Research & Commentary Results

مع احتفال الموقعين الأصليين على اتفاقيات أبراهام — إسرائيل والإمارات العربية المتحدة والبحرين — بالذكرى السنوية الثالثة لاتفاقهم المبرم في سبتمبر 2020، هناك أساس كافٍ لتقييم ما إذا كانت اتفاقيات أبراهام حقيقية أم مجرد ضجة إعلامية أم شيء بين بين. وكما كان الحال قبل عام، لا تزال النتائج حتى الآن مختلطة.

Thirty years on since its historic signing, the Oslo Accords framework continues to define virtually all aspects of Israeli-Palestinian relations as well as America’s and the broader international community’s approach to the peace process. Yet Oslo’s extraordinary longevity stands not as a testament to its utility but to its unmitigated and ongoing failure.

The normalization of relations between Saudi Arabia and Israel is looking increasingly likely, even if it does not take place in the immediate future. For Israel, normalizing relations with as many Arab states as possible — especially if it does not have to give up much in exchange — has always been a strategic goal. For the new Saudi Arabia, those ambitious goals strongly suggest opening up to the Israeli economy. 

It has been nearly 70 years since Israel first asked the U.S. to sign a bilateral defense treaty. Ever since then, the idea of a formal security agreement has resurfaced from time to time, only to be struck down, due to an understanding that it does not serve the two sides’ actual needs. Prime Minister Netanyahu is currently floating the idea once again, but the U.S. can make use of his interest in a security upgrade to revive a different idea instead: the decade-old security plan for the two-state solution, known as the Allen Plan.

Middle East Focus Presents: ‘Taking the Edge Off the Middle East’ with Brian Katulis

A series of casual conversations with leading policy professionals on the most important happenings in the Middle East today – hosted by MEI VP for Policy Brian Katulis.

Ben Samuels – U.S. correspondent for Haaretz – sits down with Brian to discuss how he got into journalism, the state of politics in Israel, and the country’s ongoing judicial overhaul. 

*Note: this episode was recorded on June 8, 2023.

The Biden administration is working on a deal between Israel and Saudi Arabia that could be a game changer for the Middle East. Such an opening would show just how much the tectonic plates in the region are shifting away from regional tensions, civil wars, and threats from terrorism toward a new, more promising phase of greater stability and prosperity. 

Forging a deal establishing open, normal bilateral ties between Saudi Arabia and Israel would be a major feat with plenty of potential perils along the way — the diplomatic equivalent of climbing Mount Everest. If done right, the result would be historic and transformative for the Middle East with positive geopolitical repercussions. Here are five factors to watch as the Biden administration continues its efforts to produce a major diplomatic breakthrough in the region.

It’s been a long, hot summer in Israel, not only because of the multiple heat waves, but also due to the domestic political developments that have been heating up throughout 2023 and are now reaching a boiling point. With the Supreme Court gearing up to make highly consequential decisions in September and the Knesset in recess until mid-October, it is a good time to look back at all that Israel has gone through since the beginning of the year. For some on the Israeli right, it is a midsummer night’s dream come true, but for a large number of Israelis, it seems like more of a nightmare.

As Israel grapples with fundamental questions of identity and societal fissures years in the making, Iran and its Axis of Resistance continue to employ their escalation-ready approach of pushing the envelope in multiple geographic theaters, launching cyber operations to foment disunity in Israeli society, and attempting to neutralize the regional gains Israel has made after signing the Abraham Accords with several Arab neighbors in 2020.

اقرأ تقرير MEI الأسبوعي الذي يتضمن تحليلات الخبراء للتطورات الإقليمية الرئيسية للأسبوع المقبل.

On July 24, the Knesset voted to limit the powers of the Supreme Court to strike down legislation as the first step in a comprehensive “judicial overhaul” orchestrated by Israel’s far-right government. This is by no means the “end” of Israeli democracy. To the contrary, the coalition that forced it through is itself the product of some unlikely circumstances and may not survive much longer, especially given the economic, security, and diplomatic chal-lenges it will very shortly face.

سعت الحكومة الأردنية إلى تطوير موقع المعمودية في بيت عنيا عبر الأردن في محاولة لتعزيز قطاع السياحة والاقتصاد بشكل عام. لكن تحقيق التوازن الصحيح بين الاعتبارات الاقتصادية والدينية والسياسية والبيئية لن يكون أمراً سهلاً.

اقرأ تقرير MEI الأسبوعي الذي يتضمن تحليلات الخبراء للتطورات الإقليمية الرئيسية للأسبوع المقبل.

Environmental challenges are creating new priorities for countries in the Middle East and the Mediterranean and increasing cross-border cooperation – including between Israel and Arab countries. Such cooperation can assist in tackling climate change through a regional and global lens, can foster regional stability, maintain and expand circles of peace and normalization, and increase prosperity and economic development. 

Since the current Israeli government was established in December 2022, Israeli-Palestinian escalation has seemed inevitable. Tensions have steadily mounted and if that trend continues unchecked, a wider and more significant flare up might eventually happen. Given the worrying trajectory, the U.S. needs to get more involved.