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Middle East Matters

Robert Danin analyzes critical developments and U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

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U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wait for photographers to depart before beginning their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem
U.S. President Donald Trump (L) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas wait for photographers to depart before beginning their meeting at the Presidential Palace in the West Bank city of Bethlehem (Jonathan Ernst/Reuters).
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Reading The Trump Administration in Ramallah

by Robert Danin August 6, 2018

Does the United States seek relations with Hamas in Gaza and to undermine the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) leadership in the West Bank? Palestinians officials and insiders asked me this question repeatedly during a recent visit to Ramallah. At first, the question seems strange. How could well-informed insiders come to wonder if the United States prefers to deal with an Islamist terrorist organization to a leadership that avows non-violence and actively pursues security cooperation with Israel on a daily basis? Read More

Libya
Rushing Libya’s Elections Will Lead to Disaster
The following is a guest post by Alexander Decina, research associate for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. For more than two years, the UN-backed Government of National …
Blog Post by Guest Blogger for Robert M. Danin June 28, 2018 Middle East Matters
Syria
President Trump’s Syria Strikes Are Not About Syria
The airstrikes conducted by the United States, Britain, and France on Saturday against Syrian military targets were about upholding a nearly century-old prohibition against chemical warfare, not abou…
Blog Post by Robert Danin April 16, 2018 Middle East Matters
Donald Trump
President Trump’s Peace Efforts Require A Regional Approach
President Donald Trump’s non-stop flight from Riyadh to Tel Aviv is being described as the first ever non-stop flight between Saudi Arabia and Israel. That the Saudis allowed this direct flight, usua…
Blog Post by Robert Danin May 22, 2017 Middle East Matters
  • Palestinian Territories
    Palestinian President Abbas’ Washington Challenge
    Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas faces one of the greatest negotiating challenges of his political career on Wednesday when he meets President Trump at the White House: He must convince many skept…
    Blog Post by Robert Danin May 1, 2017 Middle East Matters
  • Israel
    President Trump: Peace Processor
    President Donald Trump’s evolving views on Israel and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict appear to be coming into greater focus as he prepares to welcome Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to th…
    Blog Post by Robert Danin February 13, 2017 Middle East Matters