The Human Story Behind Gaza: Jaser AbuMousa on the Costs of Survival for Palestinians
Brian sits down with MEI Senior Fellow Jaser AbuMousa to assess the situation on the ground in Gaza three years after October 7 and a year into the ceasefire. Drawing on his own personal experience, Jaser explores the toll that the war and continued destruction have taken on Gaza’s residents, the implications of the recent Israeli and US elections, and the difficult path forward.
Israelis turned out in their highest numbers in decades on October 27 for the country’s first election since the Hamas attacks of October 7, 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s bloc lost 15 seats and its Knesset majority, but Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc also fell short, leaving Arab parties, with a record 19 seats, potentially decisive in forming the next government. MEI Senior Fellow Natan Sachs joins hosts Alistair Taylor and Matthew Czekaj to unpack the results, the coalition math, and what comes next for Israel’s security policy, the wider region, and US-Israeli relations.
Recent Elections and What They May Mean for the Middle East
Recent elections for the Israeli Knesset and American Congress may make less of a difference in the Middle East than some people think. Elections are significant indicators of national political trends, but do not always translate into changes in national security strategies. That is likely the case now in both nations.
The 2026 Iran war has made Lebanon a core Gulf security concern, and Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Qatar now have a narrow opportunity to curb Hizballah’s influence by leading reconstruction, strengthening Lebanese state institutions, and tying economic re-engagement to reform.
Unconditional surrender of an adversary is possible only if the victor conducts unconditional war, which the American public clearly was not prepared for in the conflict with Iran. Ending this conflict was always going to entail some compromises. The U.S.-Iran MOU is being oversold by virtually everyone. The tangible parts of it are a ceasefire, sanctions relief for Iran and the reopening of Hormuz. Everything else in the agreement is conditioned to good faith negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program.
Iran: What’s Next for US Policy as the Region Seeks to Move On
As the US and Iran move to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, the war’s real lesson lies in how Gulf states rapidly adapted — building pipelines, ports, and rail to bypass the chokepoint. Washington should seize this momentum, pursuing a “long game” of regional connectivity that serves shared security and economic interests.
China’s Private Security Companies in the Middle East: Commercial Actors, Strategic Tools
Chinese PSCs are state-adjacent actors embedded in China’s overseas economic expansion, particularly under the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), generating new arenas of US–China security competition in fragile environments.
Syria’s Energy Revival and the Gulf’s Strategic Opening
Syria’s shattered energy sector is being rebuilt at a moment of unusual strategic flux across the Middle East, one defined by Iran’s military degradation following sustained U.S. and Israeli strikes in February and March; Russia’s prolonged absorption in its war in Ukraine; and China’s preference for commercial caution over political risk. Together, these shifts have weakened or distracted the external powers that once dominated Syria’s trajectory. The Gulf states have moved in to decisively fill the opening.
A Turkish court has taken a dramatic step that could reshape the country’s political landscape. It annulled the results of the CHP’s 2023 party congress, effectively overturning the election of Özgür Özel as leader of Turkey’s main opposition party and potentially paving the way for former chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu to return.
Since 1967, Israeli settlements in the West Bank have been a contested feature of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The ultimate disposition of the settlements and ongoing activity related to their growth have repeatedly defied agreement in negotiations over a resolution to the conflict.
The oldest peer-reviewed publication dedicated to the study of the modern Middle East, MEI’s flagship journal covers politics, society, and culture in the region.
