Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi asked the Iraqi parliament on Thursday to hold a vote on removing the governor of Kirkuk from office, the parliamentary speaker’s office said. Abadi’s call came after Kirkuk - an oil-rich province claimed by both the central government in Baghdad and...

An Egyptian lawyer who represents the family of murdered Italian student Giulio Regeni was prevented from flying to a U.N. conference and detained by a special prosecutor, his supporters and a security source said on Wednesday. Ibrahim Metwaly, who founded the Association of the...

Israel supports the establishment of a Kurdish state, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Wednesday, as Kurds in Iraq gear up for a referendum on independence that lawmakers in Baghdad oppose. Israel has maintained discreet military, intelligence and business ties with the Kurds...

Israeli banks are contributing to the proliferation of West Bank settlements by providing loans and mortgages for construction there, violating their human rights obligations, Human Rights Watch said in a report Wednesday. The report said that Israeli law does not require banks to...