In December 2025, Hamas published a document summarizing the war in the Gaza Strip nearly two years after its outbreak. The document, titled “Our Narrative: Al-Aqsa Flood—Two Years of Steadfastness and Aspiration for Liberation,” resembles the format of a document issued by the organization in January 2024 but differs in content. The earlier document, which functioned as a kind of defense brief in response to criticism leveled at Hamas and its concerns about the continuation of the war, sought to explain why it had declared war on...
Many regard 2027 as the year in which the Chinese military could attack Taiwan—especially after former CIA Director William Burns said in 2023 that “as a matter of intelligence, we know that he [Xi Jinping] has instructed the People’s Liberation Army to be ready by 2027 to conduct a successful invasion of Taiwan.” Western research institutes, including Brookings, have used 2027 as a reference point in their analyses. Likewise, in regional assessments by countries close to China and Taiwan—such as Japan and India—2027 repeatedly...
Summary of the Results
A clear majority of the public (80.5%) believes that there is politicization within the IDF to some extent; more than half of the public (57%) prefers the establishment of a state commission of inquiry over a committee appointed by members of the Knesset; about two-thirds of the public (64%) assess that legislation exempting most of the ultra-Orthodox public from IDF service would harm motivation for combat service; half of the public believes that approval of a bill mandating the death penalty for terrorists...
International experience shows that deploying a stabilizing force as proposed in President Trump’s 20-point plan for the Gaza Strip requires a clear mandate, dedicated training, and close coordination among all the actors involved, while contending with complex cultural and operational challenges—especially in a densely populated, hostile, and violent civilian environment. Mission success depends on a strong mandate under Chapter VII of the UN Charter or similar to, comprehensive force training, and limiting the number of...
The liberal world order faces a dual challenge: The risk of high-intensity interstate war has increased, while the US security umbrella over its allies has been undermined. For Israel, the implications of these changes are particularly evident, as they intensify the threats facing it. At the same time, they could also potentially reduce these threats. The same logic applies to capabilities: Transformations in the world order challenge Israel’s capabilities, but some could also strengthen them. Increased threats are reflected in the...
Over the past decade, the amount of natural gas in electricity generation in Israel increased significantly, while the use of coal and diesel declined. Alongside the economic and environmental advantages, the use of natural gas raises new issues of electricity security and systemic robustness, because it is supplied through only two pipelines from the offshore reservoirs to the coast, without any storage capacity within Israel. Moreover, gas-based production is concentrated at a small number of production sites, and the transmission...
The withdrawal of climate science funding by the American government leaves a serious data gap that must be filled quickly. China is the country that, despite lacking territorial presence in the Arctic, is most able to fill this gap in Arctic research, particularly with regard to the region’s accelerated warming. This ability is not because China is the next most capable country, but rather because it is the only nation with the sheer resources to replace the American commitment.
The events of October 7, 2023, not only shook Israel’s national security but also undermined public trust in state institutions, especially the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), to an unprecedented degree. It was in this context that the northern campaign developed—initially secondary in the strategic agenda but gradually taking a central place in public consciousness. For many, the approach toward fighting Hezbollah—ranging from containment and restraint to significant escalation—was seen as an ongoing test of the system’s ability to...
This article sets out an integrated “roadmap”—security, governance, economic, and social—for reshaping the reality in the Gaza Strip specifically and the Palestinian arena in general. A return to the situation that prevailed before October 2023 is impossible; there is a need to accelerate the positive momentum to avoid stalling the process and to prevent Hamas from reestablishing itself in the Gaza Strip. Therefore, a new organizing concept is required. The proposed concept combines: (1) responses to Israel’s essential security...
The 12-day war between Iran and Israel in June 2025 marked the sharpest escalation to date in the ongoing confrontation between the two states. Despite its relatively short duration, the war had a destabilizing effect on the Islamic Republic due to the success of Israel’s opening strike, the decision of the United States to join the campaign, and the damage sustained by Iran’s critical strategic systems—notably its nuclear program and long-range missile arsenal. Since the end of the war, Iran has engaged in an ongoing process of...
The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy (NSS), released on December 4, 2025, reshapes the “America First” doctrine in ways that undermine the traditional conception of US hegemony. Rather than value-based leadership of the democratic-liberal camp, it emphasizes recognition of states’ nationalism and non-interference in their internal affairs.
Israel has recently emerged as a major flash point within the Republican coalition, which has otherwise been relatively unified behind President Trump. Increasingly, voices within the party are questioning whether continued support for Israel is compatible with an “America First” foreign policy. In some prominent cases, the argument over United States policy toward Israel has intersected with old-school antisemitic tropes and religious trends in the Christian right, increasing concerns among American Jews. President Trump’s dominance...
