The escalating tension between Israel and Iran over the latter's nuclear program has been at the center of many foreign policy debates and diplomatic talks over the past decade. Proponents of an Israeli strike say it's needed for to preserve Israel's national security while detractors say such an attack would precipitate World War III. 

Over the past ten months, Syrian Security Forces have killed more than 5,000 protestors across the country. But this weekend, two key voices announced their calls to action: the Arab League will seek U.N. Security Council approval to peacefully end the rule of President Bashar al-Assad, and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer introduced a bill that would block financial aid and create trade sanctions against Syrian leaders involved in the crackdown.

Despite deep worries over the continuing stability of the Iraqi government, the U.S. is planning on selling $11 billion of arms and training to Iraq's military. The sale comes as Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki has attempted to marginalize Iraq's Sunni minority since the U.S. withdrew its forces earlier in the month, setting off concerns over civil war. The Obama administration hopes the sale, which includes tanks and fighter jets, will help Iraq build its military and secure its border with Iran. But some American officials worry Iraq's government will move to align itself with the Shiite theocracy in Tehran.

On December 17, 2010, Tunisian street vendor Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire in protest of his treatment at the hands of municipal officials. His act of desperation would become the catalyst for a full-scale revolution that would sweep across North Africa and into the Middle East in what would become known as the Arab Spring. This week has brought more violent clashes between protesters and police in Egypt, but the idea of such actions transpiring just a year ago would have been unfathomable. The year 2011 has seen democratic movements swell in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, and Syria.

In Syria, tens of thousands of government supporters poured into the streets of Damascus and other cities on Sunday to protest the Arab League's decision to suspend Syria's membership. Angry supporters of Syrian President Bashar Assad also attacked several embassies. In response to the unrest, Syria called for an emergency Arab summit. 

The White House is planning to boost its military presence in the Middle East when the final troops leave Iraq at December's end. The new plan comes in light of the Iraqi government's refusal to allow American forces to remain in the country after the previously agreed-upon deadline, which goes into effect at year's end. The additional combat units would be stationed in Kuwait, and the U.S. views them as a hedge for stability in the event of a collapse in security in Iraq or a move of aggression by Iran.

Ariel Sharon served as Israel's prime minister from 2001 to 2006, but Sharon's long career in public service began with Israel’s War of Independence in 1948. Sharon suffered a stroke in 2006, leaving him in a coma-like state. While he is now immobilized, Ariel Sharon leaves a legacy that will no doubt affect his country for decades to come. 

Gilad Sharon, former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon’s youngest son, joins The Takeaway this morning to talk about his new biography of his father. A controversial and polarizing figure, Ariel Sharon dedicated his life to protecting Israel, but how best to preserve his country’s borders became a lifelong question. Sharon lived a life of contradictions. As Minister of Defense in 1982, he was found to be indirectly responsible for the massacre of hundreds of Palestinians at the Sabra and Chatila refugee camps in Lebanon by Lebanese Christians. As prime minister, violence between Israelis and Palestinians skyrocketed. Yet his decision to relinquish control of Gaza to the Palestinians in 2005 may yet define his legacy.

Col. Moammar Gadhafi was killed this morning in his birthplace of Sirte as forces of the National Transitional Council swept the city, according to the leader of the Tripoli military council. The reports have not been confirmed outside of the NTC. Martin Indyk, former U.S ambassador to Israel, and director of the Foreign Policy Institute at the Brookings Institution, comments on how Gadhafi's reported death will shake up international relations in the region.

Sgt. Gilad Shalit, the Israeli soldier who has been imprisoned by Hamas since 2006, was released on Tuesday in Egypt as part of a prisoner trade between Israel and Hamas. In exchange for Shalit's release, Israel freed 477 Palestinian prisoners, the first group of what will be more than 1,000. "I very much hope that this deal will advance peace," Shalit told Egyptian television before he was released. The deal is seen as a major political victory for Hamas, which Israel considers to be a terrorist organization. While Shalit may be on his way home, what the prisoner swap means for the future of the Palestinian leadership and the Middle East peace process is far from clear.

Israeli Sgt. Gilad Shalit was released by Hamas today in exchange for 477 Palestinian prisoners held by Israel. Ethan Bronner, Jerusalem bureau chief for The New York Times, reports on the latest.

Israel released the names of the 477 Palestinian prisoners it will free on Tuesday in exchange for captured soldier Gilad Shalit, who has been held by Hamas since 2006. Most of the prisoners were serving life sentences for violent crimes, including murder. About 200 of the prisoners will not be allowed to return home, and will be exiled to Qatar and Turkey. A poll by Israeli newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth found nearly 79 percent of Israelis support the swap.

In Libya today there are conflicting reports over the capture of Moammar Gaddafi's son, Mutassim Gaddafi. Figures from the National Transitional Council told reporters they had captured Mutassim, in the family's hometown of Sirte, but a military commander denied their claims. If the news is true, it would be a major breakthrough for the National Transitional Council. Meanwhile, an Amnesty International report expresses concerns over the Transitional National Council's treatment of suspected Gaddafi loyalists whom the group has captured and attempted to torture into making confessions.

Faced with intense opposition from both politicians and angry protesters who have spent months demanding his ouster, Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh raised eyebrows on Saturday with a vaguely worded pledge to step down "in the coming days." By the following day, it appeared his words were hollow when Yemeni officials announced that Saleh would stay in power until elections scheduled for next year.

In the worst incident of violence in Egypt since President Hosni Mubarak was ousted in February, 24 people died, and more than 200 were wounded after a protest in Cairo turned violent on Sunday. Christians protesting a recent attack against a Coptic church in Aswan province were attacked by police. Thousands filled the streets chanting, "the people want to bring down the field marshal," in reference to Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi and the military council that has ruled Egypt since February.

Yemen is the latest country in the Arab world to see violence between protesters and police lead to bloodshed and deaths. 18 protesters were killed over the weekend, as Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh announced a special election to transfer power. As revolution sweeps through the Middle East, we're looking at the influence the United States has on these areas.

A suicide bomber in Afghanistan on Tuesday killed Burhanuddin Rabbani, former president of Afghanistan and leader of the High Peace Council. Rabbani was in the process of negotiating an end to the war with the Taliban. The assassination is a devastating blow to the Afghan peace process, and the future of security in the region.

Among the multitude of serious issues facing this week's meeting of the United Nations General Assembly and Security Council, none has been the focus of as much attention as the Palestinian bid for statehood. The Palestinians will ask for UN membership, something the General Assembly anticipated in Resolution 181 in 1947, which partitioned Palestine into Jewish and Arab states. Many groups are protesting outside the UN headquarters in New York in advance of the application.

As the Palestinians appeal to the U.N. to become a state, we look at recent examples and ask what makes a state? And what are the implications of becoming one?

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Jeffrey Feltman arrived in Libya on Wednesday to meet with leaders of the National Transition Council, saying that the U.S. has "an enduring commitment to support the Libyan people as they chart their country's future." French President Nicholas Sarkozy and British Prime Minister David Cameron also arrived on Thursday morning. Elsewhere in the region, diplomatic ties have broken down between Israel and its closest Arab allies, Turkey and Egypt, as the Palestinian Authority makes a bid for statehood before the United Nations.