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.
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...
Settlements block the road to peace in latest Israel-Palestine talks
Ruth Pollard Five more sessions of talks between Israel and the Palestinians have ended without progress.
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.
Obama arrives in Israel, this time as president
Ruth Pollard Barack Obama landed in Israel on Wednesday for the first time as US President, on a mission to ease past tensions with his hosts but facing scepticism about his plans to thwart Iran's nuclear threat.
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...
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...
Israel apologises to Turkey
Ruth Pollard Israel has apologised to Turkey for the deaths of nine of its citizens during a 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid flotilla that was headed for Gaza.
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...
Israeli PM's call soothes relationship with Turkey
Ruth Pollard Israel has apologised to Turkey for the deaths of nine of its citizens during a 2010 Israeli naval raid on a Turkish aid flotilla that was headed for Gaza.
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.
Rivals and foes give Hamas the cold shoulder
Ruth Pollard Any push by Hamas to install its leader Khalid Mishal as head of the Palestine Liberation Organisation will meet fierce resistance from Israel and will fail if on-again, off-again reconciliation...
'Systematic' abuse of Palestinian youth: UNICEF
Ruth Pollard Palestinian children held in Israeli military detention have been subjected to "widespread, systematic and institutionalised" abuse, a UNICEF report has found.
'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...
Palestinian Catholics wary of Benedict's exit
Ruth Pollard Palestinians fear Benedict's resignation may reduce the authority of the church.
Peace activists forced from West Bank protest
Ruth Pollard Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered security forces to evacuate up to 250 Palestinians and international peace activists who set up an 'outpost' in a contested area between Jerusalem...
Controversial Israeli minister resigns after charges laid
Ruth Pollard Maintaining his innocence and vowing to clear his name, Israel’s Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman has resigned just 38 days before the country’s national elections after it was revealed he would be...
'We are a country': Palestinians celebrate
Ruth Pollard in Ramallah The street party was in full swing in the West Bank city of Ramallah well before Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas was due to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
Ramallah rejoices in historic vote, although few expect change
Ruth Pollard RAMALLAH, West Bank: The street party was in full swing in Ramallah well before the Palestinian President, Mahmoud Abbas, stood to speak at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
