A decade after its launch, Vision 2030 remains the defining framework for Saudi Arabia’s political and economic transformation under Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. While the initiative has delivered significant social change and political centralization, its economic achievements remain mixed, and the kingdom continues to rely heavily on oil revenues. The recent regional war with Iran further complicates the project, forcing Riyadh to divert resources toward security and risk management while undermining investor confidence. As a...
The war between the United States and Israel against Iran and its regional consequences have significantly shifted regional and international attention toward securing global energy sources and supply, curbing Iran, and shaping a new regional balance of power. This comes after many years in which resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was perceived as the key to ensuring regional stability. However, this shift does not necessarily indicate declining interest in the conflict itself, but rather a change in approach: the prolonged...
The question “When does anti-Zionism become antisemitism?” has become one of the most common ways of framing contemporary debates about Jews, Israel, and discrimination. Yet for policymakers, this may not be the most useful question. It assumes that the central task is to classify anti-Zionism as an idea before addressing its consequences. A more practical approach would ask how anti-Zionism operates in contemporary political life: whom it targets, what burdens it places on Jews and Israelis, and whether it denies Jews forms of...
Camera networks in Israel are vulnerable to infiltration attempts by hostile actors, including Iran. The head of the National Cyber Directorate noted that since the beginning of the war, Iran and Hezbollah have been working jointly to hack security cameras across Israel for intelligence-gathering purposes. The information is used, among other things, to pinpoint missile strikes and target specific individuals. This highlights the dual-use nature of advanced cameras, particularly Chinese cameras originally designed for civilian needs...
The visit of United States President Donald Trump to Beijing took place against the backdrop of intensifying great-power competition and the war in Iran. Trump sought to present concrete diplomatic and economic achievements and to demonstrate that the United States continues to manage its competition with China from a position of initiative. For its part, Beijing aimed to stabilize relations with Washington and shape a framework that would reflect recognition of its status as an equal great power, while setting clear boundaries...
On April 25, 2026, local elections were held across the Palestinian Authority territories—in the West Bank and in Deir al-Balah within the Gaza Strip. The elections took place across 403 cities and local municipalities, yielding a relatively low overall voter turnout of approximately 53%. Hamas boycotted the elections and did not officially participate, despite being the most popular political organization among the Palestinian public. An analysis of the elections reveals a complex picture of a society attempting to maintain a...
While Pakistan led mediation efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Egypt also played an active, albeit secondary, role in the process. Faced with concerns over the war’s negative impact on its economic stability and on the regional balance of power, Egypt participated in mediation efforts within a new quadrilateral coordination mechanism alongside Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey. Its aim was to consolidate this framework into an Arab-Islamic Quartet capable of leveraging the member states’...
With the start of the second Trump presidency, a prevailing assumption in Moscow was that, under the leadership of the new American administration, the United States would prioritize understandings and agreements over escalation. It was believed that Washington would avoid the use of military force that could draw it into prolonged, costly, and uncontrollable operations. This assumption shaped Russia’s risk assessment and its perception of Washington’s conduct. However, the campaigns against Iran in June 2025, and the one...
In April 2026, Cheng Li-wun, Chairwoman of the National People’s Party Kuomintang (KMT), and leader of Taiwan’s primary opposition, arrived in Shanghai. The pinnacle of the visit was a meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping—the first meeting in nearly a decade between the leadership of these two historic parties. Cheng described the visit as a “journey of peace” and an attempt to ease tensions with China, while her critics in the Taiwanese government viewed the move as problematic, labeling it a “shameful...
In recent years, a profound shift has occurred in China’s economic involvement in Israel, which, since 2020, has been reflected in a sharp and sustained decline in both the volume of investments and the number of transactions. Chinese investment hit its lowest point in 2023, totaling only 39 million NIS, about 0.12% of all foreign investment in Israel that year. This trend stems from several factors: intensifying great-power competition and US pressure to limit Chinese involvement in sensitive sectors; the establishment of Israel’s...
A significant part of Hezbollah’s resilience rests on a global money-transfer network embedded within the Lebanese diaspora and in informal remittance systems, as well as on a wide range of illicit revenue streams developed over decades. Therefore, military strikes alone—without an international financial strategy focused on the organization’s financial network—are unlikely to significantly undermine its long-term financing capabilities or its capacity for recovery derived from them. To impair Hezbollah’s financing system, a broader...
The Houthi threat has evolved into a multidimensional challenge with direct implications for Israel and growing relevance for Somaliland. While the Houthis lack the capacity to defeat Israel militarily, they have demonstrated an ability to expand the geographic scope of confrontation, disrupt critical maritime routes in the Red Sea, and serve as a key instrument of Iran’s regional strategy. At the same time, emerging dynamics suggest increasing strain on Iran’s proxy network, potentially rendering actors such as the Houthis more...
