A pragmatic Sunni alliance in the Middle East is getting stronger as ties between two regional powers—Egypt and Saudi Arabia—have grown even stronger in recent weeks. The possible rapprochement of Qatar to this alliance represents a potentially significant boost to efforts to prevent Iran from achieving hegemony in the Middle East. Saudi Arabia and Egypt share...

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The Egyptian government is trying to rehabilitate the Muslim Brotherhood movement, which was deposed from power in July 2013. However, these attempts so far have been met with a stubborn refusal from the Brotherhood, the Arab21 news site reported (Arabic link). Sources in the Muslim Brotherhood said that there were several...

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At a time when Hamas is trying to improve its relations with Iran, Egypt and Qatar are also in the process of rapprochement after years of tension. Resumed ties between them will likely have an impact on the Palestinian terror group, al-Monitor predicted (Arabic link). Hamas waited several days before making an announcement...

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Turkey in recent days has faced renewed criticism for bolstering non-state Islamist actors, including those who seek to supplant traditional American allies across the region and who are committed to the eradication of Israel. Reports over the weekend conveyed a shift in Qatari foreign policy, away from its traditional ally...

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The Qatari-owned TV network Al-Jazeera has done an about-face in the last few days, replacing its previous negative coverage of Egypt with more positive spin – apparently in response (Arabic link) to reconciliation over the weekend between Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and a special envoy of the emir of Qatar....

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Well-known Egyptian playwright and intellectual Ali Salem said in a television interview Wednesday night that Hamas, not Israel, was “the real enemy” of Egypt. The Jerusalem Post reports: Egyptian writer and playwright Ali Salem, who has a record of peaceful statements regarding Israel, said Israel is Egypt’s “friend” and Hamas...

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The recent Israeli natural gas finds could facilitate better ties between the Jewish state and “with energy-hungry Egypt, Jordan and even the Palestinian Authority,” according to a report Monday in The New York Times: While Israel’s gas consumption is growing fast, the domestic market is not large enough to fully...

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Interpol issued “red notice” arrest warrants for more than 40 senior Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated figures over the weekend, including the head of the Doha-based International Union of Muslim Scholars Sheikh Yusuf Al-Qaradawi. A red notice seeks “the location and arrest of wanted persons with a view to extradition or similar lawful...

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Turkey’s ratings on “perceived corruption” have increased sharply, according to a new report published by a global watchdog for government transparency. The report identifying the most and least corrupt countries in the world was published Wednesday by Transparency International. It uses a scale on which 100 represents the cleanest states and...

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In a case that has dragged for years in a trial dubbed as the “trial of the century” by local media, a Cairo court on the weekend acquitted on former President Hosni Mubarak of conspiring to kill protesters during the 2011 uprising that led to his ouster. The Cairo Criminal...

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