Whither the Israel-Hamas ceasefire?
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’s power play
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…
Reading tea leaves: Is the US signalling potential differences with Israel?
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…
Gaza’s fault lines are less linear than meets the eye
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…
Want to fight ant-Semitism? Check your ant-Semitic antecedents at the door.
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…
Netanyahu gambles on Trump
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…
Israel’s times may be ‘a-changin’
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…
Implementing Phase Two
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…
Netanyahu’s reshaped Middle East aligns neatly with Trump’s new world order
By James M. Dorsey Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s effort to reshape the Middle East aligns neatly with US President Donald J. Trump’s notion of big power geopolitics. In 2023,…
With his right hand not knowing what his left hand is doing, Trump plays with fire
By James M. Dorsey US President Donald J. Trump may be a classic case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing. Mr. Trump’s dealings this…