Epstein Secrets

uld not confuse stagnation with stability. The fact that the royals continue to rule when autocratic regimes have been swept aside in Egypt, Libya, Yemen and perhaps soon in Syria, doesn't mean this U.S. ally is stable. The kingdom faces multiple problems: Unemployment is 40% among 20- to 24-year-old

r said, "See, all of these fingers are on the same hand. Some are long, some are stout. But when we grasp something, it is together." Still it was Zahar who was seen as having broken ranks over the last year with his public and personal attacks on Meshaal for pursuing the reconciliation deal and fai

me see as an indirect acceptance of Israel's existence even though Hamas officially refuses to recognize Israel. In an interview at his Gaza home, Zahar, once viewed by the West as a moderate, acknowledged the debate within Hamas, but said the divisions were being exaggerated and exploited by its en

ng a managed transition, where the existing rulers might agree to an orderly handover of power, a scenario that guided U.S. policy most closely in Yemen, where the long-standing president, Ali Abdullah Saleh, handed over power to his vice-president, Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, in late-2011. For a time,

ic backlash against what they called a coup could yet lead to the Brotherhood's resurgence. "Our policy right now is to keep the people quiet," Mr. Zahar said. "We have to keep our people highly immunized against the extreme attitude." Mr. el-Zaza, the finance minister, declined to say what spending

hree senior Hamas leaders — Ziad el-Zaza, the finance minister and deputy prime minister; Ghazi Hamad, who handles foreign affairs; and Mahmoud al- Zahar, a hard-liner — said they were taking a "wait and see" EFTA_R1_00441198 EFTA01964450 approach to Egypt, hoping that perhaps the tide could turn t

ranged from indifference to accommodation. The Saudis see Iran trying to encircle them with its Quds Force active in Bahrain, Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Yemen and their own eastern province. The Saudis see an Iranian effort to shift the balance of forces in the region dramatically in Tehran's favor, wheth

al-Attiyah visited Tehran for that purpose. The source added that last week, Iran gave the green light for Meshaal's visit after contacts between Zahar and Marwan Issa, a senior leader in the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades, Hamas' armed wing. This long overdue visit will culminate in Meshaal meeting

us vision for peace. He should realize that it will be fatal for Israel to maintain control over millions of Palestinians who seek what the people of Yemen and Libya and Syria seek: freedom. Absent any hope of progress, the Palestinians will do what they can to undermine Israel. But all they have to do i

y surprising as Hamas is known for the discipline of its cadres and members. In an interview carried by the Lebanese Al-Akhbar newspaper on Tuesday, Zahar criticized the statements made by Hamas leader Khalid Meshal on 4 May in Cairo during the signing of the reconciliation agreement between Fatah and H