• Policy Analysis
    LevantReligion and Politics

    The Many Angles of Turkey’s Fight for Jerusalem

    Dec 28, 2017Mustafa Gurbuz

    Turkey’s championing of the cause of Jerusalem is genuine but also serves its interest in restoring its relations with the Arab countries and increasing its so…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantInternational Law

    Trump’s Jerusalem Declaration: The Oslo Era’s Final Act

    Dec 13, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    Trump’s declaration about Jerusalem isolated the United States, unified the Arab and Muslim worlds, and may have given the Europeans a chance to play a role as…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanInternational Law

    Trump’s Jerusalem Announcement: Big Gambit, Little Gain

    Dec 6, 2017Tamara Kharroub

    This is indeed a shameful day for the United States, where accrediting military force, violating international law, and supporting apartheid in Jerusalem mark …

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Arab Normalization with Israel Frames Trump Peace Plan

    Nov 22, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    President Trump’s peace plan in the Middle East embraces the “outside-in” approach for peace between Palestinians and Israelis with a risky Arab-Israeli normal…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    The Closure of the PLO Office in Washington: The “Ultimate Deal” Exposed

    Now that the Palestinians are potentially losing their diplomatic foothold in Washington, they may finally decide that the United States is withdrawing from ne…

  • Policy Analysis
    JordanConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Bilateral Disagreements Aside, Jordan and Israel Agree on Syria

    Jordan and Israel view military activities by Sunni extremists groups and by Hezbollah as threats and are using their developing ties with Russia to try to mit…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Is Palestinian Reconciliation Viable This Time?

    The Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement is the product of political manipulation between parties that lack confidence in each other’s strategic objectives. Th…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    A Century after Balfour: Israel’s Knesset Wants All of Palestine

    Nov 2, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    A hundred years after the Balfour Declaration, Israeli lawmakers are slated to take legislative steps that, instead of moving toward democracy, would only doub…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Mahmoud Abbas: A Lone Voice in the UN Wilderness

    Sep 29, 2017Khalil E. Jahshan

    President Abbas’s speech before the United Nations was true to the Palestinian essentials of appealing for justice in Palestine, denouncing Israel’s excesses a…

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Will Netanyahu’s Legal Troubles Break the Stalemate?

    Aug 31, 2017Yousef Munayyer

    With or without Benyamin Netanyahu, there is little reason to believe that any likely foreseeable Israeli government will be ready for peace with the Palestini…

  • Policy Analysis
    LebanonConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Stretched over Two Borders, Hezbollah is Making Israel Anxious

    Aug 8, 2017Joe Macaron

    In the long run, the risks of confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah may largely depend on how the US-Russia deal will unfold in southern Syria.

  • Policy Analysis
    LevantConflicts and Conflict Resolution

    Taylor Force Act: Putting the Palestinian Authority on Notice

    Senators have agreed to revise a bill that will put the Palestinian Authority on notice, conditioning US aid to the PA on ending payments to Palestinian prison…