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.
US punishes companies for Iran sales
Ruth Pollard The US has sanctioned three foreign companies for doing business with Iran.
US turns screws on firms selling to Iran
Ruth Pollard JERUSALEM: The United States has sanctioned three foreign companies for doing business with Iran as the international pressure on Tehran over its nuclear program intensifies and the fallout from the...
US recalls ambassador over safety fears in Syria
Ruth Pollard RELATIONS between Syria and the US have descended into tit-for-tat diplomacy as international concern mounted about military violence against protesters and fresh allegations emerged of injured...
Syria, US withdraw diplomats in tit-for-tat blows
Ruth Pollard Concern mounts about military violence against protesters and fresh allegations about injured activists and staff being tortured in hospitals.
Israeli plan for homes upsets US and Europe
Ruth Pollard JERUSALEM: The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, is determined to push ahead with the construction of more than 1000 new homes in a large settlement in East Jerusalem, despite Palestinian...
High stakes, hidden foes in Israel's intervention
Ruth Pollard It is just under seven years since the skies over Lebanon roared with the sound of Israeli fighter jets and missiles rained down on both sides in a furious 34-day war.
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.
Israel attacks military sites in Syria
Ruth Pollard Israeli jets have attacked a military centre on the outskirts of Damascus, the second strike inside Syria in the past three days.
Tragedy of young lives lost remembered in Gallipoli
Ruth Pollard As thousands gathered along the tiny stretch of coast where so many Australians died on the unforgiving battlefields of Gallipoli, a clear dawn sky emerged out of the cold, moonlit night and a hush...
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...
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.
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.
Israeli PM thwarted by anti-Orthodox newcomers
Ruth Pollard Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, frustrated by an unexpectedly strong alliance between Israel's two political newcomers, has been forced to seek an extension of time to build a coalition with which...
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...
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.
Oscar hope inspired by a great divider of land and livelihood
Ruth Pollard BILIN, West Bank: The tear gas canisters lie in the bright green grass that grows next to Israel's concrete ''separation wall'' in the Palestinian village of Bilin.
