonawadi.bsky.social. Israel is "losing the public opinion battle as it clings to its colonial subjugation of Palestine." Read more: dawnmena.org/hundreds-of-...

"Fragile hope is disappearing" for Palestinian youth in Gaza, who increasingly find themselves unable to find work after years spent advancing their skills through education there, Ghada al-Rozzi writes from Gaza.

Jordan at 80 faces an existential crisis internally and externally, leaving it in a precarious position amid a rapidly evolving region, writes DAWN's Yara Bataineh.

AIPAC operates one of DC's largest lobbying and electoral operations, but doesn't disclose staff identities. "It is critical that Americans continue to press for answers on who actually runs AIPAC," said DAWN's Raed Jarrar. See our new research on AIPAC: dawnmena.org/u-s-new-data...

“We see you, and you belong.” These are the words that the Lebanese state must be able to say to its neurodivergent and disabled citizens, most of whom have been left behind for years, writes Adnan Nasser.

The Nakba "marks not a concluded past, but the beginning of an ongoing system of dispossession and displacement upon the foundation of Israel in 1948 that continues to structurally deny Palestinian life today," writes Dania Abul Haj. Read more: dawnmena.org/the-nakba-is...

AIPAC doesn't disclose identities of its staff. But DAWN's new research shows how AIPAC staff maintain strong connections to the Israeli and U.S. governments. “AIPAC shapes U.S. policy ... but operates entirely in the shadows,” says DAWN’s Omar Shakir. Learn more: dawnmena.org/u-s-new-data...

AIPAC's website doesn't tell you "who is their board, who is their staff, who runs the organization. It's completely operating as an invisible machine with no accountability or transparency," says DAWN's Raed Jarrar. See our new exposé on AIPAC's ties: dawnmena.org/u-s-new-data...

AIPAC's website doesn't tell you "who is their board, who is their staff, who runs the organization. It's completely operating as an invisible machine with no accountability or transparency," says DAWN's Raed Jarrar. See our new exposé on AIPAC's ties: dawnmena.org/u-s-new-data...

“DAWN’s analysis shows that 66 former AIPAC staffers currently work in the US government, from Congress to the White House to various branches of the military; nearly 2 dozen current AIPAC staffers previously worked in US government bodies," DAWN's new report said. www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/5/...

AIPAC doesn't disclose identities of its staff. But DAWN's new research shows how AIPAC staff maintain strong connections to the Israeli and U.S. governments. “AIPAC shapes U.S. policy ... but operates entirely in the shadows,” says DAWN’s Omar Shakir. Learn more: dawnmena.org/u-s-new-data...

AIPAC shapes US policy in the Middle East. And you should know how it works. DAWN's new research maps ties of AIPAC staffers to Israeli and US governments, military and intelligence institutions, and more — a “network of networks” influencing policy & power. Read more: dawnmena.org/u-s-new-data...

“Every time Palestinians and their supporters organise internationally, Washington reaches for the terrorism label to shut them down,” said DAWN's Isabelle Hayslip, responding to new Trump administration sanctions on organizers of the Gaza flotilla.

Israel's historic new investments in public diplomacy (hasbara) stem from its collapsing support globally, writes @ramonawadi.bsky.social. "Israeli leaders fear a loss of political support in the West far more than any physical threat to their country."

“The regional war has drawn heavily on Israel’s deadly playbook and provided a boon to Israeli and other defense and technology companies able to parlay the use of their products in Gaza to attract more business,” DAWN's Omar Shakir told @apnews.com.

"The actions of the United States and Israel since the beginning of the war on Feb. 28, together with their menacing rhetoric about Iran, do not suggest a spirit of respect for the cultural patrimony of all nations," writes Kourosh Ziabari. Read more: dawnmena.org/wartime-cult...

"Words, peace agreements aren't the things that actually stop the Israeli government ... Ultimately you need the calculus of the Israeli government to change. And that calculus is not going to change so long as impunity for serious abuses remains the norm," says DAWN's Omar Shakir.

Middle East Eye reports today that the ICC Prosecutor's office filed a secret arrest warrant application for Israeli finance minister Bezalel Smotrich over alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. Read more: www.middleeasteye.net/news/exclusi...

Ahead of Israeli elections, excitement has gripped some U.S. progressives that Israel without Netanyahu would somehow become a liberal democracy. But it's an illusion to place hopes for change on Netanyahu’s political demise writes DAWN's Michael Omer-Man: responsiblestatecraft.org/bennett-isra...

A Palestinians commemorate the 78th anniversary of the Nakba, Dania Abul Haj writes that the Nakba constitutes both the past and the present. As the West continues to strip Palestinians of their identity and agency, the realities created by the Nakba must first end.

"The current crackdown in Bahrain is reinforcing a familiar reality: Moments of regional crisis often translate into deeper surveillance, harsher punishment and growing uncertainty at home," writes Mona Ali.

Many recent executions in Iran "follow extremely rapid judicial proceedings in which defendants have little or no access to legal counsel, face fundamentally unfair trials and are often convicted using forced confessions extracted under torture,” DAWN's @omidmemarian.bsky.social told @nytimes.com.

“The thing that's precious about US arms transfers to Israel, isn't that they're free. It's that there's only one place in the world that you can get an F-16," said harrisonmann.bsky.social. Watch more from Mann on why only an arms embargo will make a difference: www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_mw...

"International law ... is confronting a deeper crisis of credibility: a widening belief that rules that still exist on paper no longer bind the most powerful states in practice." Bakr Hazem Al-Zubaidy writes on the impacts of Israeli and U.S. attacks on Gaza and Iran: dawnmena.org/gaza-and-ira...

Israel-U.S. strikes on Iran's cultural sites are likely a violation of The Convention for the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict, constituting an assault on humanity's shared heritage, writes Kourosh Ziabari.

That the UAE "decided to release images of arrested individuals before they have undergone a fair trial suggests a verdict has already been reached to villainize them and their communities,” said DAWN fellow @miraalhussein.bsky.social, responding to reports of targeted repression of Shiites.

Amid calls for the U.S. to address Israel's undeclared nuclear program, Kenneth Roth highlights the need for "greater honesty about Israel's genocide in Gaza, apartheid in the West Bank" and "for the U.S. government to end its complicity in these crimes with massive arms sales and military aid.”

Protesters gathered at LIV Golf's Virginia tournament at the Trump National Golf Club on May 7, criticizing LIV's financial backers — Saudi Arabia's government and royal family — for using the tournament to distract from their human rights abuses and corruption at home.

“The letter by 30 House lawmakers calling on the US government to come clean about Israel's nuclear weapons arsenal represents a broader transformation of Israel's status to that of just another foreign state, increasingly unpopular on account of its genocidal and apartheid policies.” —Mouin Rabbani

“When the US failed to impose consequences on Israel for the killing of Shireen Abu Akleh, it sent a clear message: American lives do not matter when Israel kills them,” DAWN's Omar Shakir said on the 4th anniversary of Abu Akleh's murder. “That climate of impunity has had deadly consequences.”

Due to "Israel's targeted criminalization of Palestinian human rights organizations," Defense for Children International – Palestine (DCIP) announced it will cease operations after 35 years of invaluable work, writes Asma Barakat. Read about impacts of DCIP's closure: dawnmena.org/after-israel...

The EU has approved new sanctions targeting Israeli settler organizations and far-right activists accused of involvement in violence against Palestinians in the West Bank. This follows previous EU sanctions on nine Israelis & five extremist organizations. Read more: www.haaretz.com/world-news/e...

As 30 members of Congress urge the Trump admin to publicly disclose Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, ex-UN Special Rapporteur Michael Lynk asks: “How can America credibly demand non-proliferation in the Middle East when it shields the nuclear program of the most aggressive state in the region?”

Join DAWN’s Omar Shakir, and a distinguished lineup of speakers, Friday, May 15 at Georgetown, for Center for the Study of Islam and Democracy & Muslim Public Affairs Council's conference: “A World Order Without Democracy?" Don’t miss this timely conversation: www.eventbrite.com/e/csid-mpac-...

After 30 House members called on the Trump administration to publicly disclose Israel’s undeclared nuclear arsenal, ex-State Dept. official Annelle Sheline told DAWN, “Demanding that Israel be treated like any other country is a necessary step in ‘normalizing’ the U.S. relationship with Israel.”

“It shouldn’t have taken mass slaughter in Gaza for lawmakers to start asking questions the world has known for decades about Israel’s nuclear arsenal, occupation & war crimes...Political silence is finally beginning to crack under public pressure, but there must be real accountability.” —Assal Rad

Working class people across the Gulf face the worst impacts of the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran, says @fredericgschneider.bsky.social. Migrant workers are especially vulnerable "because they cannot afford to leave where they work, live and now die." Read more: dawnmena.org/economic-cri...

"We're seeing Israel repeating this playbook in the war on Lebanon...Now the wholesale razing of border towns and villages in southern Lebanon, including my own hometown, Bint Jbail," @mbazzi.bsky.social tells @tcambanis.bsky.social. Listen for more: thecenturyfoundation.podbean.com/e/erasing-bi...

"International law is no longer suffering from violations alone. It is confronting a deeper crisis of credibility: a widening belief that rules that still exist on paper no longer bind the most powerful states in practice," writes Bakr Hazem Al-Zubaidy.

After Israel's forced closure of Defense for Children International - Palestine, "it is crucial not to succumb to defeat. Israel cannot be allowed to avoid accountability, nor shield itself from committing crimes against children," writes Asma Barakat.