It is now common practice to refer to Ahmad al-Sharaa as Syria’s interim president.  Following the fall of former president Bashar al-Assad, Sharaa was appointed on January 29, 2025 by the…

By James M. Dorsey The United Arab Emirates is betting that recent anti-Hamas protests in Gazan towns, supported by influential tribes and clans, will strengthen Abu Dhabi-based Mohammed Dahlan’s chances…

By James M. Dorsey Israelis and Palestinians have moved in diametrically opposed and mutually exclusive cycles for much of the past six decades. A significant segment of Israeli society favoured…

Egypt is currently playing a crucial role in two of the most significant efforts related to the Gaza conflict.    As a mediator, along with the US and Qatar, of…

By James M. Dorsey A stickler for language, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu twice this month remained conspicuously silent when senior Trump administration officials chose words that signalled potential changes…

By James M. Dorsey Like much else in the Middle East, Gaza’s fault lines are less linear than meets the eye. At first glance, it’s Israel, backed by the United…

By James M. Dorsey It’s ok to be anti-Jewish as long as you support Israel. That is Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s bottom line. Mr. Netanyahu is willing to risk…

By James M. Dorsey At first glance, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu could not have a better friend in the White House. In his first two months in office, President…

By James M Dorsey When Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu first cultivated Evangelical and far-right support for Israel, he didn’t worry about their theologically rooted associations with anti-Semitism and/or willingness to…

 Will the Gaza ceasefire deal survive its first phase? That was the unanswerable question hanging over the formal end of phase one on March 2 and the scheduled start of…