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Middle East

Mahmoud Abbas’ Distorted Rhetoric

Once again, very much to his own detriment and that of the Palestinians, Mahmoud Abbas is playing into the hands of Israelis who categorically reject a two-state solution. Last month, in a speech that was broadcast on Palestinian television two weeks ago, the president of the Palestinian Authority made two outrageous comments that Germany’s ambassador […]

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Middle East

Israel’s Contact With Libya Turns Into A Debacle

A potential breakthrough in Israel’s relations with the Arab world degenerated into a diplomatic fiasco after Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen rashly disclosed he had secretly conferred with his Libyan counterpart, Najila el-Mangoush, in Rome on August 26 in a meeting hosted by the Italian foreign minister. In the wake of his impromptu announcement, which […]

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Middle East

Israel And The Palestinian Authority

More than a month after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government announced a series of measures to strengthen the ineffectual Palestinian Authority, they have yet to be implemented. Israel’s inaction leads critics to conclude that the measures are mostly declarative or symbolic in nature and are mainly intended to mollify the United States and the […]

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Middle East

The Elephant In The Room

Nation-wide protests in Israel condemning the government’s plan to overhaul the judiciary have been going on ceaselessly for the past seven months. The protesters’ zeal and commitment has been unflagging. Two days ago, they demonstrated in front of Ramot, a moshav near the Sea of Galilee where Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his family were […]

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Middle East

A Culture Of Impunity In Lebanon

Three years to the month after a massive explosion wrecked the densely-populated neighborhood around the port of Beirut, the weak and ineffectual government of Lebanon has yet to hold anyone accountable for one of the biggest non-nuclear blasts in history. On the evening of August 4, 2020, a fire broke out in hangar 12, a […]

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Middle East

A Saudi-Israeli Normalization Deal

The United States, Israel’s chief ally, has launched a campaign that could realign the political landscape of the Middle East. In what could be a diplomatic coup as significant as the United States’ successful drive to end Israel’s state of war with Egypt in 1979, Washington is making a concerted effort to normalize Israel’s relations […]

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Middle East

Israel’s Domestic Crisis Deepens

With yesterday’s passage of the first part of the Israeli government’s divisive proposal to overhaul the judiciary, Israel’s domestic crisis has ominously deepened, throwing Israel into its worst domestic crisis in decades. Not since the 1993 Oslo peace process and Israel’s 2005 unilateral withdrawal from the Gaza Strip has Israel been so internally splintered and […]

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Middle East

Israel, Morocco And The Western Sahara

With its recognition of Morocco’s territorial claim to the disputed Western Sahara region, Israel has taken a giant leap forward to consolidate its bilateral relations with that North African Arab nation. Israel officially recognized Morocco’s claim on July 17, when Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent King Mohammed VI a letter affirming Israel’s decision to “recognize […]

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Middle East

U.S.-Israel Tensions Flare

Judging by recent events, Israel’s alliance with the United States, its most important and enduring ally, has entered an unsettling period of turbulence. U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat, has criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s divisive plan to overhaul Israel’s judicial system and has expressed public support for the mass demonstrations breaking out in Israel […]

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Middle East

Israel Upgrades Relations With Azerbaijan

Israeli Defence Minister Yoav Gallant’s two-day visit to Baku recently underscored Israel’s burgeoning ties with Azerbaijan, a secular Muslim state which shares a border with Iran, Israel’s arch enemy. Gallant arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan’s capital, on July 13 with the objective of upgrading Israel’s strategic relationship with Azerbaijan in such key sectors as security, diplomacy […]