Where We Are Headed with the Trump Peace Plan
It was a holiday like no other in recent memory. On the eve of Simhat Torah 2025, exactly two years on the Jewish calendar to the day of the Hamas attack in 2023, the 20 remaining live hostages were released to ambulances. Watching from a respectful distance, Israeli crowds on the Gaza border cheered. Later […]
Palestinian Sovereignty and International Law
In September 2025, France and Great Britain together with several other states recognized a State of Palestine, bringing the total number of UN members that recognize Palestine to 157. But these declarations of recognition do not confer legal sovereignty. Under the international Convention on the Rights and Duties of States (Montvideo Convention of 1933), statehood is […]
The Battle for Gaza City
Gaza City, one of the last two Hamas strongholds, is the target of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) in an ongoing operation. It is a large metropolitan area stretching from Shati, the historic refugee camp on the beach, through the wealthy neighborhood of Rimal, around to Zeitoun and the old quarter of historic Gaza. In […]
Postwar Gaza — What Will It Look Like?
Two years after October 7, 2023, governments are finally recognizing the need to adopt a plan for postwar Gaza, even while fighting is ongoing. On August 27, President Donald Trump asked Jared Kushner, an architect of the Abraham Accords, and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair to develop a serious plan. In parallel with this […]
Make Hamas Face a Choice
There are no easy answers to the question of what Israel should do in the Gaza Strip. Hamas is demanding a complete Israeli surrender in exchange for releasing the remaining hostages, whom it has bandied about in horrific videos. The only option is to cope intelligently and soberly with a situation that is borderline impossible. […]
Hamas at a Crossroads
Today’s Hamas is a very different organization from the one we knew from its formal establishment in December 1987 through its surprise attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Yet many politicians, members of the intelligence community and media commentators still insist on viewing the Palestinian “Islamic Resistance Movement” [the translation of the Arabic acronym […]
The IDF in Gaza: “Gideon’s Chariots” Making Slow Progress
The Israel Defense Forces have been on the offensive in Gaza since March 18. This offensive faces the same challenges the IDF encountered throughout 2024. Israeli commanders appear reticent to enter some key urban areas in Gaza, including the Central Camps area of Gaza. This may be due, inter alia, to concerns that hostages are […]
The Twilight of Palestinian “Armed Struggle”?
“Armed Struggle” was the main pillar, the tallest banner, the essence of the ethos of the Palestinian national movement since the last years of the 19th century. The conviction that the Zionist movement can be confronted only on the battlefield gave rise over the decades to many Palestinian military groupings. It became the ultimate narrative […]
Gideon’s Chariots - Israel’s Renewed Offensive in Gaza
On May 4, Israel’s security cabinet unanimously approved a comprehensive plan to dismantle Hamas’s remaining capabilities, both military and governmental, while offering Hamas a pause in exchange for a hostage release. The plan involves a large-scale call-up of reserves, a “clear and hold” strategy in parts of Gaza, and civilian evacuation as part of a […]
Deradicalization in the Middle East and Lessons for Gaza's Future
As Israel continues its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza, policymakers in Jerusalem often use the term “deradicalization” when discussing Gaza’s future, mentioning it as a condition for the end of hostilities and calm. Yet Israeli politicians have not proposed concrete plans for its implementation,though everyone agrees Hamas’s murderous ideology (and the organization itself) must […]
Israel’s New Chief of Staff Faces First Test
In the early hours of March 18, the Israel Defense Forces began a round of airstrikes in Gaza targeting Hamas, the largest since a ceasefire that began on January 19 and ended on March 1. The six-week ceasefire enabled the release of 33 Israeli hostages. Israel sought to extend it in exchange for the release […]
Trump’s Gaza Plan: Change of Narrative
Washington’s Middle East experts were gathered for dinner in the ballroom of the Ritz Carlton Georgetown, hosted by a prominent think tank. It was May 19, 2019, and they had come to hear Jared Kushner talk about the forthcoming Trump peace plan. Mr. Kushner described both an economic vision for the Middle East and a […]
