Ruth Pollard
Ruth Pollard is the Middle East Correspondent for The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age. Her job takes her throughout the Middle East and North Africa, reporting on the Arab revolutions from Egypt, Libya, Lebanon, Turkey, Jordan, Tunisia and on the conflict in Israel and Palestine.
Palestinian missile hits Jerusalem's outskirts
Ruth Pollard Israel's government has approved the mobilisation of as many as 75,000 army reservists after a long-range missile fired from Gaza landed in an outlying Jerusalem suburb, setting off air raid sirens...
Israel told Jerusalem plan 'a provocation'
Ruth Pollard Middle East Correspondent Jerusalem Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is determined to press ahead a large settlement in East Jerusalem despite criticism.
Damascus attack sparks fear of escalation
Ruth Pollard Israeli jets appear to have attacked a military centre on the outskirts of Damascus. If confirmed, it would be its second strike inside Syria in the past three days.
Sacred but troubled Easter feast
Ruth Pollard The wings of an angel curl around his shoulders and the image of a large cross travels down his spine, accompanied by 16 lines of prayer in the ancient script of Aramaic.
Death of prisoner sparks anger in Hebron
Ruth Pollard in Hebron In a display of anger and grief, thousands of Palestinians took to the streets in Hebron and the northern West Bank to mourn the deaths of three men and protest against the ongoing detention of more...
Israel dresses up for Obama's visit but expectations are rock-bottom
Ruth Pollard The flowerbeds along King David Street in downtown Jerusalem are blooming and the road markings have been freshly painted as the city continues its meticulous sprucing in preparation for the visit of...
Obama and Netanyahu smooth over tensions
Ruth Pollard Putting aside their much-analysed frosty relationship, US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu presented a united, even jovial front at the conclusion of Mr Obama's...
Anti-settlement protesters struggle to make Obama hear
Ruth Pollard On a rocky hill overlooking the large Israeli settlement of Ma'ale Adumim, as sheep grazed along the grassy shoulders of the highway that leads into Jerusalem, a large Palestinian flag unfurled in...
Obama urges Israel to make peace with Palestine
Ruth Pollard Appealing to Israel's younger generation, US President Barack Obama urged them to look at the world through Palestinian eyes and push their political leaders to take a risk and make peace with their...
Obama visits the Church of the Nativity
Ruth Pollard As a fierce sandstorm blew into Bethlehem from the Negev Desert in the south, President Barack Obama made his final stop on his three-day visit to Israel and Palestine before he flies to neighbouring...
Obama came, saw and united, which is bad news for Assad
Ruth Pollard He came to woo the Israeli public and woo them he did, with endless symbolic gestures and a speech that won over many on both the right and left of the political spectrum.
Gaza Strip marathon cancelled after Hamas bans female runners
Ruth Pollard in Jerusalem The UN has been forced to cancel its annual marathon in the Gaza Strip after the ruling Islamist movement Hamas insisted that women be banned from the race.
Israel denies 'Prisoner X' Zygier was in contact with ASIO
Ruth Pollard in Jerusalem Seeking to put an end to speculation that the Australian suspected of spying for Mossad was arrested for also passing information to ASIO, the office of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu denied Ben...
Family of suspected spy fought to keep inquiry into his death open
Ruth Pollard JERUSALEM: Israeli government representatives tried to shut down the investigation into the death in custody of Ben Zygier, the Australian suspected of spying for Mossad, arguing there was no...
Palestinian hunger strike demonstrations spark clashes
Ruth Pollard in Jerusalem Hundreds of Palestinian protesters clashed with Israeli security forces as demonstrations in support of hunger striking prisoners sparked growing unrest across the West Bank.
Prison guards 'asleep' when Zygier hanged himself - report
Ruth Pollard JERUSALEM: The Australian suspected of spying for Mossad was left hanging in the bathroom of his cell for more than an hour by prison guards who had ''fallen asleep on the job'' and failed to keep...
Palestinian's death prompts call for fresh probe
Ruth Pollard The Palestinian man who died in custody in an Israeli jail on Saturday showed obvious signs of torture, a senior Palestinian government minister said, calling for an independent, international...
Israel accused of torturing prisoner
Ruth Pollard JERUSALEM: The Palestinian man who died in custody in an Israeli jail on Saturday showed obvious signs of torture, a senior Palestinian government minister said, calling for an independent,...
'Systematic, deliberate and provocative': EU report critical of Israeli settlements
Ruth Pollard in Jerusalem Recommending a regime of economic sanctions against Israeli settlements, a scathing report from European Union consuls accuses Israel of illegally annexing East Jerusalem and “systematically...
EU report blasts Israeli zoning, urges sanctions
Ruth Pollard Recommending economic sanctions against Israeli settlements, a scathing report from European Union consulates accuses Israel of illegally annexing East Jerusalem and 'systematically undermining...
