• Policy Analysis
    IranUS Foreign Policy

    Trump and Company Return to the Folly of “Maximum Pressure” on Iran

    Dec 5, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    When it comes to US Iran policy, simple yet profound realities merit repeating. One of these is that economic sanctions are a tactic, not a strategy. Indeed, u…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    Hezbollah’s Likely Demise and Lebanon’s Uncertain Future

    Dec 4, 2024Patricia Karam

    Israel's approval of a US-brokered ceasefire with Hezbollah set the stage for an end to fourteen months of fighting between the two parties, ushering in the po…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyUS Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Election and Future of Turkish-American Relations

    Dec 4, 2024Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed clear satisfaction with the election of Donald Trump as president of the United States, quickly congratulating…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelIsraeli War Tactics and Genocide

    Motivations for Israel’s Unprecedented Destruction of Palestinian Lives

    Dec 2, 2024Daoud Kuttab

    For over a year, a systematic and unprecedented Israeli campaign of death, injury, and ruin of entire communities has been taking place in Gaza, and in recent …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    UNRWA Closure as Prelude to the Elimination of Palestinians’ Right of Return

    Dec 2, 2024Mtanes Shihadeh

    The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) was established in 1949 by a UN General Assembly resolution. Its mai…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    Trump Is Back: What Does It Mean for Oil and US-Gulf Relations?

    Nov 27, 2024Jim Krane

    President-elect Donald Trump has made clear his fondness for fossil fuels, a fondness that was reciprocated by many in the industry. Expectations are high. But…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Arrest Warrant for Netanyahu: A Long Time Coming

    Nov 27, 2024Susan M. Akram John B. Quigley

    The charges against Netanyahu and Gallant include the war crimes of starvation as a method of warfare and intentional attacks against civilians and the crimes …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Gaza and Lebanon: No Distinction Between Civilian and Military Targets

    Nov 22, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    One of the consequences of the present Israeli war on Gaza has been the blatant erosion of respect for and belief in international legal principles and institu…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Security Dimensions of the Saudi-Iranian Détente

    Nov 21, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    The Saudi-Iranian renormalization deal, signed in Beijing on March 10, 2023, has led to a significant reduction in friction between Riyadh and Tehran. Even as …

  • Viewpoint
    US Foreign Policy

    A Preview of Trump’s National Security Team

    Nov 19, 2024Ethan Mayer-Rich

    Just two weeks have passed since President-elect Donald Trump won the election, and his new administration is already taking shape. Trump’s selections for his …

  • Policy Analysis
    US Foreign Policy

    Foreign Policy in the Second Trump Administration Takes Shape 

    Nov 19, 2024Nabeel A. Khoury

    The foundations of President-elect Donald Trump’s foreign policy are now taking shape. He has nominated Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), as secretary of state, form…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Saudi Arabia and Trump: Expectations and Challenges Ahead

    Nov 14, 2024The Unit for Political Studies

    On November 5, former President Donald Trump successfully reclaimed the White House, achieving a decisive victory over his Democratic opponent, Vice President …

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    GCC States Seek Diplomacy During US Absence

    The expansion and partial regionalization of what is already the longest and deadliest conflict in the Israeli-Palestinian arena since 1948 presents the Gulf A…

  • Viewpoint
    US Foreign Policy

    Trump’s Middle East Team Will Have to Deal with His Unpredictability and Narcissism

    Nov 8, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    It is very hard to predict the foreign policy that president-elect Donald Trump will pursue because he is deeply and pathologically unpredictable. On both the …

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Commentary: Why Trump Won

    The election of former President Donald Trump after losing the 2020 round to President Joe Biden is likely to go down in the annals of American history as a mo…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health Policy

    Intent to Destroy: Documenting a Year of Israel’s Attacks on Health in Gaza

    Nov 7, 2024Yara M. Asi

    After a year of unfathomable images, videos, and testimonies from Gaza, the story of 19-year-old Shaban al-Dalou still managed to shock the world. On October 1…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Foreign Policy

    A Second Trump Administration: Potential Policy Toward the Middle East

    Nov 5, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    The November 5 presidential election is likely to have major implications for US foreign policy, as it pits a centrist and robust internationalist candidate (V…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Girding for Post-Election Violence if Trump Loses

    Many Americans are worried that if former President Donald Trump loses to Vice President Kamala Harris in the November 5 election, he and his Make American Gre…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The New Occupation of the Occupied Palestinian Territories

    Oct 31, 2024Mohanad Mustafa

    Israel’s concept for the “day after” in Gaza is becoming clearer as its war on the Strip continues into its second year. In fact, the features of this plan beg…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    Harris and the Arab-American Vote: Election Day Approaches

    Oct 31, 2024Ethan Mayer-Rich

    The continued peripheralization of Arab-American voices has made it clear that to Harris and her campaign, just as Palestinian lives may not matter as much as …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Raison d’État, Germany, and the Israeli War on Gaza

    Oct 29, 2024Isabel Ruck

    On October 10, 2024, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock gave a speech that revived the debate around Staatsräson, or raison d’état (reason of state), as…

  • Research Paper
    Palestine/Israel

    Israel’s Shifting Policies Toward the West Bank

    Oct 25, 2024Mtanes Shihadeh

    This position paper examines the Israeli government’s policies and objectives vis-à-vis the West Bank since the beginning of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza in …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Important Conclusions from Israel’s Wars on Palestine and Lebanon

    Oct 25, 2024Imad K. Harb

    It is hard to overemphasize the importance of Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah and Chairman of Hamas’s Political Bureau Yahya…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    The Israel/Palestine Stain on Biden’s Foreign Policy Legacy

    Every US president wants to leave office with a positive legacy. Some do so to draw attention away from a scandal; others hope that the history books will trea…

  • Policy Analysis
    SudanMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    War and Displacement in Sudan

    Oct 22, 2024Heba Gowayed

    In April 2023, violence broke out in Sudan’s capital Khartoum in a power struggle between Abdel-Fattah al-Burhan, leader of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), an…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza

    Demystifying How the Hamas Leadership Works

    Oct 18, 2024Hanna Alshaikh

    In light of the recent news of the death of Yahya Sinwar, Head of the Hamas Political Bureau, Arab Center Washington DC is republishing this analytic piece by …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The New UK Labor Government and Palestine

    Oct 17, 2024Sara Husseini

    At first glance, the position of the United Kingdom’s (UK) new government toward Palestine appears to diverge little from US policy. But a closer look at the L…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Middle East Realities That Require an Escape Route 

    Oct 17, 2024Rami G. Khouri

    The past month may prove to be the most critical moment of geo-strategic transformation in the Middle East since the end of the Second World War—if not its mos…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelRegional Implications and Geopolitics

    Japan: Inching Toward Palestine?

    Oct 16, 2024Saul Takahashi

    In September, Taro Kono, Japan’s former foreign minister and a main contender for president of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), announced that if he were to…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    One Year After October 7: Israel Descends into Endless War

    Oct 11, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Among the many moments described in the Washington Post’s recent article on the Biden administration’s failed efforts to secure a ceasefire in Gaza, one stands…

  • From our Affiliates
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    GCC Responses to Israeli Aggression on Lebanon: Strategic Concerns and Regional Implications

    Oct 9, 2024The Unit for Political Studies

    The positions of the GCC countries toward Israel's war on Lebanon are appear divided. All share a deep concern about escalation and its potential impact on the…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    One Year After October 7: Assessments and Implications

    Experts analyze various aspects of the past year of Israel’s war on Gaza and now its campaign against Hezbollah and Lebanon.

  • Intern Corner
    AlgeriaDemocracy and Governance

    Algeria’s Tebboune, Le Pouvoir, and the Challenges of Legitimacy

    Oct 3, 2024Nour Taha

    On September 7, Algerians headed to the polls for an early presidential election that revealed deep apathy and a potential risk to stability in Africa’s territ…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Decade On, Assessing Shared Responsibility for Yemen’s Tragedy

    Oct 3, 2024Afrah Nasser

    On September 21, 2014, Yemen’s capital Sanaa awoke to an unexpected turn of events that would reshape the country’s destiny. The Houthi armed group, officially…

  • Viewpoint
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Nasrallah’s Killing Prompts Serious Calculations

    Sep 30, 2024Nabeel A. Khoury

    Israel’s killing of Hezbollah’s Secretary General Hassan Nasrallah has shocked many in Lebanon and the region regardless of what they thought of the man and hi…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanDemocracy and Governance

    Jordanian Elections in the Shadow of Domestic and Regional Tensions

    Sep 29, 2024Curtis Ryan

    As the Middle East edges closer to a broader war, both regional tensions and domestic politics have put the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan increasingly on edge. W…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Foreign Policy’s Impact on the November Presidential Election

    US presidential elections are usually decided on domestic issues, especially the economy. A candidate’s resting his or her presidential laurels on a foreign po…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The War Israel Wants but Hezbollah Rejects

    Sep 20, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The Israeli war on Hezbollah has just entered another deadly phase characterized by the sophisticated, but criminally minded, use of cyber warfare to detonate …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Gaza, the American Elections, and the Fallout of a Disaster

    Sep 19, 2024Charles W. Dunne

    The United States, sometimes considered the adult in the room when arbitrating international conflicts, has proved to be more of an adolescent when it came to …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelProtests and Activism

    US University Campuses Will Stifle Students’ Protests Next Year

    Sep 16, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    The student protests and the encampment movement that exploded on campuses toward the end of the 2024 school year pitted students (and faculty) protesting the …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza

    Discrediting the Living and Denying the Dead in Gaza: Justifying Indiscriminate Attacks on Civilians

    Sep 12, 2024Yara M. Asi

    In mid-August 2024, the world stood witness to one of the few personal tragedies from Gaza to make global headlines. Israeli airstrikes killed two 3-day-old tw…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenUS Foreign Policy

    Assessing GCC Perspectives on American-British Strikes Against Yemen’s Houthis

    Sep 11, 2024Giorgio Cafiero

    Since last November, Yemen’s Ansar Allah movement, commonly known as the Houthis, has been attacking commercial and merchant vessels in the Gulf of Aden and th…

  • Policy Analysis
    YemenClimate and Environment

    Climate Change: A New Battlefield in Yemen’s Ongoing Conflict

    Sep 6, 2024Afrah Nasser

    Like the rest of the world, Yemen is facing the profound effects of climate change on sectors from agriculture and health to the broader economy and natural re…

  • Policy Analysis
    TunisiaDemocracy and Governance

    Kais Saied’s Policies and Practices May Lead to an Explosion in Tunisia

    Sep 6, 2024Patricia Karam

    Tunisia has experienced a disquieting authoritarian regression over the last few years following promising beginnings as a young democracy after the January 20…

  • Research Paper
    LebanonIdentity Politics and Sectarianization

    The Failure of Political Sectarianism in Lebanon

    Sep 4, 2024Imad K. Harb

    As Lebanon finds itself on the precipice of a war with Israel, its political system suffers from complete stalemate and its economy exhibits clear signs of str…

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Iran’s New President and Foreign Minister Stand on the Edge of a Precipice

    Aug 30, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Commenting on Hezbollah’s retaliation to Israel’s August 25 pre-emptive strike on its positions, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kanaani asserted tha…

  • Policy Analysis
    IraqViolent Extremism

    The Islamic State Is Trying to Rebound

    Taking advantage of the world’s attention to the Israel-Hamas and Israel-Hezbollah conflicts, the so-called Islamic State (IS) is trying to reconstitute itself…

  • From our Affiliates
    YemenConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Fragile but Enduring Truce in Yemen 

    Aug 27, 2024Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    On April 1, 2022, the UN Special Envoy to Yemen, Hans Grundberg, announced a two-month truce between the country’s warring parties. This truce was extended twi…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelProtests and Activism

    Palestinian Cultural Resistance in the Service of the National Project

    Aug 27, 2024Salim Nuqul

    The Palestinian-Israeli conflict has significantly shaped the political, social, and cultural identity of the Palestinian people. Spanning over a century, this…

  • Intern Corner
    EgyptMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    How Egypt has Failed Palestinians in Gaza

    Aug 22, 2024Emily Costello

    Egypt’s policy for Palestinian refugees has worsened the already immense suffering of those fleeing the war on Gaza. Corruption within the border security appa…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Turkey Is Not an Actor in the Gaza Conflict

    Aug 21, 2024Salim Çevik

    Prior to the Hamas attack on October 7, Turkey was in the process of political reconciliation with Israel. Israeli President Isaac Herzog visited Turkey in 202…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelViolent Extremism

    Sde Teiman and Beit Lid Events: A Reading into the Militiazation of the Israeli State

    Aug 21, 2024Mohanad Mustafa

    The storming by right-wing groups of the Sde Teiman military camp in the Negev—a brutal detention center for residents of Gaza—and the Beit Lid barracks on the…

  • From our Affiliates
    SudanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Failure of the Jeddah and IGAD Mediation Efforts for Sudan 

    Aug 19, 2024Ahmed Idris Mutawakil Daqash

    The war in Sudan, which broke out on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has entered its s…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza

    “A Cycle of Deprivation”: The Challenges of Getting Humanitarian Aid into Gaza

    Aug 14, 2024Yara M. Asi

    On March 7, exactly five months after Israel initiated a military campaign in the Gaza Strip that has been increasingly described as a genocide, President Joe …

  • Intern Corner
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    Israel’s Use of White Phosphorus and the Inadequacy of International Law

    Aug 7, 2024Karam Burjas

    On October 16, 2023, Israel indiscriminately targeted civilians in Al-Duhayra, a town in Southern Lebanon, with a chemical agent that can burn skin to the bone…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelDemocracy and Governance

    No Good ‘Day After’ Under Current Palestinian Politics

    Aug 7, 2024Dana El Kurd

    Some 300 days into the Israeli war on Gaza, and following Israel’s shocking July 31 assassination of Hamas’s Ismail Haniyeh, a major figure in ceasefire negoti…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Haniyeh’s Assassination: Fallout from Israel’s Latest Killing Spree

    Aug 2, 2024Yousef Munayyer

    The assassination is the clearest message that Israel is not interested in an actual deal and is using ceasefire negotiations to extend the war while it kills …

  • Policy Analysis
    IranDemocracy and Governance

    Iran’s New President Must Navigate Dangerous Waters

    Aug 1, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    For the third time in the young history of the Islamic Republic of Iran, a political leader identified with the “Reformist” camp has won the presidency. Masoud…

  • Research Paper
    Palestine/IsraelMedia and Technology

    The War on Gaza and Israel’s Technology Sector

    Aug 1, 2024Mtanes Shihadeh

    The decline in the status of the Israeli economy due to the war and the difficulties in attracting capital for modern technology have become a reality that hau…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Israel Has Opted for War on All Fronts

    Israel's assassination of Hamas’s Political Bureau chief Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah military leader Fuad Shukr is an unwarranted escalation that could lead t…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Netanyahu’s Demagoguery Before Congress over the Gaza War

    Jul 31, 2024Khalil E. Jahshan

    In his convoluted and divisive presentation, Netanyahu made an emotional attempt at rallying American support behind his puttering ten-month military campaign …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelInternational Law

    The ICJ Decision on Israel’s Occupation of the Palestinian Territories

    Jul 26, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    On Friday, July 19, 2024, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) issued its Advisory Opinion in the case brought before it on Israel’s occupation of the Pale…

  • Policy Analysis
    TurkeyRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    Erdoğan’s Renewed Push for Syria Reconciliation: Domestic Pressures and Regional Dynamics

    Jul 25, 2024Salim Çevik

    Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan made his most explicit appeal yet to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Setting a high bar for the future of relations, E…

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arab WorldUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    Middle East Leaders Prefer Trump’s Victory

    Donald J. Trump’s candidacy seems to draw more interest and support from the Middle East than from other areas of the world, particularly from among the ruling…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    An Unwinnable Battle of Narratives in Lebanon Regarding War with Israel

    Jul 19, 2024Patricia Karam

    Hezbollah’s decision on war against Israel has attracted both support and objection from different political factions in Lebanon and helped lead to escalating …

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    Expert Perspectives on the Assassination Attempt on Trump

    The assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump’s life on July 13 may very well have an impact on the upcoming presidential election. According to p…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelUS Domestic Politics and Elections

    If Biden Drops Out, Where Do Democrats Go on Israel-Gaza War?

    Jul 17, 2024Ethan Mayer-Rich

    On the heels of a disappointing presidential debate performance, much has been made of whether the Democratic Party will replace Joe Biden on the ticket this N…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelSecurity and Defense

    Explosive Remnants of War in Gaza: A Long-Term Threat to Palestinian Life

    Jul 17, 2024Yara M. Asi

    Before Israel’s current war on Gaza, the deadliest of the previous four Israeli assaults on the Strip occurred in 2014. Over 50 days, Israel killed at least 2,…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelGlobal Health and Health Policy

    The Lancet and Genocide By “Slow Death” in Gaza

    Jul 12, 2024John Quigley

    A recent survey of Middle East scholars found that most regard Israel’s actions in Gaza since October 2023 either as “genocide” (34 percent) or as “major war c…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonMigrants, Refugees, and IDPs

    Lebanon Needs Help in Dealing with Its Syrian Refugees

    Jul 10, 2024Imad K. Harb

    The dangerous saber-rattling and bloody confrontations between Hezbollah and Israel have partly obscured serious domestic challenges facing Lebanon and the car…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanRegional Relations and Geopolitics

    The Gaza War and Threats to Jordan’s Domestic and Regional Stability

    Jul 9, 2024Curtis Ryan

    Jordanians of all walks of life have watched the relentless war in Gaza with deepening alarm. By latest count, at least 38,000 Palestinians have been killed, m…

  • From our Affiliates
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    The Biden-Trump Presidential Debate: Implications and Prospects

    Jul 4, 2024Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies

    On Thursday, June 27, 2024, US President and Democratic Party nominee Joe Biden and former President and Republican Party nominee Donald Trump held their first…

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelEducation and Development

    The US Academy and the Destruction of Gaza’s Education System

    Jul 3, 2024Hanna Alshaikh

    After Columbia University students set up a pro-Palestinian encampment on April 17, similar ones formed on campuses not only in the United States but worldwide…

  • Policy Analysis
    EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Limits on Egypt’s Gaza “Containment Strategy”

    Jul 1, 2024Daniel Brumberg

    Egypt has opted to follow a containment strategy in order to manage the fallout from the Israeli war on Gaza, such as the spillover of the conflict into the Si…

  • Policy Analysis
    US Domestic Politics and Elections

    History Redux: Immigrants from MENA and the US Presidential Election

    Trump’s previous policies affecting Muslims and President Biden’s stance on the Gaza war are likely to either keep Arab-Americans from voting or prompt them to…

  • Policy Analysis
    Saudi ArabiaUS Foreign Policy

    Difficulties Facing a US-Saudi Security Agreement

    The search for a US-brokered Saudi-Israeli deal to normalize relations has assumed outsized significance in the administration’s approach to the Middle East.

  • Policy Analysis
    The Arabian Peninsula and The GulfEnergy and Economics

    Exploring the Options: Arab Oil Exporters and the US Dollar

    Jun 21, 2024Jim Krane

    The pricing of oil in US dollars is one of the perks the United States enjoys due to its status as the world’s largest economy and to the dollar’s role as the …

  • Policy Analysis
    Palestine/IsraelJustice, Equality, and Human Rights

    Israel’s War on Palestinians in the Occupied West Bank

    Jun 21, 2024Jonathan Kuttab

    Since October 7, 2023, much of the world’s attention has rightly been focused on the Gaza Strip, which had been largely forgotten for many years. The intensity…

  • Intern Corner
    Palestine/IsraelViolent Extremism

    Militarization of Settler Groups Threatens to Open a West Bank Front

    Jun 20, 2024Kellie Kuenzle

    Mobs of masked, weapon-wielding men descended upon the Palestinian villages of al-Mughayyir, Duma, Deir Dibwan, Beitin, and Aqraba throughout the month of Apri…

  • Viewpoint
    Palestine/IsraelUS Foreign Policy

    Desperately Seeking Support for Biden’s Plan on Gaza

    Jun 18, 2024Khalil E. Jahshan

    Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken just concluded another intensive diplomatic trip to the Middle East, his eighth to the region since the beginning of the G…