Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel risks further escalation in the Middle East. European leaders should join the US in pressing Israel not to retaliate with strikes on Iran – or the region could end up embroiled in an all-consuming war
The UN agency dedicated to Palestinian refugees is on the brink of collapse, facing huge funding cuts and a dire situation amid the war in Gaza. But now more than ever, Europeans need to support its operations or risk an even more unstable situation
Europeans’ reputation as defenders of international law has cratered among their Arab partners. The first step is to recognise the problem
Recognising the state of Palestine is an important step towards Palestinian self-determination. But to be impactful, it needs to be accompanied by concrete measures to challenge negative dynamics on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides
To prevent further catastrophic suffering and regional instability, European governments should urgently resume funding UNRWA – the UN agency responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees
Despite their disagreements over the case, it is crucial that European countries support the implementation of the ICJ’s provisional measures
Europeans can act now to help prevent an escalatory cycle in the Middle East and protect key European interests
Iran may not be directly behind the 7 October attacks on Israel, but Tehran has long worked to strengthen groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The broader dynamics within the Middle East have, in turn, limited these groups’ choices, prompting them to turn towards Iran for support
Israel’s expanding ground-offensive threatens to push Palestinians out of Gaza and into neighbouring Egypt. This would worsen an already dire humanitarian situation and risks destabilising Egypt, an important European partner
After weeks of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the Iran-backed Houthi militia has now threatened to target all Israel-bound vessels in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza, threatening freedom of navigation and regional security
Europeans should leverage their relationships with the Palestinian Authority to revive Palestinian institutions and reverse the PA’s slide towards authoritarianism
The EU and the US have a decisive role to play in ensuring the electoral process succeeds. In doing so, they can support Palestinian political renewal and improve prospects for a sustainable peace agreement with Israel.
Instead of its rigid focus on the Oslo peace process, the EU should craft a new peacemaking paradigm based on equality and deoccupation
Introduction War threatens to engulf Gaza’s fragile calm. In each of the three recent conflicts that have shaken the Gaza Strip, fighting between Palestinian factions…
France sees the MENA region as a state for foreign policy and great power politics and an opportunity to shape global politics and punch above its weight
How should the EU respond to the reality of the one-state reality taking hold in Israel-Palestine?
The Oslo Accords have provided political cover for Israel’s creeping occupation and eroded the possibility of Palestinian self-determination
The EU should ensure that it is not recognising as lawful Israel’s unlawfully prolonged occupation
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution
The EU needs to act faster and further in ensuring that Israeli settlements in no way benefit from EU-Israel bilateral relations
Iran’s unprecedented direct attack on Israel risks further escalation in the Middle East. European leaders should join the US in pressing Israel not to retaliate with strikes on Iran – or the region could end up embroiled in an all-consuming war
The UN agency dedicated to Palestinian refugees is on the brink of collapse, facing huge funding cuts and a dire situation amid the war in Gaza. But now more than ever, Europeans need to support its operations or risk an even more unstable situation
Europeans’ reputation as defenders of international law has cratered among their Arab partners. The first step is to recognise the problem
Recognising the state of Palestine is an important step towards Palestinian self-determination. But to be impactful, it needs to be accompanied by concrete measures to challenge negative dynamics on both the Israeli and Palestinian sides
To prevent further catastrophic suffering and regional instability, European governments should urgently resume funding UNRWA – the UN agency responsible for supporting Palestinian refugees
Despite their disagreements over the case, it is crucial that European countries support the implementation of the ICJ’s provisional measures
Europeans can act now to help prevent an escalatory cycle in the Middle East and protect key European interests
Iran may not be directly behind the 7 October attacks on Israel, but Tehran has long worked to strengthen groups such as Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad. The broader dynamics within the Middle East have, in turn, limited these groups’ choices, prompting them to turn towards Iran for support
Israel’s expanding ground-offensive threatens to push Palestinians out of Gaza and into neighbouring Egypt. This would worsen an already dire humanitarian situation and risks destabilising Egypt, an important European partner
After weeks of attacks on ships in the Red Sea, the Iran-backed Houthi militia has now threatened to target all Israel-bound vessels in retaliation for Israel’s war in Gaza, threatening freedom of navigation and regional security
European states face accusations of neglecting the matter of human rights in their southern neighbourhood, and even of being complicit. Yet they are failing to maximise the influence they could bring to bear.
The eastern Mediterranean is becoming ever more perilous as geopolitical fault lines steadily enmesh the region. These rifts emerge from the Cyprus ‘frozen conflict’, competition for valuable gas fields, and the increasingly entangled wars in Libya and Syria.
ECFR’s Differentiation Tracker provides a snapshot of third state relations with Israel – and the extent to which these contain a clearly defined territorial definition that explicitly excludes Israeli settlements constructed on occupied territory in line with UNSCR 2334
An ECFR guide to the key disputes threatening to spark a wider Middle Eastern war
This interactive web project charts the constellation of political players as Palestinians approach a period of political change. Over 100 pen portraits reveal new insights into the personalities and power structures that will shape the future of Palestinian politics.
ECFR’s innovative project Two State Stress Test provides a health-check on whether developments across seven different areas are serving to strain or sustain a possible two-state outcome for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Cinzia Bianco speaks to Dania Thafer and Elham Fakhro about the regional reverberations of the war in Gaza, particularly from the perspective of key Arab Gulf monarchies such as Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates
Mark Leonard welcomes Eran Etzion, Julien Barnes-Dacey, and Hugh Lovatt to discuss Hamas’s offensive against Israel and its effects on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the wider Middle East
Mark Leonard welcomes Merav Michaeli to talk about Israel
Discussion about the political shifts from the March Israeli elections and dynamics surrounding the upcoming Palestinian elections
In this special ECFR discussion, MENA Policy Fellow Hugh Lovatt interviews Daniel Seidemann, the Founder of Terrestrial Jerusalem and an Israeli attorney that specialises in…
When US-President Donal Trump revealed his much-awaited plan for peace for Israel and Palestine it was set to solve one of the world's longest-running conflict
Is France alone in the desert? ECFR experts Julien Barnes-Dacey and Manuel Lafont Rapnouil discuss how France can lead Europe in the Middle East
Ruth Citrin speaks with Ellie Geranmayeh, Julien Barnes-Dacey and Hugh Lovatt, about the state of play in the MENA region and the considerations for Europeans…
Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR Policy Fellows Hugh Lovatt, Ellie Geranmayeh and Julien Barnes-Dacey about reactions to Trump’s recent recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital…
Nouveau podcast de notre série sur les présidentielles de 2017 ayant pour objectif de traiter les thèmes d'actualité et de contribuer au débat…
How can Europeans more effectively advance their human rights agenda as part of, and while maintaining, their broader relationships with regional states?
Proces oparty na porozumieniach z Oslo wyczerpał się, a szanse na realizację rozwiązania opartego na dwóch państwach są coraz mniejsze. Europie nie udaje się zmienić…
Hugh Lovatt will present the findings of ECFR’s new Differentiation Tracker which analyses over 260 bilateral agreements with Israel signed by the EU, the EU’s 28 member states, and Norway
A breakfast discussion on Israeli foreign policy under Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu
Diskussionsrunde in Kooperation mit der SWP zur Krise der UNRWA
A lunchtime discussion on the future of international funding for Israeli-Palestinian NGOs and the challenges it faces
Nous avons le plaisir de vous inviter à une discussion avec Yehuda Shaul et Hugh Lovatt sur le thème : « The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism? »
Discussion of the US 'peace' plan for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and EU's position and role in the peace process
To take stock of the recent escalation in Gaza and international stabilisation efforts
With Seth Anziska, University College London Moderated by Hugh Lovatt, ECFR Policy Fellow Thursday 11 October, 12.30-13.30 (registration from 12.15) ECFR, 4th floor, Tennyson House, 159-165 Great Portland St, London W1W 5PA
Angela Mehrer and Rafael Loss on the lessons Europe must learn from the Iranian attack on Israel
Direct Iranian attacks on Israel are an unprecedented step in a steadily deepening and ever more direct regional war
Julien Barnes-Dacey comments on the Iranian attack on Israel and its possible repercussions
The trajectory of the situation now depends on whether Israel feels the need to react, including through potential direct attacks on Iran
There are those in the war Cabinet now who will be pushing for a wider campaign in Lebanon against Hezbollah, against Iran itself to take advantage of this moment
Julien Barnes-Dacey on what Iran’s “unprecedented” attack on Israel means for escalation in the region, and how the West is assessing the situation