Expelling MK Cassif: A warning sign for Palestinian representation in the Knesset
If the Knesset expels lawmaker Ofer Cassif, it will represent the national legislature’s first use of the Suspension Law and signal a sharp curtailing of legal space for non-Zionist players in Israeli politics.
US response to Tower 22 attack in Jordan: Less intense, more restrained than anticipated
On the evening of Saturday, Feb. 3, local time, US warplanes bombed facilities used by Iranian forces and Iran-backed militias in Syria and Iraq, in retaliation for the death of 3 US service members in a Jan. 28 drone attack on Tower 22, a US military base in northeastern Jordan on the Syrian border. The airstrikes primarily targeted locations in eastern Syria and western Iraq.
On this week’s episode, Director of MEI’s Syria and Countering Terrorism & Extremism Programs Charles Lister and MEI Editor-In-Chief Alistair Taylor talk about US policy toward Syria. The deadly Jan. 28 drone attack on a US military outpost in northeastern Jordan, near the borders with Syria and Iraq, has drawn renewed attention to the US military presence in the area. This comes against a backdrop of regional conflict and escalation.
Growing unrest in Syria’s Suwayda as Jordanian airstrikes and civilian deaths increase
As the civilian death toll continues to rise, Jordan has come under growing criticism for its airstrikes in southern Syria’s Suwayda Governorate, aimed at combatting drug trafficking and smuggling operations.
What does Israel want to see come out of US mediation efforts on Israel-Lebanon?
The weeks ahead are crucial for Israel and Lebanon and will likely indicate whether a broader confrontation between Israel and Hezbollah can be avoided diplomatically or if it is inevitable. Israeli officials have called on Lebanon and the world to deliver a solution; but in practice, Israeli eyes are set on Washington, DC.
What it means when nine nations bomb in the Middle East in two weeks
Nine nations, including terrorist groups that are de facto governments, have attacked other countries in the region over the course of about two weeks. Numerous commentators have drawn the conclusion that a regional war is already underway or soon will be.
Robust diplomacy is Washington’s only chance to stop a Lebanon-Israel war
In navigating the thickening fog of war, ongoing US-led mediation must actively take two critical steps to pull Lebanon and Israel back from the brink and avoid a direct US-Iran confrontation: secure credible guarantees on compliance and endorse local efforts to elect an independent president.
Locals fight their own war on drugs in Syria’s Daraa Province
Since early last year there has been a surge in drug-related assassinations in Syria’s southwestern Daraa Province, adding a new layer to the region’s persistent violence. The regime’s complicity, driven by financial and political motives, has fostered a climate where drug networks operate with impunity, spurring locals to take matters into their own hands.
The current escalation between Israeli and Hezbollah forces necessitates immediate action from the international community to prevent a widening of the Gaza war, and the US is positioned in a leadership role to mollify tensions, beginning with diplomatic actions to stabilize the Lebanese-Israeli border, helping to pacify the broader region as a result.
