Fostering grief and revenge
Nine children were among the 15 people killed when Israel assassinated a Hamas leader in a pre-dawn air strike on an apartment building in Gaza. Khaled Amayreh, in Jerusalem, writes

Punishing blood ties
Israel was forced to retract a decision to deport families of militants suspected of carrying out suicide attacks after nearly the whole international community protested such major violation of basic human rights, Jonathan Cook reports from Jerusalem

The ghosts of Jenin
In April the Israeli army and Palestinian militias fought the battle of Jenin camp. Three months on, the dead are exacting vengeance. Graham Usher revisits a battleground haunted by ghosts.

Where did all the love go?
Arafat's political welfare does not appear to be figuring very high on the Arab agenda. Dina Ezzat reports

Who needs enemies ?
Iranians rally in Tehran against the United States, as President Bush realises he's a reformist. Azadeh Moaveni probes the rhetoric

Change of heart
The recent breakthrough in negotiations between Khartoum and the SPLA promises a new beginning for Sudan, but sceptics doubt the signatories' sincerity, writes Gamal Nkrumah

Unfinished business
Morocco's decision to seize the rocky islet of Leila appears aimed at settling other territorial disputes with former colonial power, Spain, writes Michael Jensen

Turkey's ailing premier
Turkish Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit, trying to cling to power by any means, said he opposed an imminent US strike against Iraq. But officials in Washington are aware that it is Turkey's military who makes such decision, Gareth Jenkins writes from Ankara

Softening the clampdown
Yemen's president sought to defuse a crisis with the press and agreed to drop cases filed against some journalists accused of reporting 'military secrets'. Nasser Arrabyee writes from Sana'a