In the shadow of the Coronavirus outbreak, Qatar is once again throwing a lifeline to the Gaza Strip and establishing itself as the Palestinians’ sole savior. Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad
Israel’s new foreign minister should lead a process of fixing Israel’s foreign policy. This paper presents recommendations for messages he can convey and actions he can take to improve Israel’s
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
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
A 2018 paper entitled “Israel and Morocco: Cooperation Rooted in Heritage”, written within the framework of the Mitvim Institute’s project on the unfulfilled potential of Israel’s relations with
The relations between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Israel are primarily characterized by mutual interest and cautious rapprochement steps. The rapprochement can be attributed to the
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
At the annual Munich Security Conference in mid-February, the most important event of its kind – to which Israel did not bother send a single senior representative this year, Saudi Arabian
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 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
“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,
Something good is happening in relations between Israel and the Arab world, as evidenced by more frequent visits of senior Israeli officials to Arab capitals and conciliatory remarks about Israel
The 26th of October marked the silver jubilee of the Israeli-Jordanian peace treaty. The media emphasized the fact that no formal celebrations were held on both sides of the Jordan River. Indeed,
Jordan will not celebrate this month’s 25th anniversary of the festive signing of the historic peace agreement with Israel in Wadi Araba. The winds of reconciliation that blew at the time, the
For the past two years, Mitvim Institute experts have been studying the changing relations between Israel and key Arab states – Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, the United Arab Emirates and
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
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
Prime Minister Netanyahu used foreign policy as major theme in the 2019 election campaign. Giant billboards depicted him standing alongside President Trump. His aides pointed to his diplomatic
During the Oslo years, Israel experienced a period of openness in its trade and diplomatic relations with many Arab states. These days, there are those who are quick to describe Israel’s secret
In the past few weeks it seems that Arab and Muslim countries have been competing with each other over Israel. Following news on back-channel intelligence ties with Saudi Arabia, Prime Minister
Israel’s Minister of National Infrastructures Energy and Water Resources Yuval Steinitz has announced that the governments of Israel, Greece, Cyprus, and Italy have reached an agreement to
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,
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
Einat Levi on +972 magazine
The participation of an Israeli delegation in the 2018 annual UNESCO International Conference held in Bahrain corresponds with the various headlines on Israeli-Bahraini relations during the past
This research examines the potential for cooperation between Israel and Iraq, the largest Arab country to Israel’s east. Iraq is changing and is undergoing reconstruction following a series of
On 17 May 2018 the Mitvim Institute held a workshop on Israel-Iraq relations, based on a research by Dr. Ronen Zeidel, which was conducted as part of Mitvim’s project of the unfulfilled potential
On 18 July 2018, the Mitvim Institute held a workshop on Israel-Morocco relations, based on research by Einat Levi, which was conducted as part of Mitvim’s project of the unfulfilled potential of
Slowly but surely, with the help of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, President Bashar Assad is regaining control over Syria. The process is still underway, but all the regional actors realize that
The graduation ceremony of the Department of Hebrew Language at Baghdad University is considered one of the best on campus. In 2010, at the height of the evening, a female graduate interpreted
The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammad bin Salman, is fed up with the Palestinian leadership. “Over the past 40 years, the Palestinian leadership has repeatedly missed opportunities and rejected
On 29 May 2018, the Mitvim Institute and the Leonard Davis Institute held a joint conference devoted to the unfulfilled potential of Israel’s relations with Arab countries. The conference took
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,
Of the many formidable foreign policy questions facing Israel as it celebrates its 70th anniversary, the most auspicious is how the Jewish State should adapt to a multipolar world. The urgency to
The history of Israel-Jordan relations displays long-term strategic cooperation. The formal peace agreement, signed in 1994, has become one of the pillars of the political-strategic stability of
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
Much of the discourse on the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the nuclear agreement between the P5+1 powers and Iran, has centered broadly on two issue sets. The first
Einat Levi in the Morocco World News
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
Israel and Jordan have recently reached understandings to overcome a bilateral crisis, triggered by the incident at the Israeli embassy in Amman on July 2017. These understandings enabled the
After a six-month diplomatic crisis between Israel and Jordan, a new Israeli ambassador – Amir Weissbrod – is expected to arrive in Amman soon to fully resume the embassy’s operations. This will
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 Israeli government and the Knesset are formulating approaches to address the rise of the far-right Austrian Freedom Party and the new Polish law regarding the Holocaust. In this effort, there
Following the infiltration of the Iranian drone into Israel’s air space and Israel’s retaliation, the public discourse in recent days focused mainly on the security aspect and the various ways to
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
Israel has come to see its geo-political location in a negative light, mostly as a result from the Arab-Israeli conflict and its subsequent regional isolation. As a consequence, it has developed
On July 20, 2016, the Knesset Lobby for Regional Cooperation held a conference at the Knesset, in cooperation with the Mitvim Institute, on the need for an Israeli regional initiative that can
Israelis see high importance in advancing cooperation with Egypt, while cooperation with the Palestinian Authority is of low priority. This is the main finding from a public opinion poll
A workshop entitled “Israel’s Arab citizens and foreign policy” was held at the Nazareth Academic Institute on January 28th, 2014. The workshop was a joint initiative of Mitvim – The
The majority of the Israeli public believes Israel’s foreign policy is more reactive than proactive and that it is not conducted according to clearly defined principles. A recent poll of Mitvim
Most Israelis do not really understand the Middle East. This is true for the general public as well as for decision makers. Israelis get their information about regional realities from certain
