Links to reports from Middle East Monitor and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 5-5-26 and LEBANON, GAZA and IRAN.) — MCM

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Israel orders demolition of nearly 50 Palestinian facilities near East Jerusalem for settlement project. From Middle East Monitor. Israeli authorities have ordered the demolition of nearly 50 shops and commercial facilities in the Palestinian town of Al-Eizariya, southeast of East Jerusalem, as part of measures paving the way for a controversial settlement project in the area, Palestinian officials said today, Anadolu Agency reports. READ MORE . . .

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Israel uproots thousands of grapevinew in Hebron to expand settle road, by Sari Jaradat and Fayha Shalash | Middle East Eye  HEBRON, occupied West Bank / RAMALLAH, occupied Palestine — The Israeli army recently confiscated large swathes of agricultural land to expand Route 60, a major settlement road linking key settlements across the West Bank. The project to expand the road, which stretches for 235km, has involved the seizure of tens of thousands of dunams of Palestinian-owned land. READ MORE . . .

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Links to reports from National Public Radio, Middle East Eye, and the Cradle, and to an analysis from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name or initials. (Scroll down for LEBANON 5-3-26, and up or down for WEST BANK, GAZA and IRAN.) — MCM

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Fighting in southern Lebanon continued despite Israeli-Lebanese ceasefire. Reported by Jane Arraf | NPR  As the ceasefire with Iran comes under strain in the Gulf, the ceasefire in southern Lebanon is also fraying. Click HERE to listen and, later, read. Click HERE for report from Middle East Eye.

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Can Hezbollah dominate the lower air battlefield against Israel? by Omar Ashour | Middle East Eye Hezbollah’s drones are imposing tactical friction, psychological pressure and operational costs on Israel’s invasion forces in southern Lebanon. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for May 5 report from the Cradle. 

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Links to reports from the Cradle and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for GAZA 5-4-26, and up or down for WEST BANK, LEBANON and IRAN.) — MCM

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Gaza Board of Peace ‘will not hold’ Israel to truce terms until Hamas accepts disarmament demands: report. From the Cradle. The U.S.-led Board of Peace for Gaza has decided not to hold Israel to the terms of the ceasefire agreement in the event that Hamas refuses Tel Aviv’s conditions to disarm, according to a document cited by Times of Israel on Tuesday. READ MORE . . .

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Skeletons in their clothing. Reported by Anas Baba | NPR  About 8,000 bodies are believed to still be buried under debris throughout Gaza, according to Gaza’s health ministry. NPR documented a three-day recovery mission at the site of the Abu Naser family massacre. Click HERE to listen and read.

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Links to FIVE-plus reports (9 or 10): from National Public Radio, Reuters, the Associated Press, and Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-5-26. Scroll up for WEST BANK, LEBANON and GAZA.) — MCM

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Iran opens Hortmez Strait for shipping, Revolutionary Guard says. From NPR. Iran’s Revolutionary Guard on Wednesday said safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz would be provided, under unspecified procedures, after President Trump paused a U.S. military effort to guide merchant vessels through the strategic waterway. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. and Iran closing in on memorandum to end war, sources say. From Reuters. ISLAMABAD / WASHINGTON / TEL AVIV — The United States and Iran are closing in on an agreement on a one-page memorandum to end the war in the Gulf, a source from mediator Pakistan and another source briefed on the mediation said, confirming information initially reported by the U.S. media outlet Axios. READ MORE . . .

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Links to TEN-plus* reports, analyses, commentaries and interviews: from Consortium News, Mother of All Talk Shows, Tass, the Associated Press, National Public Radio, and Reuters; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for IRAN 5-4-26 and UKRAINE.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 4  Days 53-65: World on the brink in the hands of a madman, by Joe Lauria | Special to Consortium News  Over the last 12 days Donald Trump has vacillated between words of peace and threats of all out war as he stands alone on the brink of a decision that could end the world as we know it for the foreseeable future. READ MORE . . .  Click HERE for related May 4 video from MOATS, in which host George Galloway talks with development economist Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University.

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U.S. expects other countries to take responsibility for situation in Strait of Hormuz: Hegseth. From Tass. WASHINGTON — The U.S. operation in the Strait of Hormuz is a temporary mission and Washington expects other countries to take responsibility for ensuring safe navigation in the area “at the appropriate time,” U.S. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said. READ MORE . . .

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U.S. leader may resume military operation against Iran this week: portal. From Tass. WASHINGTON — U.S. President Donald Trump may order the resumption of military operations against Iran this week, Axios reported, citing sources in the U.S. and Israeli leadership. READ MORE . . .

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Middle East analyst on the latest Gulf attacks. Leila Fadel of NPR speaks with Aaron David Miller, a senior fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, about the latest attacks in the Persian Gulf. Click HERE to listen and, later, read; and HERE for links to all three Iran war-related reports today on NPR‘s “Morning Edition.”

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FROM MAY 5  The U.S. fights to reopen the Strait of Hormuz as the UAE comes under attack in a test of Iran truce, by Adam Schreck, Ben Finley and Sam Metz | AP  DUBAI — The U.S. military said it fired on Iranian forces and sank six small boats targeting civilian ships as it moved to reopen the Strait of Hormuz on Monday. The United Arab Emirates, a key American ally, said it had come under attack from Iran for the first time since a fragile ceasefire took hold in early April. READ MORE . . . Click HERE for same AP report in Spanish; and HERE for others.  Click HERE and HERE for reports from NPR and Reuters.

For now, links to EIGHT reports: from the Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Ouest France, the Moscow Times, the Kyiv Independent, Kyiv Post, and National Public Radio; others are accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Click HERE for UKRAINE 3-29-26. Scroll down for today’s IRAN so far.) — MCM

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First, a link to a report from the Cradle; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for SYRIA 4-24-26 and today’s ENERGY, GAZA, WEST BANK and IRAN so far.) — MCM

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Israelis with dual nationality behind ‘large-scale’ acquisition of Syrian agricultural lands. From the Cradle. Israel is expanding its control over territory in southern Syria, not merely through military means, but also through the purchase of agricultural lands by individuals of Jewish descent holding multiple nationalities, Al-Akhbar reported today. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to an analysis from the Cradle and a report from the Associated Press; other published material is accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for ENERGY 5-3-26, and up or down for today’s SYRIA, GAZA, WEST BANK and IRAN so far.) — MCM

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FROM MAY 1  War, blockade, and the unraveling of global energy flows, by Suleyman Karan | The Cradle  Global energy markets are struggling to absorb the shock of war in West Asia. The disruption of nearly 20 million barrels per day (bpd) of crude oil and petroleum product exports, combined with the limited capacity to bypass the Strait of Hormuz, has placed both producers and import-dependent economies under strain. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 2  Spirit Airlines says it’s going out of business after 34 years, by Aamer Madhani, Rio Yamat, Jeff Amy and Mike Catalini | AP  WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — Spirit Airlines, an impish upstart that shook the industry with its irreverent ads and deep discount fares, announced Saturday that it has gone out of business. It said high oil prices, which have been rising because of the war with Iran, made it impossible to stay aloft. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

First, links to THREE reports from Middle East Eye; others are accessible by clicking on its name. (Scroll down for GAZA 5-3-26, and up or down for today’s SYRIA, ENERGY, WEST BANK and IRAN so far.) — MCM

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U.S. and Israel reject joint Palestinian proposal for Gaza after meetings. From Middle East Eye. Israel and the United States have rejected a paper submitted jointly by Palestinian factions, including Hamas, that links their disarmament to Palestinian statehood and security guarantees, following the latest round of negotiations over the future of Gaza. READ MORE . . .

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TO BE CONTINUED

For now, links to FOUR reports: from Middle East Monitor, Middle East Eye, the Cradle, and National Public Radio; other published material is accessible by clicking on their names or initials. (Scroll down for WEST BANK 5-3-26, and up or down for today’s SYRIA, ENERGY, GAZA and IRAN so far.) — MCM

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Israel approves $270M budget for settlement roads in occupied West Bank: report. From Middle East Monitor. Israel’s government approved a budget of about $270 million to build roads connecting illegal settlements in the occupied West Bank, Haaretz newspaper reported today. READ MORE . . .

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FROM MAY 3  Entrepreneurs fight pile-up of garbage in the West Bank. Reported by Eleanor Beardsley | NPR  Israeli restrictions on movement in the West Bank are impeding garbage trucks from reaching landfills, leaving Palestinians living amid mounds of trash. Two Palestinian entrepreneurs are trying to change this. Click HERE to listen and, later, read.

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TO BE CONTINUED