The United States is normalizing its frayed relationship with Syria, a key Arab state struggling to rebuild itself after a ruinous 12-year civil war. It is bound to be an incremental process, judging by Syrian President Ahmed al-Shara’s visit to Washington on November 10. A former jihadist who seized power after overthrowing President Bashar al-Assad […]
Donald Trump has been cracking down on Benjamin (Bibi) Netanyahu of late, triggering sarcastic jokes in Israel that he is “Bibi-sitting” him. What this means, in practice, is that the United States, Israel’s chief ally and benefactor, has been exerting pressure on Israel to do its bidding on a wide range of issues ranging from […]
The United States has pulled out all the stops in a concerted effort to preserve the shaky ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. Brokered earlier this month by President Donald Trump in coordination with Israel, Arab states and Turkey, it kicked off the first phase of Trump’s 20-point peace plan to end the two-year war between […]
Late last month, on the eve of his latest meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at the White House, U.S. President Donald Trump issued a bombshell statement. “I will not allow Israel to annex the West Bank,” said Trump, whom Netanyahu has often hailed as the most pro-Israel president in American history. “It’s not […]
Two dates in October are seared into the consciousness of Israelis — October 7 and October 13 — in split-screen moments. On October 7, 2023, Israel was suddenly thrown into shock, grief and trauma as thousands of Hamas terrorists from the Gaza Strip broke through the fortified border fence and proceeded to kill about 1,200 […]
There is finally light at the end of the tunnel. Israel’s two-year war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, sparked by Hamas’ invasion of southern Israel on October 7, 2023, appears to have belatedly drawn to a close thanks to a 20-point peace plan devised by U.S. President Donald Trump and his aides. Trump and […]
Donald Trump’s ambitious 20-point peace plan to end the nearly two-year-old war in the Gaza Strip is broadly in line with Israel’s interests and brings Hamas one step closer to defeat on the battlefield. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has endorsed the proposal, which, he acknowledged, “achieves our war aims.” Hamas is reviewing the plan, but […]
Iran’s nuclear program was seriously degraded by Israel and the United States in massive air strikes this past June, but Iran may still be able to rebuild it. The Iranian regime publicly denies that it seeks nuclear weapons, claiming they do not align with the tenets of Islam. Yet Iran, contrary to the 2015 nuclear […]
As one Western country after another recognizes the increasingly popular but polarizing idea of Palestinian statehood, Israel takes tangible and controversial steps to sabotage it. In the past few weeks, France, Britain, Canada, Australia and Belgium have joined close to 150 countries that already have recognized a Palestinian state within the framework of a two-state […]
Israel’s audacious strike in Qatar on September 9 is one more tangible sign that it has revamped its military doctrine since Hamas’ bloody rampage on October 7, 2023. Having been caught by surprise by Hamas’ onslaught, Israel has acted preemptively and decisively to weaken its enemies in the Gaza Strip, Lebanon, Iran, Syria and Yemen. […]