Policy Analysis

In this episode of the Middle East PolicyCast podcast, Grant Rumley & Neri Zilber share their assessments of the factors that sparked and escalated the May 2021 Gaza conflict and share advice for policymakers who seek to prevent the renewal of major violence between Hamas and Israel.

تهران بعد از ایفای نقشی کلیدی در توسعه نظامی حماس در طی سال‌ها و عبور از شکاف‌های عمیق ایدئولوژیک، حمایت وسیع خود از این سازمان را به شکلی احیا کرده که مستقیما در خونریزی اخیر در غزه نقش داشت.

For years, progressive education has been a cornerstone in the Autonomous Administration in Northeastern Syria. It is now one of several components hampering regional unity.

The militia leader has not hesitated to provide court-quality evidence that he and his movement Asaib Ahl al-Haq are actively involved in attacks on U.S. forces.

The unprecedented economic growth and personal popularity once enjoyed by the Turkish leader have given way to stagnation, a dwindling support base, and problems abroad.

From expelling UN officials to giving Jews unsolicited relocation advice, Hamas has once again shown its true colors, even as Israeli politicians prepare to form a new multiethnic coalition government.

تهران هنوز خروج کامل نیروهای آمریکایی از عراق را هدف نهایی خود می‌داند و نیروهای نیابتی‌اش در عراق با کمال میل حاضرند برای رسیدن به این هدف هر وقت بتوانند تنش‌ها را افزایش دهند.

While media responses to U.S. rapprochement with Egypt and Egypt's warming towards Hamas differ, it is clear that Sisi has used the Israel-Hamas ceasefire to his advantage.

Even if the consensus-based coalition is sworn in, the big question mark hanging over Bennett and Lapid is whether Palestinian developments or Netanyahu’s relentless opposition will produce irreconcilable internal differences.

Unregulated weapons, corruption, and mismanagement are pushing Iraq's political system towards potential collapse.

Protestors in Iraq are using the "Who Killed Me" hashtag to call out militia influence in the Iraqi government and demand greater protection for demonstrators.

In addition to undermining the Biden administration’s promised focus on human rights, allowing Assad to regain legitimacy abroad would constitute a strategic blunder that cannot be explained away.

Poverty, unemployment, and a lack of local industry continue to plague Iraq's economy, and the resulting public unrest could be dangerous.

Without radical reform, Iraq faces potential dissolution and geographic fragmentation in the case of an increasingly likely economic crisis.

The administration should take a three-track approach: provide a formula of reconstruction with no rearmament, bolster the PA through assistance conditioned on reform, and broker Arab outreach to open the horizon.

Kataib Hezbollah's television outlet is still airing false claims about the release of Qasim Muslih, as well as coup threats that draw comparisons to Yemen's Houthi takeover.

To meet future security challenges, the United States will need to reassess how it deters adversaries and conducts security force assistance in the region, while becoming more proficient in gray zone operations and information activities. Addressing cultural factors and trends such as climate change will require solutions outside the traditional national security toolkit.

The United States should address Iranian soft-power expansion in Gaza when approaching Israeli-Palestinian issues.

The ambitious plan would have seen Delta Crescent, a tiny Delaware company, try to bring peace and stability to the war-ravaged northeast, but local corruption, a lack of U.S. commitment, and other complications doomed the idea.

By failing to provide essential information on sourcing, the reporting environment, the victims’ proximity to legitimate military targets, their family connections with combatants, and other matters, the article presents a skewed, sensationalist image of the Gaza conflict.