Announcements about construction in Jewish settlements in the West Bank and housing units in the greater Jerusalem area before, during, or after meetings between Israeli prime ministers and US presidents have become a pattern in the bilateral relations. The most recent meeting between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and President Barack Obama on October 1, 2014 was no exception and only accelerated the erosion in the relations between the two countries. Presumably the Prime Minister did not go out of his way to provoke President...
In his address to the UN General Assembly on September 24, 2014, President Obama spoke about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, asserting that the status quo in the West Bank and Gaza Strip “is not sustainable.” An important and even dramatic change reflected in the President’s comments from past addresses was his disengagement from the concept that he and various administration officials had propounded since he entered the White House: that the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is the source of most, if not all, of US troubles...
President Obama’s September 10, 2014 address to the American nation presented the new US strategy against ISIS. Since being elected president, Obama has been criticized at home and by US allies in Europe and the Middle East for skirting responsibility in various regions of tension. The United States’ mobilization for the struggle against ISIS will thus improve its standing among the moderate pro-American countries of the Middle East, which were fear-stricken by what their leaders regarded as the American retreat and...
On September 5, 2014, a ceasefire agreement to end the fighting in Ukraine was signed in Minsk. Notwithstanding doubts from various directions, the arrangement went into effect, and thus far is holding. Yet what is emerging is that Russia’s achievement in promoting its essential interests in Ukraine’s eastern districts is nothing more than defeat in the war over Ukraine as a whole, which is looking westward – notwithstanding the loss of Crimea and the damage to its status in the separatist districts – and will remain outside the...
The third Gaza war in less than six years has added a new dimension of tension to US-Israel relations, and especially between the leaders. Yet despite the strident friction over the latest conflict in Gaza, Israel must prefer American leadership, even if it is tacit, in the political processes between Israel and the Palestinians. To this end, an Israeli-US summit involving the President and Prime Minister is in order, to address the most urgent regional and bilateral issues as well as possible solutions that meet the new reality in...
The interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program, secured in late November 2013 and implemented from January 20, 2014, was intended to create space for the tough negotiations over a comprehensive deal that would close the Iranian nuclear file. The essays compiled in this volume analyze some of the key issues that have emerged regarding efforts to carve out a “good” nuclear deal with Iran, and highlight additional perspectives that have not been at the heart of the debate. Discussed in this collection are general principles for negotiating...
The Interim Deal of November 2013 between the P5+1 and Iran, although only meant to stop the clock and provide time for the real negotiation on a comprehensive deal, is now hailed as a “landmark deal.” The P5+1 are no longer demanding that Iran back away from its military ambitions; they are not even pressing for the weaponization aspects to be confronted head-on and quickly. Rather, they are demonstrating a relatively lax attitude on that front, while quietly shifting the goal of the negotiation from an Iranian strategic U-turn in...
The indiscriminate rocket and missile fire at cities in Israel, the discovery of tunnels posing a grave threat to the Israeli communities near the Gaza Strip, the fact that the Israeli government showed restraint and repeated willingness to accept a ceasefire in the middle of the conflict, and the broad support for Israel in both the Congress and among US public opinion led the Obama administration to support steadfastly, continuously, and unequivocally Israel’s right to defend itself against Hamas. At the same time, the...
Despite the limited objectives the Israeli government presented at the outset of Operation Protective Edge, the conditions are ripe for shaping a new strategic reality in the Gaza Strip. To this end, the Israeli government must take the interests of the United States and Egypt into consideration and both commit itself and mobilize regional and international players in a US-led political initiative of “reconstruction for demilitarization.” The Israeli government must understand that the conditions have changed so that there is an...
Following the seizure of main Iraqi cities by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), there has been much discussion about possible US military intervention in Iraq. The official White House statement highlights the clear reluctance of the President to send the American troops to another round of fighting in the bloody Middle East. Nevertheless, the situation raises the question of US military preparedness for intervention of this kind if the administration decides in the future that the interests of the US or its allies warrant...
The success by ISIS in Iraq is a failure for Iran, which in recent years has become the most important and influential external actor in Iraq, particularly since the withdrawal of US forces in late 2011. Iran’s goal in Iraq was to build a weak and non-threatening but stable and unified country, dependent on Iran and led by a Shiite majority connected to Iran. To this end, Iran used its ties with many Shiite elements in Iraq, and nurtured these connections through military and financial aid. This influence had limits, but in all,...
