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Middle East Matters

Robert Danin analyzes critical developments and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

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U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wait for photographers to depart before beginning their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wait for photographers to depart before beginning their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters).
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Reading The Trump Administration in Ramallah

by Robert Danin August 6, 2018

Does the United States seek relations with Hamas in Gaza and to undermine the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership in the West Bank? Palestinians officials and insiders asked me this question repeatedly during a recent visit to Ramallah. At first, the question seems strange. How could well-informed insiders come to wonder if the United States prefers to deal with an Islamist terrorist organization to a leadership that avows non-violence and actively pursues security cooperation with Israel on a daily basis? Read More

United States
Diplomacy Disonnected from Real Israeli-Palestinian Developments
Foreign Ministers from over two dozen countries convened in Paris today to find a way to restart moribund Israeli and Palestinian negotiations. Nether Israeli nor Palestinian officials were present, …
Blog Post by Robert Danin June 3, 2016 Middle East Matters
Syria
The Middle East Is in for a Tumultuous 2016
This article was originally published here on Fortune.com on Wednesday, January 6, 2016.   Earlier this week, Saudi Arabia cut off diplomatic ties with Iran after authorities executed a popular…
Blog Post by Robert Danin January 6, 2016 Middle East Matters
Syria
Syria By the Numbers VIII
The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) recently announced that the death toll from Syria’s conflict now exceeds 230,000 people. In May 2014, SOHR had put the death toll at 160,000 people, ind…
Blog Post by Robert Danin June 11, 2015 Middle East Matters
  • United States
    Four Strategic Challenges for Israel’s Next Government
    Israel’s next government will assume the mantle of a strong and prosperous country. While facing a range of security challenges and tremendous regional turmoil, Israel today enjoys a preponderance of…
    Blog Post by Robert Danin March 13, 2015 Middle East Matters
  • United States
    Netanyahu hands bat to Obama critics
    This article was originally published here on CNN.com on Tuesday, March 3, 2015. Despite the hype, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu still managed to deliver a speech that was both magisteri…
    Blog Post by Robert Danin March 3, 2015 Middle East Matters