An open-ended hunger strike by Palestinians in Israeli prisons highlights the barbarous conditions to which they are subject, writes Saleh Al-Naami

Finally a prisoner swap deal has been reached -- widely seen as a victory for Hamas -- on captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit, writes Khaled Amayreh in occupied Palestine

Desecration of graveyards and destruction of olive groves are just two manifestations of violence Palestinians -- on the West Bank and inside Israel -- face daily from Israeli society

Despite the ongoing war in Yemen and the Nobel flurry, citizens are trying to carry on their lives as usual, notes Nasser Arrabyee

Sudanese politicians learn all the wrong lessons even as Juba is taking small steps to catch up with Khartoum, expounds Gamal Nkrumah

The spat over the funding of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon is coming to a head, putting Najib Mikati in an unenviable position, Lucy Fielder reports from Beirut

Some US troops could remain in Iraq even after Iraqi political leaders ruled out their receiving immunity from prosecution, writes Salah Nasrawi

Libyans are beginning to question if the NTC are the wrong men for the job of rescuing Libya from its current morass, contemplates Gamal Nkrumah

Saudi security forces probably did not realize that their arrests of two elderly men in their 70s in the village of Awamiyah in the Eastern Province on the night of 3 October would lead to riots in this Shia-majority area for two nights running, injuring 14 people, including ten policemen, reports Rashid Abul-Samh

Turkey's position on events in Syria has been "ambiguous and hesitant", according to the country's opposition, reflecting limitations in Ankara's strategic role, writes Bassel Oudat in Damascus

Fear of a re-run of Libya was one reason Russia and China vetoed a UN resolution condemning Syria. There were others, writes Graham Usher at the UN

The Syrian opposition has announced the creation of internal and external opposition movements, though differences in programmes could still hinder further unity