Policy Analysis

Collective Analysis
Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza
The Willing Fools’ Peace of the Middle East
Oct 15, 2025Hanna Alshaikh Yara M. Asi Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Nabeel A. Khoury Laurie King
Rather than serving as a forum for hashing out difficult next steps for Gaza, the Sharm summit was largely a congratulatory gesture to Donald Trump.
Collective Analysis
Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza
Another Half-Baked Trump Gaza Plan
Oct 1, 2025Heba Gowayed Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Yousef Munayyer Daniel Neep Assal Rad
On September 29, the White House announced a new 20-point plan for ending the Israeli war on Gaza that includes, among other things, provisions for an immediat…
Policy Analysis
QatarThe War on Gaza
Striking a US Ally: Israel’s Attack on Qatar and the Erosion of Regional Stability
Sep 9, 2025Hanna Alshaikh Charles W. Dunne Khalil E. Jahshan Tamara Kharroub Yousef Munayyer Kristian Coates Ulrichsen
On the morning of September 9, 2025, 15 Israeli jets carried out an airstrike on residential buildings in Doha, Qatar. Israel claimed that the strike was a pre…
Policy Analysis
Palestine/IsraelThe War on Gaza
The GREAT Trust for Gaza: A Blueprint for Dispossession, Not Reconstruction
Sep 4, 2025Khalil E. Jahshan Imad K. Harb Yousef Munayyer Assal Rad Annelle Sheline
The Trump administration is currently discussing the so-called Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation (GREAT) Trust plan that projects a…
Policy Analysis
YemenUS Foreign Policy
Implications of the US-Houthi Ceasefire Deal
May 21, 2025Gregory Aftandilian
President Donald Trump’s surprise announcement on May 6 of a ceasefire deal with Yemen’s Houthis—in which the militant group pledged not to target American shi…
Policy Analysis
EgyptConflicts and Conflict Resolution
An Arab Plan for Gaza: Obstacles and Possibilities
Mar 7, 2025Yara M. Asi Heba Gowayed Imad K. Harb Khalil E. Jahshan Yousef Munayyer Annelle Sheline
In response to President Donald Trump’s February 4 proposal to take over the Gaza Strip, displacing its indigenous Palestinians and transforming it into “the R…
Policy Analysis
JordanConflicts and Conflict Resolution
For Jordan, Trump’s Latest Pronouncements Threaten an Existential Disaster
Feb 7, 2025Curtis Ryan
With US President Donald Trump pushing Jordan to permanently resettle Palestinians from Gaza, the Hashemite Kingdom once again faces a crisis that is nothing s…
Policy Analysis
LevantThe War on Gaza
Trump Will Not Stop Israel from Snatching Defeat from the Jaws of Victory
Jan 24, 2025Daniel Brumberg
Several observers of the Middle East have suggested that President Donald Trump’s “transactional” instincts could impel him to push for a wider Palestinian-Isr…
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
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
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
LevantThe War on Gaza
The Israel/Palestine Stain on Biden’s Foreign Policy Legacy
Oct 23, 2024Gregory Aftandilian
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…