Ilan Zalayat

How does the Saudi street see the possibility of normalizing relations with Israel in the shadow of the war in Gaza?

The Qatari trap: How should Israel relate to Qatar in the course of the war, and on the day after?

The Gulf states: Between the expected benefit of striking Hamas and the danger of a regional war

The relations between Bahrain and Israel seem to have stagnated, in part due to pressure from the vocal opposition in Bahrain, and in part due to Israel’s policy toward the Palestinians. Why is it important to listen to the voices coming from this small Gulf island?

The regional normalization process is not detached from the Palestinian issue, which has returned to center stage and challenges both existing and potential agreements. The Israeli government must pay attention to this dynamic

For Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Qatar, the dominant and richest among the Arab Gulf monarchies, the accumulation of soft power is central to their preparation for the expected decline in global dependence on their energy exports. While each state has its own emphases, this paper identifies the pursuit of soft power by all of them as attempts to safeguard their global importance and, thus, their national security. It offers an original and holistic examination of the soft power strategies of the three states across the media, academia, sport, culture, tourism, religious tolerance, and diplomacy. The analysis outlines how those strategies are designed to reshape the states’ negative image and legitimize their values internationally, particularly within the West, thereby sidestepping external demands for changes in their internal conduct. By these means, they continually challenge Western moral superiority, which, at least in the case of Qatar, harms material Israeli interests.