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Wednesday, 11 Dec 2024
An Untested Refugee Theory

From late January 2025, the Israeli ban on the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA) will come into effect. What does this mean for the rights of the Palestinian refugees, and who will then take responsibility for helping them? In October 2024, the Israeli parliament (Knesset) ...

Tuesday, 19 Nov 2024
Israel Has Escalated Its Shadow War Against UNRWA. What Happens Now?

On 4 November, the Israeli Foreign Ministry cancelled the agreement the country signed with UNRWA in 1967. A week earlier, the Knesset had passed legislation banning UNRWA from operating in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. Why is Israel doing this, and what could the consequences be? UNRWA a free ...

Wednesday, 31 Jul 2024
Russian Intrigues in Middle East Surge

On July 24, Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad was summoned to Moscow for a secret meeting in the Kremlin with Russian President Vladimir Putin, the same day that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu addressed a joint session of the US Congress. The visit was announced only the following day when al-Assad ...

Thursday, 30 May 2024
The Importance of Recognition – Even in Occupation

Norway, Spain, and Ireland recognized a Palestinian state that does not yet exist. This is why it still matters. On Wednesday May 22. Norway, Spain and Ireland declared that they would recognize Palestine as a state on May 28. The recognition has now become official. During a 22 May press ...

Tuesday, 30 Apr 2024
Chasing a Mirage Amid a Famine

The recurring refrain that there is a route to a two-state solution diverts attention from what is truly urgent: ending the famine and securing a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip. It is difficult to believe, but after more than 200 days of war, there is still no ceasefire between Israel ...

Tuesday, 13 Feb 2024
Forgotten Victims: Gaza's Journalists & UN Workers

The war in Gaza is the most deadly in modern times for journalists and UN personnel. Despite the seriousness of the situation, these killings are under-reported. The war in Gaza is an exceptionally gruesome conflict, as shown by all the relevant statistics. Since Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) attacked ...

Friday, 15 Dec 2023
Illusions and Peace Plans in the Middle East

Both the two-state and one-state solutions exist only in the imagination. Time has run away from them, as things stand today. The violent conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has been going on for 75 years, with Israel emerging stronger from all of the more serious outbreaks of warfare. How ...

Friday, 8 Dec 2023
Gaza: A Religious Conflict?

Hamas named its terror attacks on 7 October ‘Operation Al-Aqsa Flood’. Hamas believes that Jewish extremists, with the direct and indirect support of the Israeli authorities, pose a threat to, and are plotting to take over, the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in Jerusalem. The terror attacks led to an outbreak of ...

Thursday, 30 Nov 2023
Russian Influence Diminished in Remaking the Middle East

The Kremlin has welcomed the Israel-Hamas truce in Gaza that began on November 24. The pause, however, does not fit into Russia’s larger designs for the Middle East. From Moscow’s perspective, further escalation would have been a much better option in disrupting the US-led world order. Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka ...

Friday, 24 Nov 2023
Three Factors Put Egypt in a Fix

Egypt plays a key role in the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. Now the Egyptians are nervous. With its almost 100 million inhabitants and its borders with both Gaza and Israel, Egypt plays a key role in the conflict between the Palestinians and Israel. Right now, the Egyptian regime ...

Tuesday, 21 Nov 2023
Hezbollah Is Holding Lebanon Hostage

In 1982, Israel invaded Lebanon in order to drive out the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). The invasion marked the start of a dangerous balance of terror between Israel and Hezbollah. Lebanon held its breath on Friday 3 November. People stood by their packed suitcases, ready to travel to the airport ...

Tuesday, 14 Nov 2023
Chronic Refugees: A Burden on Poor Countries

We are continually reminded of how wars result in mass human migrations: think only of Palestine, Syria, Myanmar, Afghanistan, Ukraine and Sudan. In general, poor neighbouring countries shoulder most of the burden of housing these refugees, while rich countries do little to take in their share. The result has been ...

Wednesday, 1 Nov 2023
But “Evil” Is a Dangerous Word

The conflict in the Middle East can only be resolved with good and patient political craftsmanship. It will not end until everyone in the region has the same rights. “I understand the Jews’ need for security,” said the sheikh to Jewish, Christian and Muslim leaders. The sheikh is one of ...

Monday, 30 Oct 2023
The Middle East at a Crossroads: Gaza, Israel, and Lebanon

The heart of the Middle East, known for its intricate geopolitics, ever-evolving conflicts, and tumultuous history, is once again in the throes of change. As I stand here in Oslo, my thoughts are irresistibly drawn to Lebanon, my homeland, and the crises that have unfolded in the region to which ...

Tuesday, 24 Oct 2023
Lebanon’s Impending Catastrophes

Lebanon is teetering on the brink of an abyss that it is not equipped to deal with. If Hezbollah drags Lebanon into a war, the consequences will be catastrophic for a country that is already deep in economic and political crisis. At the time of writing, Hezbollah, together with Palestinian ...

Monday, 23 Oct 2023
Two Wars Set a Triple Test for Western Unity

International attention has shifted its focus from Ukraine to the conflict in Gaza and its potential impact on global governance. The Western front faces challenges in navigating peace efforts in both regions. The war in Ukraine has all but disappeared from the international news stream since the brutal attack by Hamas terrorists ...

Thursday, 19 Oct 2023
UNRWA: In Anticipation of a Double Collapse

There is a looming infrastructural collapse of parts of UNRWA, the UN’s relief agency for Palestinian refugees. Such a collapse could bring down the Palestinian Authority (PA) in its wake. That would be a catastrophe for the situation on the occupied West Bank. On the Israeli-occupied West Bank, things are ...

Tuesday, 17 Oct 2023
Moscow Seeks to Benefit From Fighting in Gaza

Russia’s war against Ukraine crosses the 600-day mark this week, and the fighting between Israel and the Hamas terrorists based in Gaza is on its tenth day. The effects of the latter on the former are still emerging. The interplay between these two major breakdowns in the world order is ...

Monday, 16 Oct 2023
A New Geopolitical Chapter for the Middle East?

In recent years, several Arab countries have adopted a more pragmatic attitude towards Israel. Some have even signed official agreements. But much geopolitical progress is now in danger of being reversed – and not only within the region. Over recent years, the Palestinians have become increasingly isolated in the Arab ...