With change rippling through the Middle East, where do the Palestinians stand?
December 31, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The winds of diplomatic change in the Middle East are blowing strongly, but which way will they move the Palestinian Authority? Read more
Observers say EU-funded review of Palestinian textbooks reeks of ‘incompetence, concealment’
December 15, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
In a ground-breaking move and in response to the lack of change in the Palestinian Authority school curriculum and the continued insertion of antisemitism, hate and incitement to violence and martyrdom in its textbooks, the Norwegian parliament endorsed a complete cut last week in aid to the P.A. Read more
Transforming trauma: How Jewish voices from Iran and Arab lands can be a bridge for peace
December 4, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
With just the clothes on their backs and a few belongings hurriedly thrown into a sack, thousands of Jewish families were forced to flee from their homes after the declaration of the Jewish state on May 14, 1948. Read more
More than meets the eye in secretive meeting between America, Israel and Saudi Arabia
November 26, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The private jet that took off from Israel on Sunday and banked south towards Saudi Arabia may have had some important passengers on board, but no one is talking about it. Read more
Can Biden renew foreign aid to Palestinians while still adhering to Taylor Force Act?
November 25, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The incoming Biden administration has made clear it intends to renew funding to the Palestinian Authority and reopen the PLO mission in Washington, D.C. In November, Vice President-elect Kamala Harris said in an interview, “We will take immediate steps to restore economic and humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people, address the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, reopen the U.S. consulate in East Jerusalem and work to reopen the PLO mission in Washington.” Read more
Biden’s foreign-policy appointments and what they might mean for Israel
November 24, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Former U.S. Vice President and President-elect Joe Biden has announced his choices for some of the key positions in his administration when he takes over in January. Read more
Will Biden follow Obama’s path on Iran or forge his own?
November 13, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
One of the top foreign-policy issues President-elect Joe Biden will be forced to address upon taking office in January will be the Iranian threat. Read more
Biden administration will likely seek to make its own stamp on Mideast, say experts
November 10, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s yet-to-be-confirmed victory over incumbent U.S. President Donald Trump has ushered in a flurry of questions in Israel over what a Biden-Harris administration would look like and how it would differ from the Obama administration specifically with regard to Israel. Read more
What the next US administration could mean for Israel and the Middle East
November 6, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
With razor-thin margins separating U.S. President Donald Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden, the contentious race for the White House has yet to produce a clear victor. Read more
Digital conference: Gulf Arabs emphasize rapprochement with Israel, disappointment with Palestinians
October 27, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Israelis are, of course, just getting used to the idea of having friendly relations with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain after signing normalization deals with each country in recent days. Read more
Could Lebanon’s first negotiations with Israel in decades lead to normalization?
October 18, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
For the first time in three decades, Israel and Lebanon held the first of what is expected to be a series of negotiations over the next few months regarding the two countries’ shared maritime border. Read more
What has (and has not) changed in the 20 years since the Second Intifada
October 7, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The jubilant crowd gathered around the el-Bireh police station in Ramallah on that fateful day of Oct. 12, 2000, cheered when a terrorist came to the window and held up his hands, bloodied from lynching to death two Israel Defence Forces’ reservists who had gotten lost and entered Ramallah by mistake. Read more
France looks to restore influence in Lebanon, but Iran isn’t budging
October 2, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The multiple explosions in Beirut on Aug. 4 ravaged more than just part of Lebanon’s capital city. Read more
Palestinians continue to incite terrorism and violence in school curriculum, says watchdog group
October 1, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
A Palestinian student in fourth grade opens his math book and is asked to count the number of martyrs in Palestinian uprisings based on an accompanying photograph of raised coffins at a mass funeral. Read more
Will Kosovo and Serbia establish embassies in Jerusalem? Not if the EU has its way
September 17, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
It’s easy to miss all of the announcements coming out right now by countries normalizing relations with Israel. Read more
As Arab states pivot towards Israel, will the Palestinians again miss an opportunity?
September 16, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The ink has dried on the official signing by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of the Abraham Accords in Washington, D.C.—a combination agreement that sees Israel normalizing relations with the United Arab Emirates and signing a similar deal with Bahrain, both opportunities organized by the United States. Read more
Turkey’s bid to return to Ottoman-era glory endangers Israel and the region
September 13, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has high ambitions. He wants to take his country back to what he perceives as the glory days of the Ottoman Empire, but the leader, who has been described as “pugnacious” and has been at the pinnacle of power since 2002, appears to be leading the country down the wrong path as he quashes secularism, supports radical Islamism, suppresses democratic reforms and adopts a forceful foreign-policy approach that aims to assert Turkish hegemony in the region. Read more
After Knesset fiasco, Twitter still refuses to remove Iran leader’s account
August 7, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Twitter is refusing to take down the account of Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei’s account on the social media platform, even though he posts tweets calling for the genocide of Israel and the Jewish people, and even after the company was called out for its double standard over how it decides who violates its guidelines. Read more
Is Hezbollah interested in a wide-scale conflict with Israel?
August 2, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
In light of threats from Hezbollah to retaliate over the death of one of its members in Syria last week, the Israel Defense Force has sent reinforcements to its northern border including advanced fire capabilities, intelligence collection systems and special operational units. Read more
Knesset makes effort to confront anti-Israel, anti-Jewish posts, hate speech online
August 1, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Once heralded for bringing people together as a new form of digital communication, social-media companies have come under greater scrutiny in recent years for the spread of disinformation and extremism on their platforms. Read more
What does Iran’s pivot to China mean for Israel?
July 25, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
China and Iran are said to be currently working on a 25-year, $400 billion “strategic partnership” that would see massive Chinese investment in Iranian infrastructure in return for below-market-priced oil and massive regional influence. Read more
Mideast experts, officials debate Israel’s sovereignty move and the need to ‘finally define borders’
July 12, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
As questions over Israel’s application of sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria linger, several leading Mideast experts and former senior officials debated the merits of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” plan, and whether or not it should be implemented at all. Read more
Former US Mideast negotiator: World mired in past on solving Israeli-Palestinian conflict
July 2, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Ahead of the planned move by Israeli to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, several leading Mideast experts and former senior officials debated the merits of U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Peace to Prosperity” vision and the imminent move by the Jewish state. Read more
New Irish government rejects effort to boycott Israeli products
June 26, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The anti-Israel movement in Ireland has suffered a major defeat. Earlier this month, the political parties working on forming the next government in Ireland eliminated a key bill that would have placed a boycott on products produced in Israeli settlements. Read more
Experts: Israeli sovereignty not expected to cause massive violence or backlash
June 16, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
As reports and discussions rev up concerning Israel’s plan to apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria, as well as the Jordan Valley, concern is being increasingly raised by detractors of the plan over fears concerning potential fallout, including frayed relations with international and regional allies, an end to prospects of a two-state solution, as well as the potential of Palestinian and even larger Arab violence. Read more
Israeli Supreme Court reverses land decision in midst of sovereignty debate
June 14, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Israel’s Supreme Court just reversed the 2017 Regulation Law, which gave Israel the authority to appropriate private Palestinian land in the disputed territories of Judea and Samaria with compensation to the owners. Read more
How worried should Israel be about the Arab response on extending sovereignty?
June 2, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The prospect of Israel extending its sovereignty to the Jordan Valley, and parts of Judea and Samaria, has raised questions over what the response by the Palestinian Authority and Jordan would be as both would be directly affected by such a move. Read more
Will Israel apply sovereignty to parts of Judea and Samaria?
May 21, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
Israel finally has a new government after three elections and more than a year of political stalemate. Read more
Israel loans millions to help Palestinians avert virus-related crisis; will they use it for terror?
May 14, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
In what can be considered an unusual turn of events for the Middle East, former Fatah terrorist Mohammad Aref Massad has asked Israel’s High Court to prevent the government from transferring tax-revenue funds to the Palestinian Authority. Read more
Legal experts argue impartiality, point to ICC bias in alleged Israeli ‘war crimes’ case
May 12, 2020 by Israel Kasnett - JNS.org
The Jewish state has long been no stranger to criticism and double standards in international bodies. For decades, the United Nations and its associated bodies have singled out Israel for criticism, while ignoring human-rights abuses elsewhere. Read more