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IranRegional Relations and GeopoliticsHamas’s “Al-Aqsa Flood” Challenges Iran’s Axis of Resistance
Nov 28, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhile the Biden administration, with Qatar’s support, has succeeded in securing a deal with Israel and Hamas for a combat “pause,” it remains to be seen if thi…
- Policy Analysis
The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and GeopoliticsGCC States and the War on Gaza: Positions, Perceptions, and Interests
Nov 22, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe war on Gaza has for all intents and purposes reinstated the centrality of the Palestinian issue to the regional and international politics of the Middle Ea…
- External Readings
Palestine/IsraelEnergy and EconomicsIsrael’s Central Bank Governor Tries to Assure International Markets
Nov 21, 2023Barhoum JaraisiLast October, at a conference of the International Monetary Fund in the United States, the Governor of the Central Bank of Israel Amir Yaron sought to reassure…
- Viewpoint
LebanonConflicts and Conflict ResolutionHezbollah Reluctantly Awaits Israel’s Decision on War
Nov 17, 2023Imad K. HarbThe frontline on the Lebanese-Israeli border continues to witness the real skirmishes of an undeclared war between Israel and Hezbollah. Reciprocal attacks bet…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyGaza, the Ruin of US Policy, and a Transformed Middle East
Nov 16, 2023Charles W. DunneThe Biden administration must act quickly and offer specific plans and timelines to shape post-conflict expectations and establish its priorities with the part…
- Policy Analysis
LevantUS Foreign PolicyUS Military Presence in the Middle East: Deterrence and Retaliation
Nov 14, 2023Gregory AftandilianThe United States has recently bolstered its military presence in the Middle East as the Israeli war on Gaza escalated. Bolstering this presence is meant to de…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsDoes Syria Have a Role in the Israel-Hamas Conflict?
Nov 6, 2023Patricia KaramAs the war between Israel and Hamas rages, the Middle East is bracing for a wider, multi-front regional conflict that will have serious repercussions for the g…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionNasrallah Steers Clear of War
Nov 3, 2023Imad K. HarbWhere is Hezbollah and its General Secretary Hassan Nasrallah? This was a natural refrain over almost the last four weeks, voiced by many observers and partisa…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionGaza and the Harbingers of Future Conflict
Oct 30, 2023Nabeel A. KhouryThe shock of civilian deaths in the latest Israel-Hamas conflagration is both a marker and a warning. It is a marker because for the first time Palestinians to…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health PolicyPalestinians Are Denied Humanity, Even after Death
Oct 30, 2023Yara M. AsiOn October 25, 2023, US President Joe Biden made the stunning and unprecedented statement that he had “no confidence in the number that the Palestinians are us…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health Policy“An Open-Air Graveyard”: The Unfolding Health Catastrophe in the Gaza Strip
Oct 27, 2023Yara M. AsiIt is impossible to count the number of reports, studies, press releases, and statements that have reported the unbearable conditions of life for Palestinians …
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawIsrael, Gaza, and the Laws of War
Oct 27, 2023Jonathan KuttabAddressing his troops as they amass to attack the Gaza Strip, Israel’s Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant publicly announced that the new Israeli war cabinet, wh…
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyRegional Relations and GeopoliticsErdoǧan’s Calculations as the Israel-Gaza Conflict Escalates
Oct 25, 2023Mustafa GurbuzOn October 20, during Friday prayers at the historic Hagia Sophia Mosque in Istanbul, Ali Erbas, the head of Turkey's state-run religious affairs directorate, …
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsWill Saudi Arabia Renew the “Arab Peace Initiative” as the Middle East Seethes?
Oct 23, 2023Daniel BrumbergWhether Hamas’s October 7 assault has ended whatever prospects existed for forging diplomatic relations between Israel and Saudi Arabia remains to be seen. The…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaIdentity Politics and SectarianizationSyrian Kurds in an Increasingly Precarious Position
Oct 18, 2023Gregory AftandilianSyrian Kurds associated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are increasingly seeing their autonomous entity in northeastern Syria threatened by internal an…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe War on Gaza: Deterrence or Inching toward Direct US Involvement?
Oct 17, 2023Khalil E. JahshanThe official American position has passed through three phases in less than ten days. First, like Israel itself, Washington and its western allies suffered fro…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionA New Diplomatic Path Is Urgent after Gaza, But Without the Previous Mistakes
Oct 16, 2023Charles W. DunneThe horrifying October 7 attack on Israel by Hamas militants has left the world aghast. The murder of Israelis (and Americans, French, Russians, Ukrainians, an…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Unlikelihood of a Hezbollah-Israel War
Oct 13, 2023Imad K. HarbAs Israel turns to punish the Gaza Strip and its people for the Hamas attack on October 7, speculation arises as to whether the “Al-Aqsa Flood” operation will …
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelMedia and TechnologyDisinformation and Hate Speech on Social Media Contribute to Inciting War Crimes Against Gaza
Oct 13, 2023Tamara KharroubDuring major events like violent conflict, there is a vacuum of verified and accurate information, as well as high interest and emotions. As the fog of war and…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and GeopoliticsSaudi-Israeli Normalization and the Hamas Attack
Oct 11, 2023Kristian Coates UlrichsenWhen Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS) sat down on September 20 with Brett Baier of Fox News for his first English-language television inter…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Hamas Attack on Israel: Context, Analysis, and Potential Repercussions
Oct 10, 2023Yara M. Asi Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Laurie King Jonathan Kuttab Yousef MunayyerOn October 7, 2023, the Islamic Resistance Movement (better known by its Arabic-derived acronym, Hamas) launched a multifaceted surprise attack on Israel that …
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyEnergy and EconomicsTurkey’s Ambitions in Iraq Play Out in Kirkuk
Oct 3, 2023Mustafa GurbuzIn late August, Iraqi Prime Minister Mohammed Shia’ al-Sudani stirred the pot of existing tensions when he ordered the evacuation of the Iraqi military’s Joint…
- Viewpoint
LevantUS Foreign PolicyThe Awkward Biden-Netanyahu Encounter Was a Dud
Sep 22, 2023Khalil E. JahshanAlthough the United States and Israel have enjoyed a uniquely close alliance since the latter’s declaration of statehood on May 14, 1948, the bilateral relatio…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelEducation and DevelopmentPolitical Persecution of Palestinians Using the Education System and Israeli Universities
Sep 21, 2023Mada al-CarmelSince the formation of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu’s sixth government December 29, 2022, it has become clear—as outlined in previous papers from …
- Policy Analysis
LibyaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsThe Recent Libya-Israel Debacle Is Symptomatic of Larger Problems
Sep 13, 2023Gregory AftandilianThe controversy and severe public backlash surrounding news of a late-August meeting between the Libyan and Israeli foreign ministers in Rome is symptomatic of…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human RightsThe International Criminal Court’s Failure to Hold Israel Accountable
Sep 12, 2023Jonathan KuttabAlthough the International Criminal Court was created by the Rome Statute in 1994, it has never successfully been used to hold Israel to account for its abuses…
- Policy Analysis
LevantEducation and DevelopmentThe Politics of Palestinian Universities
Sep 8, 2023Yara M. AsiMany have argued that in the absence of a unified Palestinian liberation movement, and even of the ability to participate in the current mechanisms of governan…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonIdentity Politics and SectarianizationThe Threat of Renewed Sectarian Violence in Lebanon
Sep 5, 2023Patricia KaramTwo people were killed on August 9 in the village of Kahaleh in central Lebanon, in one of the deadliest shootouts since the bloody 2021 clashes in the Tayoune…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyAssessing the Abraham Accords, Three Years On
Aug 31, 2023Dana El KurdArab-Israeli normalization is one of those curious policy areas where the Biden administration has enthusiastically pursued its predecessor’s positions, even i…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyThe Saudi-Israeli Normalization Gambit: Deal or No Deal?
Aug 30, 2023Khalil E. JahshanAfter weeks of conflicting accounts from columnists and journalists about the outcome of the Biden administration’s intensive shuttle diplomacy aimed at convin…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyEnding Military Aid to Israel: The Death of a Taboo?
Aug 21, 2023Yousef MunayyerIf there is one thing that characterizes American-Israeli relations more than any other it is US military aid to Israel, which currently amounts to nearly $4 b…
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign PolicyUS Negotiations for a Tripartite Agreement with Saudi Arabia and Israel: Context and Calculations
Aug 14, 2023Arab Center for Research and Policy StudiesSaudi Arabia and the United States are conducting complex negotiations in order to achieve a tripartite agreement that would include normalization between the …
- Policy Analysis
LebanonMigrants, Refugees, and IDPsThe Plight and Politics of Syrian Refugees in Lebanon
Aug 8, 2023Patricia KaramWhen Syria’s regime was readmitted into the Arab League and its president, Bashar al Assad, rehabilitated after years of ostracism for his brutal crackdown on …
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and GovernanceThe Persistent Illusion of Palestinian Reconciliation
Aug 7, 2023Khalil E. JahshanRepresentatives of 14 Palestinian political factions, including Fatah and Hamas, were invited to the Egyptian coastal city of El-Alamein on July 30, 2023 for r…
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyRegional Relations and GeopoliticsErdoğan Seeks Better Relations with the West after His Reelection
Aug 7, 2023Salim ÇevikTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan seems to have changed course on his country’s foreign relations. At the last NATO summit in Vilnius, Lithuania, he final…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and GovernanceFending for Themselves: The Palestinians and the Palestinian Authority
Aug 3, 2023Yara M. AsiOn July 3, 2023, Israeli forces raided the city of Jenin in the occupied West Bank, with a specific focus on the refugee camp that borders the municipality. Th…
- Viewpoint
LevantUS Foreign PolicyAmericans Opt for a Democratic Israel, Not a Jewish State
Jul 20, 2023Imad K. HarbThe University of Maryland and Ipsos conducted a “Critical Issues Poll” from June 21 to 27 to probe Americans’ views on Israel, Zionism, and anti-Semitism. The…
- Policy Analysis
North AfricaSecurity and DefenseThe Fate of the Wagner Group in Syria, Libya, and Sudan
Jul 18, 2023Gregory AftandilianThe failed mutiny by Yevgeny Prigozhin has put the fate of his Wagner Group doubt, not only in Ukraine but in several Arab states as well.
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsUS Visa Waiver Program: Israel Will Not Reciprocate
Jul 10, 2023Jonathan KuttabThe United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP) permits, on a reciprocal basis, the entry of citizens of about 40 countries for 90 days for business or tourism wit…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human RightsIsrael’s Attack on Jenin Refugee Camp: The Next Stage of Apartheid
Jul 5, 2023Yousef MunayyerThe Jenin refugee camp sits adjacent to the Palestinian city of Jenin in the north of the occupied West Bank. The camp’s registered population numbers around 2…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelInternational LawIsrael’s Practices and Its “Respect” for Jordan’s Role in Jerusalem: A Legal Study
Jun 27, 2023Anis Fawzi KassimMany observers have objected to the Abraham Accords that were signed between Israel and various Arab states, each for their own reasons. I myself staunchly opp…
- Policy Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionA Soft “Status Quo”: The Gradual Collapse of the Jewish Religious Prohibition on Entering Jerusalem’s Noble Sanctuary
Jun 22, 2023Honaida GhanimThe “Status Quo” around Jerusalem’s Noble Sanctuary (al-Haram al-Sharif) has become part of the general discourse since the Israeli occupation of the West Bank…
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyDemocracy and GovernanceThe Erdoğan Doctrine in the Wake of Turkey’s Elections
Jun 22, 2023Mustafa GurbuzWhen Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced his new cabinet following his victory in the May 2023 presidential election, a positive mood ensued. Turk…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceThe Continuation of Lebanon’s Presidential Debacle
Jun 21, 2023Patricia KaramIt should come as no surprise to Lebanese citizens or the international community that the country remains without a president after more than 7 months and 12 …
- Policy Analysis
Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsThe Jeddah Arab League Summit: MBS’s Final Crowning
May 31, 2023Imad K. HarbThe 32nd Arab League Summit was little more than the final crowning of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince as the leader of the current Arab political order.
- Policy Analysis
TurkeyDemocracy and GovernanceTurkish Elections in a Post-Truth Political Landscape
May 24, 2023Mustafa GurbuzThe scene was all too familiar in the headquarters of Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) on the day of the recent Turkish election. Giant portraits o…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyDemocrats and Republicans’ Positions on Israel Ahead of the 2024 Election
May 24, 2023Gregory AftandilianAlthough relations with Israel are usually foreign policy talking points for American politicians ahead of national elections, it seems that the issue has come…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPsThe Nakba’s Coming Stages: Patterns, Process, and Predictability
May 15, 2023Yousef MunayyerThe Nakba, a term that describes events in Palestine surrounding the establishment of the State of Israel from 1947 to 1949, which included the ethnic cleansin…
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsYoung Palestinians’ Aspirations for the Future
May 15, 2023Yara M. AsiOne night in December 2022, 15-year-old Jana Zakarneh was at home with her family in the occupied West Bank city of Jenin. The night probably began like any ot…
- Policy Analysis
SudanConflicts and Conflict ResolutionThe Sudan Crisis: How Regional Actors’ Competing Interests Fuel the Conflict
May 11, 2023Khalil Al-AnaniThe outbreak of military clashes between the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have resulted in the deaths of hundreds and t…
- Policy Analysis
The Arab WorldGlobal Health and Health PolicyChallenges Facing the Arab World’s Health Care Professionals
Apr 26, 2023Yara M. AsiIn 2022, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate released a shocking report, finding that over 10,000 Egyptian doctors resigned from positions in government hospitals d…
- Policy Analysis
LevantConflicts and Conflict ResolutionIsrael’s Normalization with Arab States Slows as Repression of Palestinians Rises
Apr 19, 2023Gregory AftandilianIsrael’s extreme right-wing government and its draconian policies toward the Palestinians have slowed down efforts to expand the so-called Abraham Accords, a p…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaJustice, Equality, and Human RightsWhat Does Normalization with Assad Mean for Accountability and a Political Resolution?
Apr 18, 2023Patricia KaramAgainst the backdrop of Syria’s impending return to the Arab fold, French judges this month ordered three high-ranking Syrian intelligence officers to stand tr…
- Policy Analysis
LevantReligion and PoliticsOn the Struggle Between the Founding Colonialists and the New Colonialists of Israel
Apr 14, 2023Honaida GhanimIsrael today is witnessing an unprecedented internal struggle that has split Israeli society into two contentious groups separated by what is, at least at the …
- Policy Analysis
LevantUS Foreign PolicyThe United States’ Weak Response to the Netanyahu Government
Apr 12, 2023Douglas ChristensenIn December of last year, Benjamin Netanyahu once again returned to the position of prime minister in Israel, leading a new far-right governing coalition that …
- Policy Analysis
LevantJustice, Equality, and Human RightsIsrael’s Policy of Fragmentation Harms Palestinian Hopes for a Sovereign State
Apr 6, 2023Jonathan KuttabRecent reports by Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, Israeli human rights organization B’Tselem, and others have labeled Israel an apartheid state. Thi…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human RightsDiscrimination Fuels Intra-Palestinian Violence and Crime in Israel
Mar 30, 2023Yara M. AsiIn recent weeks, it has been impossible to miss the protests taking place in Israel against proposed judicial reforms laid out by the country’s new extreme rig…
- Policy Analysis
IranSecurity and DefenseIran’s Nuclear Program Poses Challenges for China and the United States
Mar 29, 2023Daniel BrumbergNow that China has brokered a renewal of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia, it must translate that achievement into real tangible benefits. After all, fo…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaRegional Relations and GeopoliticsArab States Are Normalizing with Syria’s Assad Regime
Mar 28, 2023Gregory AftandilianTaking advantage of the devastating earthquake that ravaged parts of northwestern Syria in February, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad has tried to use the trag…
- Policy Analysis
EgyptUS Foreign PolicyUS Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action
Mar 22, 2023Charles W. DunneAll US presidents, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisen…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonRegional Relations and GeopoliticsLebanon and Syria and the Saudi-Iran Detente
Mar 21, 2023Imad K. HarbThe recent China-brokered agreement between Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Republic of Iran is expected to have a de-escalating effect on many issues in the Midd…
- Policy Analysis
SyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPsPolitics, Displacement, and the Human Toll of the Recent Earthquake in Syria
Mar 15, 2023Heba GowayedOn February 6, 2023, the earth shifted at the fault line that runs along the Turkey-Syria border, resulting in a 7.8 magnitude earthquake, which was followed j…
- Policy Analysis
LebanonDemocracy and GovernanceA New Model for Presidential Elections in Lebanon
Mar 9, 2023Patricia KaramIt has been four months since former Lebanese President Michel Aoun left office in October 2022, after a presidential term marred by a series of catastrophic e…
- Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelViolent ExtremismThe Rapid and Predictable Rise of Israeli Settler Violence Against Palestinians
Mar 8, 2023Yara M. AsiHuwwara is a small town outside of Nablus that, largely due to its location on a prominent route in the occupied West Bank, has been subject to a significant I…
- Policy Analysis
OmanRegional Relations and GeopoliticsWalking a Tightrope: Oman and Normalization with Israel
Mar 7, 2023Imad K. HarbAs the mechanisms of normalization between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Morocco, and Sudan continue to take shape, other Arab states are ponde…
- Viewpoint
Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign PolicyThe Aqaba Joint Communique Dies in Huwwara
Feb 28, 2023Khalil E. JahshanOn Sunday, February 26, 2023, the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan hosted Israeli, Palestinian, Egyptian, and US officials in Aqaba, Jordan to try to stem the worri…
