Engage and persuade: How the E3 should deal with Israel on Iran
In the coming weeks, the US and the E3 should make clear to Israel that reviving the original Iran nuclear deal is still the best means of addressing its immediate security concerns
Experts & Staff
Hugh Lovatt
Senior Policy Fellow
Areas of expertise
Middle East; Israel/Palestine; Western Sahara; conflict resolution; international law and armed conflict
Languages
English, Arabic, French
Biography
Hugh Lovatt is a senior policy fellow with the Middle East and North Africa Programme at the European Council on Foreign Relations. Lovatt has focussed extensively on regional geopolitics and advised European policymakers on the conflicts in Israel-Palestine and Western Sahara. He is regularly interviewed and quoted in international media, including by the New York Times, BBC, Christian Science Monitor, Financial Times, AFP, Le Monde, France24, and Al Jazeera.
Lovatt co-led a 2016 track-II initiative to draft an updated set of final status parameters to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and has worked to advance the concept of EU Differentiation, which was enshrined in UN Security Council Resolution 2334. Lovatt also co-developed an innovative online project mapping Palestinian politics. His publications include Rethinking Oslo: How Europe can promote peace in Israel-Palestine (July 2017), Free to choose: A new plan for peace in Western Sahara (May 2021), and Principled pragmatism: Europe’s place in a multipolar Middle East (April 2022).
Lovatt previously worked as a researcher for International Crisis Group and as a Schuman Fellow in the European Parliament focusing on Middle-East policy. He also worked for Aga Khan University’s Institute for the Study of Muslim Civilisations as an Arabic translator.
Lovatt studied Arabic at the Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies at Exeter University as well as at the Institut Français du Proche-Orient (IFPO) in Damascus. He then went on to earn an MA in Near and Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), where he majored in Anthropology. Lovatt is Chairman of the Brussels-based European Middle East Project (EuMEP).
The Palestinian elections: A second chance for the EU
The EU should commit to respecting the results of free and fair elections in Palestine, and to engaging with any government that emerges from them
From trade to international law: Why the EU should untangle its relationships with Morocco and Western Sahara
Europe has a legitimate interest in maintaining close relations with Morocco. But this should not come at the expense of its commitment to international law and Sahrawi rights
The end of Oslo: A new European strategy on Israel-Palestine
Instead of its rigid focus on the Oslo peace process, the EU should craft a new peacemaking paradigm based on equality and deoccupation
Guns and governance: How Europe should talk with non-state armed groups in the Middle East
European governments need a deeper engagement strategy to draw these powerful actors into inclusive political processes and power-sharing structures that can help stabilise the region
How a Biden win could transform US policy in the Middle East and North Africa
Victory for Joe Biden is likely to bring three big policy shifts in the region, opening new possibilities and challenges for Europeans
Interview with Daniel Seidemann
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…
Israel-UAE peace deal: Flipping the regional order of the Middle East
The Israel-UAE peace deal provides multiple wins for both countries, and for the US. But it could yet deepen the region’s political fault lines.
Deep sea rivals: Europe, Turkey, and new eastern Mediterranean conflict lines
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.
Israel’s West Bank annexation: Preparing EU policy for the day after
West Bank annexation will bring an end to the EU’s cherished two-state solution. International norms and the EU’s own laws will now need to underpin post-annexation relations with Israel.
Publications
House in disorder: How Europeans can help Palestinians fix their political system
Europeans should leverage their relationships with the Palestinian Authority to revive Palestinian institutions and reverse the PA’s slide towards authoritarianism
Principled pragmatism: Europe’s place in a multipolar Middle East
Europeans need to deal with the Middle East as it is rather than as they want it to be, while staying focused on the principles needed to secure longer-term stability
Free to choose: A new plan for peace in Western Sahara
The UN should pursue a “free association” option for Western Sahara – a third way that offers a realistic means of fulfilling Sahrawi self-determination
Back to democracy: Europe, Hamas, and the Palestinian elections
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.
The end of Oslo: A new European strategy on Israel-Palestine
Instead of its rigid focus on the Oslo peace process, the EU should craft a new peacemaking paradigm based on equality and deoccupation
Gaza’s fragile calm: The search for lasting stability
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…
Occupation and Sovereignty: Renewing EU Policy in Israel- Palestine
How should the EU respond to the reality of the one-state reality taking hold in Israel-Palestine?
Rethinking Oslo: How Europe can promote peace in Israel-Palestine
The Oslo Accords have provided political cover for Israel’s creeping occupation and eroded the possibility of Palestinian self-determination
EU differentiation and the push for peace in Israel-Palestine
Renewed focus on differentiation one of few hopes for saving the two state solution
European Foreign Policy Scorecard 2016
The sixth ECFR Foreign Policy Scorecard highlights the EU’s diminishing ability to influence its neighbours, and the neighbourhood’s growing impact on the EU
Articles
Ceasefire and beyond: Advancing a post-conflict plan for Gaza
As the devastation mounts in Gaza, European leaders need to call for a ceasefire and a broader diplomatic track to secure urgent humanitarian objectives, before turning to a realistic post-conflict plan that can address security needs for Israelis and Palestinians
Bracing for a broader conflict: How the Israel-Hamas war could escalate
The unfolding war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas is at the precipice of a broader regional conflict. Europeans must urgently join regional efforts to support preventive diplomacy and avoid escalation
How Europeans should respond to the Hamas offensive against Israel
In the aftermath of the brutal assault by Hamas, Europeans need to focus on ensuring the war does not spiral out of control
After Jenin: A European response to West Bank escalation
Israel’s operations on the West Bank are a counterproductive way to deal with armed groups. European action should focus on helping to address the drivers of the recent surge of violence.
Regional ripple effect: How escalating Israeli-Palestinian violence risks a new Arab-Israeli conflict
Recent fighting on Israel’s borders with Lebanon and Syria shows how spiralling Israeli-Palestinian violence could drag the region into a renewed war
Tipping point: What Israel’s illiberal turn means for Palestinians
Israel’s growing illiberalism cannot be separated from its decades-long subjugation of Palestinians
Bide and seek: The dangers of US support for a Gulf-Israeli defence pact
Military alignment between Israel and Gulf Arab states risks heightened conflict in the Middle East – without weakening Iran’s geopolitical position or nuclear programme
Endless concessions: Spain’s tilt to Morocco
Spain’s recent move has little to do with peace in Western Sahara and everything to do with its desire to mend ties with Morocco. But, ultimately, Spain has only made itself more vulnerable to Moroccan pressure.
Unsettled: The impact of the Russia-Ukraine crisis on the Middle East and North Africa
Heightened conflict in Ukraine could have serious consequences for European interests in the Middle East and North Africa. It could further disrupt energy supplies, exacerbate food insecurity, and help states in the region gain leverage over the US and Europe.
Why the UK’s blacklisting of Hamas hurts its own peace policy
A motion to label the entire Hamas movement as “terrorists” is an attempt to score political points at the cost of a peacemaking strategy for Israel-Palestine.
Specials
Guns and governance: How Europe should talk with non-state armed groups in the Middle East
European governments need a deeper engagement strategy to draw these powerful actors into inclusive political processes and power-sharing structures that can help stabilise the region
Deep sea rivals: Europe, Turkey, and new eastern Mediterranean conflict lines
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.
Mapping European leverage in the MENA region
Turmoil in the Middle East and north Africa directly affects Europeans. Yet their influence in the region has never been weaker. This project maps Europe’s role across the Middle East and north Africa, making the case that Europeans can do more to leverage their influence in pursuit of core interests
Differentiation Tracker
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
The Middle East’s new battle lines
An ECFR guide to the key disputes threatening to spark a wider Middle Eastern war
Mapping Palestinian Politics
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.
Israel-Palestine Two State Stress Test
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
Podcasts
Podcast special: Hamas’s surprise attack on Israel
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
Special ECFR discussion on Palestinian politics
Discussion about the political shifts from the March Israeli elections and dynamics surrounding the upcoming Palestinian elections
Interview with Daniel Seidemann
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…
Trump’s “Deal of the Century” debunked: is there something in it for Palestine at all?
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
The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism?
Podcast de notre discussion du 19 juin « The future of Israeli-Palestinian conflict: towards annexation and illiberalism? » en présence de Yehuda Shaul,…
ECFR Clips: Trump’s impact on 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…
US and Europe clash in the Middle East
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…
Israël-Palestine : “le manque de volonté politique menace la solution à deux Etats”
Nouveau podcast de notre série sur les présidentielles de 2017 ayant pour objectif de traiter les thèmes d'actualité et de contribuer au débat…
Mark Leonard’s World in 30 Minutes: Trump’s US: Out of the Middle East business?
ECFR’s director Mark Leonard speaks with ECFR's Middle East and North Africa Progamme Director, Ruth Citrin, and ECFR Policy Fellows, Ellie Geranmayeh and Hugh Lovatt,…
Violence and revolt in Israel/Palestine – the Palestinian perspective
Hugh Lovatt speaks to Fadi Quran, activist, senior campaigner for Avaaz, and according to the Time magazine “the new face of the Middle East”
Events
23 Mar
The role of outside powers in Ukraine
Do any outside powers have any chance of bringing Russia and Ukraine closer to peace?
In the media
In my view, these perceptions are largely substantiated, and are amplified by comparison with Europe’s response to the Russian war in Ukraine,
Hugh Lovatt on the West’s perceived double standards in Gaza
The al-Qassam brigade physically holds hostages so they are the ultimate power brokers, but not the only ones
Hugh Lovatt explains why Hamas’s political leaders aren’t in charge
Hugh Lovatt comments on how Hamas built a force to attack Israel
Europeans must oppose the expansion of Israel’s land offensive into densely populated southern Gaza, currently home to hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons
Hugh Lovatt on the role the EU should play in Gaza during the temporary ceasefire
The Qatari-negotiated deal between Israel and Hamas marks the first important diplomatic gain since the start of the war
Hugh Lovatt comments on the Qatari-negotiated deal between Israel and Hamas