Over the Net

The eighth issue of Over the Net deals at length with the affair that has taken the Arab world and the international arena by storm since October 2018, the murder and disappearance of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. The man himself, the reasons behind his murder, and the details of the murder have combined to create a fascinating story that caused passionate discussions, first and foremost about Saudi Arabia and its (acting) leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, and also about Turkey, the United States, and freedom of the press...

The seventh issue of Over the Net looks at trends across the Arab world. The first part focuses on the discourse, albeit limited, about the three non-Arab countries in the Middle East: Israel, Iran, and Turkey. A thorough examination suggests that for various reasons, and possibly contrary to common assumptions, Arab citizens regard none of the three countries as an existential threat, in comparison with domestic problems or regional issues, such as the struggle against radical Sunni Islam and political Islam. The publication then...

The sixth issue of Over the Net reviews a number of trends that in recent months have been at the center of the discourse in the Arab world. It first addresses the “Marches of Return,” a series of events that took place adjacent to the border fence between the Gaza Strip and Israel over a period of approximately six weeks, between March 30 (Land Day) and May 15 (the Nakba). These events are examined here on three levels of the public discourse in Gaza: survival, ideology, and narrative. The second topic is the recent elections in...

The fifth issue of Over the Net focuses on three topics in three different arenas: Lebanon, Egypt, and the Gulf states. The first topic deals with the natural gas in the Mediterranean, specifically, the dispute between Lebanon and Israel on drilling in Block 9 in the context of complex Lebanese politics, and the Israeli-Egyptian gas agreement. The second topic highlights the efforts of Middle East actors to promote their agenda using new propaganda tools such as 3D video games and animation technologies. The third topic relates to...

The fourth issue of Over the Net focuses on trends in two different (though not unconnected) arenas that have been at the center of the debate in the Arab world the past few months. The first trend deals with the internal Palestinian reconciliation deal between Hamas and Fatah, signed in October 2017, after a careful, calculated process by the new Hamas leadership led by Yahya Sinwar. Few give this reconciliation any substantive chance of success, but meanwhile all parties gain from it – particularly Hamas. In this context, the...