Israel’s special relationship with the US is a cornerstone in Israel’s foreign policy and national security. In recent years, alongside Prime Minister Netanyahu’s close bond with outgoing
The next time Israel and Hamas come to blows and need someone to hold them in check, the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov will no longer be there to help
The Trump administration is taking advantage of the transition period to advance several final policy moves pertaining to Israel. These include the visit by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to the
An article by Dr. Nimrod Goren for the Middle East Institute
Nadav Tamir on Jpost
The Mitvim Institute presented its annual assessment of Israel’s regional foreign policies at its fourth annual conference on October 28, 2020. The conference was held in cooperation with the
Prof. Elie Podeh on Jpost
Dr. Ido Zelkovitz on Jpost
Nadav Tamir on The Jerusalem Post
Op-ed, Prof, Elie Podeh, September 2020
Op-ed by Dr. Lior Lehrs
July 2020
July 2020
July 2020
US President Donald Trump’s plan for resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, presented in January 2020, was perceived in Jerusalem as a green light to annexation of some 30 percent
Israel’s mythic foreign minister, Abba Eban, once quipped that “history teaches us that men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other alternatives.” His insight presumed that
Israel has always had trouble effectively formulating a diplomatic initiative that balances its given (and favorable) strategic-diplomatic circumstances with its long-term national interests. Now
In March 2020, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres issued an appeal for a global ceasefire. “There should be one fight in our world today, our shared battle against COVID-19,” he said. In the
A new Israeli government led by Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to take office on 17 May 2020 following the March elections, the third vote in eleven months. Initially, it seemed these had ended
The Gaza Strip constitutes a unique point of convergence of regional politics, a military and political conflict, a humanitarian crisis, international legal issues, environmental and energy
Trump’s vision for Israeli-Palestinian peace was supposed to be the ultimate gift to Binyamin Netanyahu’s electoral campaign rather than the ultimate deal for Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Trump Peace Plan follows a familiar American pattern of using economic tools to promote regional peace in the Middle East. This paper puts the recent plan in its appropriate context. More
Israel, Hamas and Egypt have long been debating whether to move ahead with an arrangement on Gaza and how to do so. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has to a large extent been excluded from this
Israel has been increasingly critical of the EU in recent days, as multiple European leaders are voicing their opposition to a possible Israeli annexation in the West Bank. The Israeli response
In its coalition agreement with the Likud, the Blue and White Party under the leadership of Benny Gantz has given a seal of approval to annexing parts of Judea and Samaria. According to the
It happened at last. Germany finally announced on Thursday it has designated Lebanese Hezbollah a terror organization, banning all of its activities in the nation. Germany – and other European
Like everywhere in the world the coronavirus pandemic caught us by surprise. During the last week of February we all heard about it but the Government did not take it seriously. It took another
The corona crisis is sidelining the true threat to the Zionist vision of a democratic homeland to the Jewish People. The threat is the legitimization of annexation which is included in the
The issue of possible Israeli land annexation in the West Bank has become an endless source of spin for Israeli politicians. The hard-line right-wing Yamina party is accusing the right-wing Likud
Israel, Hamas and Egypt have long been debating whether to move ahead with an arrangement on Gaza and how to do so. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has to a large extent been excluded from this
The results of the Israeli election did not give a clear majority to any of the sides, but they still yielded a dramatic result. For the first time, a majority in the Knesset – from Lieberman’s
No one in Israel was particularly surprised when the EU’s new foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned that Israeli annexation of territories would not go “unchallenged”. Foreign Minister Israel
So, what do we do about Gaza? Every new round of violence generates a marathon of media interviews with the usual suspects mouthing the usual platitudes – Israel must rehabilitate its deterrence,
With Washington trying once again to randomly sketch new Middle East maps, intellectuals, politicians and Arab journalists are dreaming of a fundamental change in attitudes and true normalization
Trump’s vision for Israeli-Palestinian peace was supposed to be the ultimate gift for Netanyahu’s electoral campaign, rather than the ultimate deal for Israeli-Palestinian conflict resolution.
The “deal of the century” is here, and so is the simmering, century-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Although the publication of the details of President Trump’s peace initiative has not so far
How should Israel relate to Hamas? How directly should it engage with an organization whose rule over Gaza makes it a key player in any negotiations towards an end to the Palestinian-Israel
Dr Muhammad al-Issa’s unprecedented visit to the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp on 23 January 2020, the 75th anniversary of its liberation, marked a peak in a process of interfaith momentum that
As someone who has dealt with Israel-US relations for almost his entire career, it is clear to me how important American leadership is for us to reach an agreement with the Palestinians. The US
Following the publication of the Trump plan, Mitvim Institute experts argue that this is not the way to advance Israeli-Palestinian peace. This document includes initial commentaries by Nadav
It is a special event when a peace plan for the resolution of the Israeli-Arab conflict commissioned by an American president is launched. But true to President Donald Trump’s record, his peace
Prof. Elie Podeh, January 2020
Some 25 years after the historic peace agreement between Israel and Jordan was signed the time has come to restart the strategic relationship between the states and fuse the written words with
Every six months, the Mitvim Institute maps key trends in Israel’s regional foreign policies, based on the institute’s monthly reports that monitor ongoing developments. From July through
Tel Aviv University has decided to close its Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research. Two reasons led to the closure, according to the university and the donor family: the fact that the subject
Less than a month before Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to Brussels, we – a group of young Israelis and Palestinians – arrived at the European Parliament for a second meeting of the
Over the last decade, Israel has accelerated a long-term process of annexation in the West Bank through legal, political, physical and rhetorical steps that are both explicit, and increasingly
Israel has been conducting itself like a state struggling for survival ever since its establishment, and even more so in recent years, despite its indisputable standing as a regional power. While
The annual commemoration of the UN’s vote on 29 November 1947 for the partition plan provides an opportunity for the Palestinian Foreign Service and the Palestinian President to shine a global
The question of the affinity between the Israeli-Palestinian track and the Israeli-Arab track is a contentious issue in Israeli public discourse. Prime Minister Netanyahu repeatedly claims that
“In the last decade of the twentieth century, atlases, history and geography books no longer present an up-to-date picture of the world. Walls of enmity have fallen, borders have disappeared,
Palestinian Arab citizens of Israel, who feel their political representatives cannot achieve significant change for them on domestic issues, find it hard to believe that their voice could be
While the Israeli elections results do not yet provide clarity regarding the identity of the next prime minister or the composition of the next government, they do indicate that Netanyahu’s
President Trump’s Middle East envoy Greenblatt was very different from his predecessors. While leading US mediators and envoys were generally experienced in diplomacy and foreign policy, as well
The giant posters adorning the Likud party’s headquarters in Tel Aviv, showing party leader and prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu shaking hands with Donald Trump, Vladimir Putin and
The route of the Separation Fence/Wall/Barrier in the area of Jerusalem generally follows the city’s municipal boundaries, separating East Jerusalem’s Palestinian neighborhoods from the West
Jason Greenblatt, US special envoy, said in a recent interview, “There has never been an honest mediator for this conflict. The mindset of a so-called honest mediator never existed and will never
For those interested in promoting peace between Israel and the Palestinians, the current situation may be discouraging. Indeed, the misconception that there is “no solution” is
The economic workshop in Bahrain in late June produced some noteworthy moments that reflected recent changes in Israeli-Gulf relations: An interview of the Bahraini foreign minister by Israeli
The White House announcement that it was convening an economic workshop in Bahrain appeared to mark the launch of a significant US move unveiling the Trump plan we have been hearing about – under
The June 25-26 economic workshop planned by the Trump administration in Bahrain is an attempt to put the economic carriage before the diplomatic horse. History shows that most international
In September 1978, during the Camp David peace summit, U.S. President Jimmy Carter presented Israeli and Egyptian negotiators with a draft peace agreement that served as the basis for discussions
Over the last 40 years, since the 1979 Israel-Egypt peace treaty (that alluded to but did not solve the Palestinian question) and the European Community’s 1980 Venice Declaration, Europe has been
The political, security, humanitarian and economic crisis in the Gaza Strip has been on the Israeli, regional and international agenda for many years now. However, the disengagement from the Gaza
Netanyahu’s new government will likely continue the path of Israel’s current foreign policy. In 2009 he paid lip-service to a two-state solution but now speaks openly about annexing settlements.
On March 26, 1979, Israel and Egypt signed a peace treaty – the first between Israel and an Arab state. Many Israelis were disenchanted when the treaty did not result in normalized bilateral
Public attention in the upcoming Israeli elections is focusing on domestic political and economic issues, such as Netanyahu’s legal situation and the cost of living – and on security-related
On Janury 28, 2019, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced he was terminating the mandate of the Temporary International Presence in Hebron (TIPH), an observer force established in
The resignation of Palestinian Authority (PA) Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah, who headed the PA government for two terms as President Mahmoud Abbas’ right-hand man, took place at a watershed
The situation in Gaza is horrific. Actually, worse than that. Gazans have been deprived of electricity, water, jobs and salaries; they were stripped off their self-respect and parental authority,
Israeli and Palestinian experts and activists – together with international diplomats – gathered on 31 October 2018 at the UN Headquarters in Jerusalem for a civil society roundtable discussion
It is impossible to isolate the recent escalation of tension between Israel and the Gaza Strip from the stalemate in the internal Palestinian reconciliation process. From the current perspective,
The attempts by officials in the Middle East and beyond to find the formula for a long-term ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, attest to the complexity of the problem that emerged over a decade ago,
Surprisingly for what is considered a failed peace treaty, the 25th anniversary of the Oslo Agreement received significant media coverage. Most of it, as can be expected, was onesided,
The Middle East is a confusing area. On the one hand, it is highly volatile, with frequent changes throughout the region and in the domestic affairs of its countries. On the other hand, many
The Gaza Strip poses a great challenge to Israel – in particular its fragile humanitarian situation, which has been an item on the Israeli decision-making table for a long time, especially since
Much has been said and written on President Donald Trump’s controversial statement on Jerusalem on December 6, 2017. But there was one sentence in the speech that everyone – the conflicting
On 27 April 2018, the North Korean leader Kim Jong-un met with South Korean President Moon Jae-in. It was the first time that a North Korean leader had crossed the border to the south since the
In 2015, Benjamin Netanyahu was elected to a fourth term as prime minister of Israel. Within months, pundits began speculating when his government would fall. So far, the answer has been never.
In recent weeks, Saudi officials made statements that were interpreted in Israel as a change of attitude in Saudi Arabia towards the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. According to Israeli Channel 10,
From the 1950s onwards, Israel invested much effort in convincing states to open embassies in Jerusalem. Until 1962, the U.S. actively opposed this Israeli policy, advising countries to refrain
On May 7th 2018, the Mitvim Institute and the Program for Middle East Studies at the Yezreel Valley Academic College held a conference that focused on the changes in the Palestinian domestic
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian Authority’s chairman, appeared on February 20th before the Security Council and presented a new Palestinian peace plan, with a number of points: first, a request
The claim that emerged in 2000 that Israel has “no Palestinian partner” to negotiate with on the final status agreement has become a fixture in the Israeli public discourse ever since.
The Israeli peace camp includes thousands of people and hundreds of groups, movements and organizations working to help resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and bring peace and reconciliation
The Palestinian citizens of Israel have the potential to influence and shape Israel’s foreign affairs, especially in regards to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and to Israel’s ties with
The Israel-Palestinian conflict resolution process is paralyzed. It is costing lives and generates violence on a daily basis. Yet many policy makers, pundits and citizens in Israel believe it no
In December 2017, while the UN General Assembly voted against the American decision to recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, and while Palestinian leaders were seeking an alternative mediator
On 6 December 2017, US President Donald Trump delivered a statement in which he recognized Jerusalem as Israel’s capital. His statement was warmly received in Israel, but was heavily criticized
The agreement signed between Fatah and Hamas on 12 October 2017, under the auspices of Egyptian intelligence, is in fact a memorandum of understanding that signals the beginning of a process of
“This is the time to say thank you for the decision that has lifted every heart in Israel, and every heart in the Jewish world”. This statement was not issued after Trump’s decision to recognize
US President Donald Trump’s decision to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel confirms Abba Eban’s aphorism that “men and nations behave wisely once they have exhausted all other
The United Nations Partition Plan, which marked its 70th anniversary on Wednesday, was rejected by the Arabs and the Palestinians. Everyone knows that. What is less well known is that not all the
On the eve of Kurdistan’s referendum, the international community is rife with speculation about what the vote will mean for the future of Iraq, the fight against ISIS, regional dynamics with
On June 13th 2017, the Mitvim Institute and the Leonard Davis Institute held a joint policy workshop at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem that examined the effects of the Israeli-Palestinian
With the possibility that four-term Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu could one day fall due to corruption investigations, and succession speculation around aging Palestinian leader Mahmoud
On July 2, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas delivered a speech at the African Union Heads of State Summit in Addis Ababa. The speech attracted little attention from Israeli or global media,
The Arab Peace Initiative (API) offers Israel normalized relations with the Arab world in exchange for reaching a peace agreement. It was first presented to Israel by the Arab League in 2002 and
In 2016, the Mitvim Institute embarked on a process of comparing the Israeli- Palestinian conflict to other protracted ethno-nationalist or religious territorial conflicts. The project was
Over the past year we have witnessed the molding of a new Middle East, in which Israel plays a significant role. The term “New Middle East” was coined by Shimon Peres who, after the Oslo Accords
