Seven takeaways from the Gaza ceasefire
Did Israel's “Operation Pillar of Defense” change the politics of the Middle East? Who are the winners and losers of the Gaza conflict – and what's next after the Israel-Hamas ceasefire?
Israel / Palestine
New world, same old Israel
Benjamin Netanyahu is trying to show that nothing in Israel's security situation has changed. But in the wake of the Arab Uprising the Middle East is a different place and Israel needs to reconsider its whole strategy.
Israel: Living by the sword
What was the assessment that prompted Israel's operation in Gaza and what might that tell us about its intended outcome and trajectory? Of course the timing can be explained with the approaching elections in Israel. But that is only part of the story.
Plenty of war clouds but no daylight in Governor Romney’s speech
Mitt Romney's foreign policy speech focused almost exclusively on the broader Middle East region. But what he really advanced was a policy of weaponised Keynesianism.
Europe’s role in the Arab Spring
The outcome of the uprisings in North Africa is still in the balance and although it will be mainly up to the North Africans themselves to decide their future, Europe has a key role to play on the side of reform – especially Paris, Rome and Madrid.
What Netanyahu learned from Shamir (and others didn’t)
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu eulogized the country's seventh prime minister, Yitzhak Shamir. At first glance the two strike very contrasting profiles yet in terms of ideology and policies, they are probably the two most kindred spirits to have held the office.
EU diplomacy on Israel/Palestine shifts up a gear
Europe would seem an unlikely place to look for fresh thinking regarding the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Yet that is precisely what just happened.
Netanyahu’s Big Fat Israeli Coalition
Israel’s largest opposition party has joined the Prime Minister’s coalition rather than go to elections. Most of this was about raw political calculations – but it also offered an insight into the thinking of Benjamin Netanyahu.