Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged Saturday $2.5 billion in humanitarian and development aid for the Middle East as he launched a regional tour that includes visits to Jordan and Israel.

Pop-music icon Janet Jackson was in Palestine on Sunday during a visit to Occupied Jerusalem with her Qatari billionaire husband Wissam al-Mana.  Jackson, also a UNICEF goodwill ambassador, posted pictures on her Twitter account of herself posing with “beautiful Palestinian students.”

While Jordan has made public its participation in US-led air strikes against ISIL in Syria, it has launched a quieter war at home, as authorities crack down on social media users and religious leaders who allegedly promote "terrorist ideology".

Mr. Bakhit, 36, is a Jordanian comic book author and entrepreneur who creates Middle Eastern stories that are an alternative to terrorist ideologies. His field research has included surveys of children in poor neighborhoods in and around the Jordanian capital of Amman and in Syrian refugee camps.

Fearing contagion, Jordan has announced that it will not tolerate any open activity, recruitment or support for the Islamic State, also known as ISIS.

Although 10 days have passed since the sudden involvement of Jordan in the air raids against the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, public opinion remains perplexed and absent from the goals and justifications of the international campaign. Most Jordanians are still wondering whether their kingdom is effectively fighting in the war or not.

Over the past few days, the positions and activities of the GCC and Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Lebanon are becoming clearer against ISIS. The group, which met in Jeddah on Sept. 11, can now be dubbed the GCC+4.  First, the GCC+4 is to develop a multi-prong approach to soft power options to break ISIS’s logistical chains in manpower and finance as well as to develop counter-narratives to negate the group’s capabilities and messaging.

Israel will sign a deal to supply natural gas from its Leviathan field to Jordan for 15 years, Israeli Energy Minister Silvan Shalom said on Wednesday.  An industry official who asked not to be identified said the deal was worth about $15 billion.