Author Archives: jonathanspyer

Jerusalem Post, 1/5 A number of reports have been published in recent days suggesting the tide of the war in Syria may finally have turned decisively against the Assad regime. The reports cite a series of successes the Syrian rebels … Continue reading →

 Jerusalem Post, 18/4 The latest reports suggest that Islamic State fighters have largely withdrawn from the Palestinian refugee camp of Yarmuk, on the outskirts of Damascus. The jihadis have returned to the district of Hajar al-Aswad, from where they launched … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Report, 16/4. In the last decade, the Middle East has been living through a political convulsion of historic proportions.  Regimes that once appeared immovable have been destroyed or have receded.  New forces have risen up and are making war … Continue reading →

PJMedia, 10/4 The conquest by the Islamic State of the Yarmouk Palestinian refugee camp near Damascus confirms the resilience of the jihadis and is an indicator of their current strategy.  Islamic State has lost considerable ground in Iraq, with the … Continue reading →

PJmedia, 5/4 In a process of profound importance, five Arab states in the Middle East have effectively ceased to exist over the last decade.  The five states in question are Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and Libya.  It is possible that … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Post, 3/4 The assembling of a Sunni coalition to challenge the advance of an Iranian proxy in Yemen, and the subsequent announcement in Sharm al-Sheikh of the formation of a 40,000 strong  Arab rapid reaction force are the latest … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Report, 23/3 Recently,  I attempted to undertake a reporting trip into the Kurdish Kobani enclave in northern Syria.  It would not have been my first visit, neither to Syria nor to Kobani.  For the first time, however, I found … Continue reading →

PJmedia, 5/3 In the latest blow to supporters of the “moderate” elements among the Syrian rebels, the Harakat Hazm “Movement of Determination” this week announced that it was disbanding. Hazm was never a large group. It never possessed more than … Continue reading →

Jerusalem Post, 7/3 Kobani refugees faced a bitter winter on the Turkish-Syrian border, yet there was one bright spot: The fight to rid the Kurdish Syrian town of Islamic State jihadists was officially declared over on January 27. The Kurdish … Continue reading →

PJmedia, 27/2. Co-authored with Benjamin Weinthal The recent Hezbollah attack on an Israel Defense Forces convoy in the Har Dov area close to Israel’s border with Lebanon, in which two Israeli soldiers were killed, was the latest move in a … Continue reading →