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- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A 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…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The 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 …
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelMedia and Technology
Disinformation 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Saudi-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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The 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 AnalysisTurkeyEnergy and Economics
Turkey’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…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelEducation and Development
Political 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 AnalysisLibyaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelEducation and Development
The 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 AnalysisLebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Assessing 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 AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Ending 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 AnalysisSaudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy
US 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 AnalysisLebanonMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs
The 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 …
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
The 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 AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Erdoğan 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
Fending 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…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Americans 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 AnalysisNorth AfricaSecurity and Defense
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
US 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelInternational Law
Israel’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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelReligion and Politics
A 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 AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
The 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 AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
The 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 AnalysisSaudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The 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 AnalysisTurkeyDemocracy and Governance
Turkish 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
Democrats 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Young 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 AnalysisSudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The 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 AnalysisThe Arab WorldGlobal Health and Health Policy
Challenges 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Israel’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 AnalysisSyriaJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
What 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelReligion and Politics
On 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Discrimination 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 AnalysisIranSecurity and Defense
Iran’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 AnalysisSyriaRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Arab 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 AnalysisThe Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy
US 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 AnalysisLebanonRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Lebanon 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 AnalysisSyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs
Politics, 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 AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
A 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 AnalysisPalestine/IsraelViolent Extremism
The 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 AnalysisOmanRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Walking 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…
- ViewpointPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The 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…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaSecurity and Defense
Syrian Kurds Are Hoping for, but Not Banking On, Continued US Partnership
Feb 24, 2023Gregory AftandilianThe massive earthquake that struck southern Turkey and northwestern Syria has given the Syrian Kurds a reprieve from a possible Turkish military invasion of ar…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance
The Settler Colonial Origins of Israel’s Constitutional Crisis
Feb 22, 2023Yousef MunayyerTens of thousands of Israelis have filled the streets of major cities in recent weeks to protest significant judicial reforms that the new far-right Israeli go…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Turkey’s Presidential Election in the Shadow of Devastating Earthquakes
Feb 22, 2023Mustafa GurbuzThe devastating February 6 earthquakes in Turkey, which caused nearly 45,000 deaths in Turkey and Syria and rendered hundreds of thousands of people homeless, …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon’s New Opposition MPs Must Work Together for Political Change
Feb 14, 2023Patricia KaramAlthough the October 2019 protests in Lebanon rallied every sector, class, and gender in a moment of enthusiasm with the expectation of revolutionary change, t…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
Beirut Port Explosion: A “Judicial Coup” to Bury the Investigation?
Feb 9, 2023Halim ShebayaThere is broad consensus in Lebanon regarding the need to reform the country’s judiciary and to work toward enhancing its independence, as stipulated by both t…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Annual Palestine Forum: Opening Keynote by Azmi Bishara
Feb 7, 2023Azmi BisharaThe Annual Palestine Forum: Considerations and PurposesThis forum, the need for which was given considerable thought, embodies three main considerations.The fi…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel Sees Palestinian Family Reunification as a Demographic “Threat”
Feb 2, 2023Yara M. AsiIn 2015, the Hebrew-language novel Gader Haya (published in English as Borderlife) was banned in Israeli high schools by the Ministry of Education. The book, a…
- Policy AnalysisSyriaMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs
Erdoğan’s Rapprochement with Assad Spells Trouble for Syrian Refugees
Feb 1, 2023Nabeel A. KhouryTurkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s interest in a rapprochement with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is the latest chapter in his delicate domestic and r…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Turkey Faces a Dilemma in its Foreign Policy Toward Libya
Jan 24, 2023Mustafa GurbuzOn January 9, 2023, a Libyan court suspended an energy exploration deal between Turkey and Libya’s Tripoli-based Government of National Unity (GNU) that was or…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldThe War in Ukraine
Arab and Israeli Positions on Ukraine War Continue to Frustrate the US
Jan 18, 2023Charles W. DunneThe positions taken by many governments in the Middle East have proven a notable exception to the global groundswell of support for Kyiv.
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon’s Politicians Are Incapable of Productive Dialogue
Jan 12, 2023Halim ShebayaLebanon has now entered the fourth year of its devastating economic crisis and collapse, with no end in sight and no hint regarding the possible launch of a re…
- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration and the Middle East in 2023
Jan 4, 2023Khalil Al-Anani Yara M. Asi Amal Ghazal Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Kristian Coates UlrichsenThe first two years of the Biden administration, although short, have offered insight into the ways in which the reality of governing can clash with declared h…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’s New Government and the Rapid Acceleration of Apartheid
Dec 29, 2022Yousef MunayyerIn 2012, while standing in the Beit El settlement in the occupied West Bank, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared, “There is no government that s…
- Policy AnalysisTurkeyConflicts and Conflict Resolution
How Realistic Is an Erdoğan-Assad Rapprochement?
Dec 28, 2022Mustafa GurbuzDespite Turkey’s frequent threats that it will soon undertake a new military ground offensive in northern Syria, no such operation has yet materialized. This h…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy
The Gordian Knot: A Bird’s Eye View of US-Israel Relations
Dec 20, 2022Nabeel A. KhouryNabeel Khoury takes a broad view of American-Israeli relations, highlighting the issue of robust US military aid to Israel and intelligence sharing between the…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonDemocracy and Governance
Lebanon Faces a Prolonged Presidential Vacuum
Nov 29, 2022Imad K. HarbLebanon has experienced a long presidential vacuum three times in its history: from September 1988 to November 1989, from November 2007 to May 2008, and from M…