Palestinian president Mahmud Abbas is expected to appoint long-time ally Mohammad Shtayyeh as prime minister in the next few days after backing by his Fatah party, senior officials said Thursday. Analysts view bringing in Shtayyeh to replace outgoing prime minister Rami Hamdallah as part of...

Iran’s Supreme Leader appointed hardline cleric Ebrahim Raisi as the new head of the judiciary on Thursday, the state news agency IRNA said. The appointment of Raisi, 58, a protégé of Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, positions him to undermine the influence of moderates under...

Militants ambushed a convoy of pro-government, Shi’ite Muslim paramilitary fighters in northern Iraq on Wednesday night, killing at least seven of them and wounding 30, Iraqi military and police said on Thursday. No group immediately claimed responsibility, but Islamic State militants...

Israel’s election board has approved far-right Jewish candidates accused by rivals of racism for next month’s election while disqualifying an Arab party that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said supported terrorism. The Central Elections Committee’s decisions, taken late on...