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- Policy AnalysisThe Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy
US Middle East Policy: The Trump-Biden Doctrine in Action
Mar 22, 2023Charles W. DunneAll US president, it seems, need their own foreign policy “doctrine.” President James Monroe famously started the trend in 1823, and many others—Truman, Eisenh…
- 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 AnalysisLevantDemocracy 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 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 AnalysisLevantJustice, 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 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 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 AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
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 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 AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
From Hornet’s Nest to Lion’s Den: Shaking Palestinian Politics from the Ground Up
Nov 14, 2022Yousef MunayyerTwo decades ago, in 2002, the Israeli military was in the midst of violently repressing a Palestinian uprising, the Second Intifada, in a campaign that took pl…
- ViewpointLevantDemocracy and Governance
A Scandal-Plagued Netanyahu Returns for His Fifth Term as Israeli Prime Minister
Nov 4, 2022Khalil E. JahshanWith final election results having been announced by Israel’s Central Elections Committee, Haaretz declared that former Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s Lik…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonEnergy and Economics
Lebanon Will Not Benefit from Its Maritime Agreement with Israel
Oct 31, 2022Imad K. HarbAfter ten years of on-again, off-again negotiations, Lebanon and Israel have finally reached what leaders in both countries consider an acceptable deal to dema…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Violent Nature of Israeli Occupation
Oct 21, 2022Khalil E. JahshanForeign military occupation is, by definition, a form of international armed conflict resulting from the belligerent acquisition of territory outside of the re…
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
Israel’s Administrative Detention Serves Its Practice of Apartheid
Oct 21, 2022Ben WhiteIsrael’s policy of administrative detention, which is to say of military detention without charge or trial, rarely attracts mainstream media coverage in the We…
- Policy AnalysisIranSecurity and Defense
Iran-Israel Drone Competition and the Changing Nature of Warfare in the Middle East
Oct 13, 2022Bishara A. BahbahUnmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, have been widely used in recent armed conflicts, particularly in the Middle East. Their low cost and…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Israeli Elections: A Fifth Attempt at Forming a Stable Government
Oct 6, 2022Yousef MunayyerOnce again, and for the fifth time in four years, Israel is on the brink of an election, and is facing the all-too-familiar prospect of political deadlock—even…
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Biden Administration Must Press for Accountability and Justice for Shireen Abu Akleh
Sep 22, 2022Jonathan KuttabOn September 5, the Israeli Army released the long-awaited results of its investigation into the murder of Palestinian American journalist Shireen Abu Akleh by…
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
US Silence Enables Israel’s Crackdown on Civil Society Organizations
Sep 16, 2022Yousef MunayyerNearly one month after the Israeli military raided the offices of seven Palestinian civil society organizations—its latest step in an escalating campaign of re…
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
New Israeli Regulations Pave the Way for the Ethnic Cleansing of Area C of the West Bank
Sep 13, 2022Jonathan KuttabThe current situation in the occupied West Bank reflects an ever-growing Israeli effort to take over large parts of Area C and to remove as much of its Palesti…
- Policy AnalysisLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
An Update on the Lebanon-Israel Border Dispute
Sep 7, 2022Imad K. HarbAs the summer comes to a close, indirect negotiations to demarcate the maritime border between Lebanon and Israel continue apace. Although US mediator Amos Hoc…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health Policy
First, Do No Harm? The World Health Organization in the MENA Region
Aug 26, 2022Yara M. AsiIn June 2022, Richard Horton, the editor in chief of The Lancet, one of the world’s most well-regarded health and medical journals, published a short piece cal…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelReligion and Politics
American Evangelicals, the Gulf States, and Israel: A Cynical Covenant
Aug 24, 2022Mimi KirkEach July, Christians United for Israel (CUFI), the largest pro-Israel organization in the United States, holds a multi-day conference that culminates in a day…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
International Aid to the Palestinians: Between Politicization and Development
Aug 4, 2022Omar ShabanFollowing the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization in 1993, an international conference was held in Washington …
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Developing Authoritarian-Israeli Nexus in the Middle East
Aug 3, 2022Imad K. HarbAuthoritarianism in the Arab world has assumed many shapes and shades in the decades since the end of formal European colonialism in the mid-twentieth century.…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
An Update on Israel’s Terrorist Designation for Palestinian Civil Society Organizations
Aug 3, 2022Jonathan KuttabIn October 2021, Israel’s Defense Ministry issued an order designating six prominent Palestinian civil society groups and NGOs as terrorist organizations. This…
- Policy AnalysisIranUS Foreign Policy
US Diplomacy with Iran Is Needed to Achieve Security in the Middle East
Jul 28, 2022Daniel BrumbergNow that President Joe Biden has completed his trip to the Middle East, his administration will likely make one last bid to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, …
- Policy AnalysisLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Little to Show After Two Years of Tense Lebanese-Israeli Maritime Border Negotiations
Jul 8, 2022Laury HaytayanLebanon and Israel have frequently been at odds during their nearly two years of negotiations over the two countries’ Mediterranean maritime border, with diffi…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Here We Go Again: Israeli Government Collapses
Jun 28, 2022Yousef MunayyerThe Israeli Knesset once again voted to dissolve itself, setting the stage for new elections this fall, which will be the country’s fifth in just three years. …
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Palestinian Perceptions of International Threats
Jun 23, 2022Dana El KurdDespite its small size, Palestine has always played an outsized role in international politics. Palestine and the Palestinians have been a recurring theme in U…
- Policy AnalysisLevantEnergy and Economics
The Flaws and Failings of the World Bank’s Research on the Palestinian Economy
Jun 21, 2022Ibrahim ShikakiA recent World Bank report on the Palestinian economy once again demonstrates that most research produced by international financial institutions on this topic…
- Policy AnalysisLevantInternational Law
Booklet #261: An Example of Israel’s Legal System in the West Bank
Jun 13, 2022Jonathan KuttabIn May 2022, the Israeli commander in the West Bank issued the latest set of regulations for the occupied territories in the form of Booklet #261. The booklet …
- Policy AnalysisThe Arabian Peninsula and The GulfUS Foreign Policy
The Biden Administration Is Struggling to Develop a Middle East Strategy
Jun 10, 2022Daniel BrumbergDespite the declining capacity of the United States to shape the Middle East’s strategic architecture, it is unlikely that effective regional solutions to secu…
- Policy AnalysisLevantEnergy and Economics
Food Insecurity in Palestine and the Russia-Ukraine War: The Worst Is Yet to Come
Jun 9, 2022Omar ShabanThe potential impact of a drop in the supply of grain to global markets due to the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has increased fears about food insecurity around …
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelInternational Law
Jerusalem’s Status Quo Agreement: History and Challenges to Its Viability
Jun 7, 2022Mounir MarjiehIn all initiatives and negotiations for a final and peaceful settlement between Israel and Palestine, Jerusalem has proved to be the toughest final-status issu…
- Policy AnalysisPalestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Middle East Leaders Contend with Strains in an Evolving Regional Entente
May 13, 2022Daniel BrumbergIn its unfolding bid to expand ties with Middle East governments, Israel must grapple with a basic challenge: how to ensure that events in the Palestinian-Isra…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
Israel and the US Visa Waiver Program: Not a Done Deal
May 12, 2022Yousef MunayyerIsrael has long sought entry into the United States Visa Waiver Program (VWP) with limited success, despite years of efforts and the close strategic and bilate…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel Is Stepping Closer to Controlling al-Haram al-Sharif in Jerusalem
May 3, 2022Jonathan KuttabJonathan Kuttab examines the current conditions on Jerusalem’s al-Haram al-Sharif where Israeli authorities and settlers are trying to change the status quo go…
- Policy AnalysisLevantIdentity Politics and Sectarianization
The Bennett Coalition Crisis in Israel
Apr 14, 2022Khalil E. JahshanThe abrupt resignation on April 6 of Idit Silman, a key member of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s Yamina Party and de facto whip for the Bennett-Lapid coaliti…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
A Month of Fasting…and Bracing in Jerusalem
Apr 7, 2022Yousef MunayyerRamadan, the Islamic holy month, is a cherished time for hundreds of millions across the globe, featuring fasting, reflection, recitation of religious verse, a…
- ViewpointLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Key Messages from the Oppressed
Apr 6, 2022Dana El KurdIn the last few weeks, there has seen an uptick in armed attacks by Palestinians within the green line. From the Palestinian perspective, these attacks deliver…
- Policy AnalysisLevantThe War in Ukraine
The Russian Invasion of Ukraine and International Law
Apr 1, 2022Jonathan KuttabSince its launching on February 24, the ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine has truly put different aspects of international law to the test. The international…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel-Iran Shadow War in Syria intensifies Amid International Developments
Mar 23, 2022Gregory AftandilianThe ongoing military conflict between Israel and Iran (along with Iran-backed Shia forces like Hezbollah) in Syria show no signs of easing despite the Russia-U…
- Policy AnalysisIranConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Iran and Israel Deal with the Rampaging Russian Bear
Mar 16, 2022Daniel BrumbergRussia’s invasion of Ukraine has produced some unusual bedfellows, the strangest of whom are Iran and Israel. Perhaps the term “bedfellows” is an exaggeration,…
- Policy AnalysisLevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Israel and Turkey Ponder the Costs and Benefits of Rapprochement
Feb 25, 2022Daniel BrumbergOn February 6, Haaretz reported that Israeli President Isaac Herzog called to wish Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his wife a speedy recovery, after…
- Policy AnalysisLevantDemocracy and Governance
Prospects for the Israeli Governing Coalition
Feb 9, 2022Yousef MunayyerYousef Munayyer evaluates the prospects of survival of Israel’s current governing coalition, whose partners have little in common except that they coalesced ar…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Abbas-Gantz Encounter: Much Ado about Nothing in the Middle East
Jan 18, 2022Khalil E. JahshanOn December 28, 2021, a surprising development took place in the Middle East: Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas held a rare meeting in Israel,…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Biden and the Israeli Settlement Elephant in the Room
Jan 5, 2022Yousef MunayyerOne of Barack Obama’s first acts as president was to create the position of envoy for “Middle East peace.” George Mitchell, whom the president named for this p…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
US-Palestinian Economic Talks Serve Israeli Interests
Dec 29, 2021Jonathan KuttabThe recent resumption of discussions about economic ties between the US government and the Palestinian Authority (PA) after a five-year hiatus must be understo…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Tip of the Spear: Israeli Settler Terror
Nov 17, 2021Yousef MunayyerFor people around the world, autumn brings cooler temperatures and bright orange leaves on trees. But for Palestinians in the Israeli occupied West Bank, autum…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
The Nakba in Israeli Public Discourse and School History Curriculum
Nov 17, 2021Amal JamalThe ethnic cleansing of Palestinians from their villages by Israel’s armed forces during the 1948 war and the creation of the ongoing refugee problem is rarely…
- Policy AnalysisLevantProtests and Activism
Post-Sheikh Jarrah Palestinian Citizen Activism: New Prospects and Persistent Challenges
Oct 29, 2021Sahar KhamisThe Israeli-Palestinian conflict, often labeled as the world’s longest running, has been going on for more than 70 years. During this time, the Israeli narrat…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Israel Is Almost Done Absorbing Area C of the Occupied West Bank
Oct 28, 2021Jonathan KuttabAttacks by Israeli settlers on Palestinians and their property in Area C of the occupied West Bank have increased in scope and geographic reach. Developments i…
- Policy AnalysisIraqRegional Relations and Geopolitics
The Erbil Conference: Iraq Rejects Normalizing with Israel
Oct 12, 2021Abdulwahab Al-QassabOn September 24th, some 300 Iraqi tribal and political leaders, mostly from Iraq’s six Sunni-majority governorates, met at a conference in Erbil, capital of th…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Palestine in Speeches at the UN General Assembly: Reading between the Lines
Oct 8, 2021Yousef MunayyerThe speeches of the US president, the Israeli prime minister, and the Palestinian president during general debate of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)…
- Policy AnalysisLevantUS Foreign Policy
US-Israel Relations: Time for a Reset or Reevaluation?
Sep 8, 2021Yousef MunayyerAs Israel’s prime minister for nearly 12 years in a row, Benjamin Netanyahu greatly shaped the US-Israel relationship in recent history. After his exit from th…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Bennett’s Agenda on Palestine: Shrinking the Conflict
Aug 20, 2021Khalil E. JahshanEven before winning formal approval on June 13, 2021, the Naftali Bennett-Yair Lapid rotation government has raised many questions as to its durability, the un…
- ViewpointLebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Hezbollah Is Not Interested in a War with Israel
Aug 11, 2021Imad K. HarbAs Lebanon reels from seemingly unsolvable political, economic, social, and security crises, an exchange of rocket and artillery fire on August 6th between Hez…
- Policy AnalysisLevantJustice, Equality, and Human Rights
The Full Story behind the NSO Hack: The Israeli-Military-Allied Surveillance Industry and Transnational Repression
Jul 28, 2021Tamara KharroubThe recent investigation into the NSO Group exposed a widespread global targeting of journalists and human rights activists and revealed evidence that their sm…
- Policy AnalysisLevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Hamas and Its Regional Role Post-Gaza War
Jul 21, 2021Joe MacaronAs the Palestinian Authority, with Fatah at its core, is struggling to redefine its legitimacy and mandate, Hamas is emerging as a key player in the post-Gaza …
- ViewpointLevantArab Americans/ Muslim Americans
The Changing Arab American Activism for Palestine in the United States
Jul 12, 2021Hani J. BawardiAdvocacy for Palestine in the United States has entered a new phase, given the higher level of veracity social media injected into coverage of the latest Israe…
- Policy AnalysisLevantRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Moroccan Normalization with Israel: Temporary Deal or Permanent Peace?
Jul 8, 2021Khalil Al-AnaniOn June 16, 2021, King Mohammed VI of Morocco sent a congratulatory letter to Israel’s new prime minister, Naftali Bennett. This might not have been surprising…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Rebuilding Gaza, Yet Again
Jun 17, 2021Yara M. AsiIn 2012, the United Nations issued a dire warning: change the situation, now, or the Gaza Strip may no longer be a livable place by 2020. Unemployment, poverty…
- Policy AnalysisLevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution
Systematic Digital Repression: Social Media Censoring of Palestinian Voices
Jun 8, 2021Tamara KharroubThe events of the last few weeks and the escalation of violence in Palestine and Israel have spotlighted the issue of media bias and censorship of Palestinian …
- Policy AnalysisEgyptRegional Relations and Geopolitics
Explaining Egypt’s Role during the Gaza War
Jun 3, 2021Khalil Al-AnaniOn May 21, 2021, a cease-fire agreement was reached between Israel and Hamas after an 11-day military confrontation. Egypt played a vital role in securing the …