All Policy Analysis by Neri Zilber

In this episode of the Middle East PolicyCast podcast, Grant Rumley & Neri Zilber share their assessments of the factors that sparked and escalated the May 2021 Gaza conflict and share advice for policymakers who seek to prevent the renewal of major violence between Hamas and Israel.

Both sides employed new methods in this round, and while Israel’s were more effective in military terms, the true measure of success will depend on how quickly Hamas can rebuild its warfighting capabilities and exploit any political gains.

The most imminent threat to his rule has fizzled since the shooting began, but domestic anger toward him remains widespread.

In mixed towns across the country, Arab and Jewish citizens have turned on one another, with substantial implications for the government formation process and other issues.

How domestic and foreign disputes over the potential sale of F-35 jets to the UAE could complicate the country's normalization deal with Israel.

Political, social, and epidemiological missteps have left the country with limited options short of an onerous national lockdown.

The Palestinians are withdrawing from peace deals, and Jordan could be next as Israel edges closer to appropriating land outright.

Fortress Israel raised its drawbridges early, though its resultant economic and political outlook is just as uncertain as the rest of the world’s.

Despite the applause in some quarters, the plan may wind up fostering tense conditions that are ripe for Palestinian violence.

The IRGC didn’t spend decades and billions building up Iran’s regional satellites for them to simply stand aside if the homeland is attacked, which Trump has vowed to do if the situation escalates further.

The Israeli prime minister’s failure to form a government suggests he will not prevail this time, but a decisive outcome will likely require yet another round at the polls.

The items being moved from Egypt through Salah al-Din Gate underline the contradictions and long-term unsustainability of the current stalemate regarding Gaza assistance.

Publicizing IDF operations, threatening to annex the West Bank, and making alarmist statements about polling stations and the press may help him eke out a victory, but at what cost to Israel’s security and standing?

We’re looking at the new face of cyber-ops in our hyperconnected, digitized world. It too often resembles the real thing. And it looks like Iranians are pretty good at it.

Almost all of them believe the prime minister is destroying the country's democratic values and sacrificing the Zionist dream by avoiding a two-state solution.

Other countries have insulated Washington from the ramifications of damaging policy choices and helped maintain stability, but this safety net may not survive another fall.

An Israeli-Palestinian truce ended the fighting but didn’t address the issues driving it.

Facing multiple indictments, Netanyahu may try to keep himself out of jail by annexing the West Bank, but what happens to the 2.5 million Palestinians living there, and to Israel’s identity?