Week in review: Al Qa'eda denounced by Libyan group

Jihadist ideology is now under attack from its erstwhile proponents. A Libyan group has issued a new religious document denouncing the tactics used by al Qa'eda as illegal under Islamic law.

US 'dismayed' at Israel's defiance

Less than three weeks after the Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu received praise from the US for showing "unprecedented" restraint on settlement growth, 900 new housing units have been approved for construction in Israeli occupied East Jerusalem. The news drew a swift response from the White House which issued a statement that said: "We are dismayed at the Jerusalem Planning Committee's decision to move forward on the approval process for the expansion of Gilo in Jerusalem."

Afghanistan: the world's second most corrupt nation

As President Hamid Karzai is about to be inaugurated for his second five-year term, the country he leads now ranks globally ahead of only one other - Somalia - in the perceived level of public-sector corruption. Transparency International, whose annually published index has become a benchmark of perceptions of a country's corruption, in its 2005 report ranked Afghanistan as 117th, ahead of 33 other even more corrupt nations.

Palestinians push for independence

In response to the failure of months of US-brokered diplomacy, the Palestinians have decided to unilaterally seek international recognition for an independent state through the UN Security Council. This diplomatic initiative has been agreed by the Palestine Liberation Organisation executive which is chaired by the Palestinian president Mahmoud Abbas. The chief Palestinian negotiator, Saeb Erekat, said on Sunday that as yet no time frame had been set.

Jihadist challenge to al Qa'eda

In recent years, as the victims of violent jihadist attacks have predominantly been Muslims, the jihadist ideology as propounded and put into effect by al Qa'eda has been rejected by some of its original proponents. The most recent challenge comes not from an individual but a movement: the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group which now views the armed struggle it waged for two decades as illegal under Islamic law.

The 9/11 'trial of the century'

"Whether we bring our enemies to justice, or bring justice to our enemies, justice will be done," said President George W Bush in an address to the US Congress on September 20, 2001. Eight years later the US attorney general announced that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the self-confessed mastermind behind the September 11 attacks will be transferred from Guantanamo to stand on trial in a civilian court in New York City.

Week in review: Israel is running out of time

"We no longer have the privilege of waiting... Time is not on Israel's side," says Shaul Mofaz, a former Israeli defence minister who proposes that a permanent Palestinian state should be established with provisional borders. The Mofaz plan says Israel should agree immediately to a Palestinian state comprising Gaza and 60 per cent of the occupied West Bank. The core issues, including Jerusalem's future, the right of return, and permanent borders would be negotiated later.

'Afghanistan is neither Vietnam nor Iraq - it is Afghanistan'

The lessons of history suggest that the only accurate analogy through which the present conditions in this war-torn country can be understood is by looking at Afghanistan's own tumultuous past. The latest poll says most Americans oppose the war in Afghanistan, oppose sending more troops and don't believe the country will ever have a stable democratic government.

Israel confronted by Jewish terrorism

If the arrest of Yaacov 'Jack' Teitel, an alleged Jewish terrorist living as a settler in the West Bank raised questions about the level of communal support such an individual receives, a new publication confirmed that his views are far from exceptional. A book published this week by a radical Jewish rabbi and endorsed by prominent religious right-wing figures suggests killing any non-Jew, including children and babies, who pose a threat to Israel.

Obama and Netanyahu meet after dark

If an Israeli prime minister visited Washington and didn't go to the White House it would not be unprecedented. It happened once in 2005. But last week, only days away from a long-scheduled visit, Benjamin Netanyahu was more than uncomfortable about such a prospect. By the time the Israeli prime minister arrived in the US on Sunday, a meeting with Mr Obama had been arranged for the following evening.

A post-Netanyahu Israel might reach out to Hamas

Shaul Mofaz, the deputy leader of Israel's Kadima party who now views himself as a future prime minister, said on Sunday that the Israeli government should be prepared to negotiate directly with Hamas in the event that they gain electoral victory following Palestinian President Mahmoud Abass' retirement from politics. Mr Mofaz was laying out his own proposal for a peace plan since so far none has been forthcoming from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.