Research & Commentary Results

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.

As the clock ticks down on the repatriation of IS foreign fighters from Syria, a recent development has added a new sense of urgency to the situation. On June 11, the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (AANES), announced its intention to prosecute 2,000 IS foreign fighters. How-ever, the lack of international recognition for the AANES and its courts renders these trials illegiti-mate, further complicating future international legal efforts to prosecute these combatants.

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.

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

لم يكن تمرد مجموعات فاغنر العسكرية على الحكومة الروسية ووزارة الدفاع وقادتها العسكريين مفاجئاً، خاصة في الفترة الأخيرة من الحرب الروسية الأوكرانية مع الظهور المستمر لزعيم تلك القوات يفغيني بريغوجين، الذي تكرر ظهوره خلال الأشهر الماضية منتفداً تارة ومهدداً تارةً أخرى للقادة العسكريين الروس، بسبب ما قال إنه نقص في الذخيرة والمعدات المقدمة لقواته على جبهات أوكرانية وخاصة باخموت، ما تسبب بمقتل العشرات من قواته على مدار الفترة الماضية.

The conflict between the Wagner Group and the Russian government was not born out of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, though the war there caused the rift to widen and tensions to explode publicly in the form of an armed rebellion. Instead, the discord actually started in Syria back in 2017 and has intensified since then.

Northwestern Syria is home to the world’s most acute humanitarian crisis. The prospect of the Assad regime being able to exert all control over what aid goes into the area is unconscionable.

مع تحول التحديات البيئية إلى أولوية بالنسبة للدول في منطقة الشرق الأوسط والبحر الأبيض المتوسط، تظهر فرص جديدة للتعاون البيئي الإقليمي، بما في ذلك بين إسرائيل وجيرانها. على الرغم من محدودية نطاقها ومواجهتها لعدة عقبات رئيسية، إلا أن هناك جهود تعاونية إقليمية جارية، بما في ذلك على المستويين الثنائي والمتعدد الأطراف، كما أن هناك جهود جارية للحفاظ عليها وتوسيعها. يتناول هذا التقرير الجديد، الذي تم إعداده تحت رعاية منتدى المناخ الإسرائيلي، أهمية التعاون البيئي الإقليمي في الشرق الأوسط والبحر الأبيض المتوسط، ويدرس نطاق هذا التعاون بين إسرائيل وجيرانها، ويوضح الفرص والعقبات والتوصيات لزيادة التنسيق والعمل المشترك، بما في ذلك الدور الذي يمكن أن تلعبه الولايات المتحدة وأوروبا.

Following two years of preparation, the Syrian Madaniya (“Civil”) initiative held its inaugural conference with over 180 participating organizations. To claim a political role, Madaniya needs a program and a partner. The natural partner for this endeavor is the Syrian Negotiation Commission.

A defense treaty in return for Saudi normalization is illusive, but Biden can still seal a historic deal.

In the wake of Israel’s deadly assault on the Jenin refugee camp, the largest military operation in the West Bank in nearly two decades, Israeli military officials have been quick to declare victory. But contrary to such bluster, the attack produced no real winners and only losers.

Since the early years of the Syrian conflict, the Assad regime has systematically diverted local resources dedicated for reconstruction purposes to rehabilitate facilities in areas and sectors that benefit it and its inner circle, as well as placed the burden of rehabilitating properties onto Syrians themselves. To finance this policy, the regime has exploited four key resources, including imposing multiple reconstruction taxes, diverting U.N. and INGO early recovery and rehabilitation projects, capitalizing on local-led crowdfunding campaigns, and forcing Syrians to bear the cost of repairing their own damaged properties.

India and Israel have embarked on a mission to enhance their bilateral strategic cyber partnership. Private-sector collaboration and investment have laid the foundation for this partnership, which has now expanded to government-level agreements and frameworks.