Palestinians

Policy Analysis on Palestinians

Protesters hold Syrian and Hezbollah flags

Assessing the Reported Pantsir Delivery to Hezbollah

The antiaircraft system poses a manageable risk to Israeli operations along its northern border, but Washington must show Moscow and its associates that any benefits to such escalation are not worth the costs.

Nov 3, 2023

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Andrew J. Tabler
Anna Borshchevskaya

Photo of Israeli forces massing for ground operations in Gaza following the October 2023 Hamas attack.

Fikra Forum

A Meaningful Endgame in Gaza Will Separate Transformation from Revenge

Without clearly stated goals and a well-defined exit strategy, Israel risks its counteroffensive becoming a punitive effort that costs immense civilian deaths while failing to establish lasting stability and peace in its southern sector.

Nov 3, 2023

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Ahmed Fouad Alkhatib

IDF solders operating inside Gaza in October 2023 - source: Government of Israel

Articles & Testimony

The End of Israel’s Gaza Illusions

The country must come to terms with the fact that this war is deeply different from those it has fought in recent decades, and commit unwaveringly to transforming its security approach.

Nov 3, 2023

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Assaf Orion

Chinese and Israeli flags on a table at a diplomatic conference - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Tracking Chinese Statements on the Hamas-Israel Conflict

A regularly updated compendium of Beijing’s reactions to the Gaza war, including analysis of shifts in its traditional approach of trying to please all sides.

Nov 3, 2023

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Grant Rumley
Rebecca Redlich
Claudia Groeling

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Articles & Testimony

How Israel Can Win the Other Gaza Battlefield: Public Opinion

Changing the minds of anti-Semites is a lost cause, but Israel can win over other critics by committing more effort and ingenuity to the task of saving innocent Palestinian lives.

Nov 2, 2023

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Robert Satloff
Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

Israel’s Campaign Against Hamas in Gaza: War Aims and Operational Challenges

The goal of destroying Hamas will require a prolonged military effort, but the longer the fighting drags on, the less likely Israel will be to retain the freedom of action needed to achieve its war aims.

Oct 31, 2023

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Michael Eisenstadt

A memorial in Tel Aviv to the victims of the OCtober 7 Hamas terror attacks - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Hamas vs. Israel: The Limits of Analogy

What Hamas unleashed on October 7 was so jarring that it is only natural to seek the comfort of historical examples to put Israel’s response in some digestible context.

Oct 30, 2023

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Robert Satloff

Brief Analysis

After Gaza, Recalibrated Prospects for a Geopolitical Europe

Much optimism attended the continental response to Russia’s Ukraine invasion, but the October 7 Hamas attacks and their aftermath could dampen aspirations for European unity on the international stage.

Oct 30, 2023

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Selin Uysal

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Brief Analysis

Arab Critique and Condemnation of Hamas Before October 7, 2023

For years, Hamas was lambasted by leading Arab voices as a terrorist group that worked against Palestinian interests. And then October 7 happened.

Oct 30, 2023

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Articles & Testimony

Danger on Israel’s Northern Border

A former Lebanese journalist shares her experience growing up in Lebanon, her insights on Hezbollah, and her views on how associated threats might evolve amid the Gaza war.

Oct 27, 2023

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Hanin Ghaddar

Articles & Testimony

I Might Have Once Favored a Cease-Fire with Hamas, but Not Now

A perceived victory by the group will validate its ideology of rejection, give momentum to Iran and its collaborators, and foreclose the possibility of peace with Israel.

Oct 27, 2023

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Dennis Ross

Palestinians view an unexploded Israeli shell in Gaza

Articles & Testimony

The Collapse of Israel’s Hamas “Conceptzia”

The belief that Hamas would abandon ideology for economic gain led to disastrous consequences.

Oct 27, 2023

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David Makovsky

A man carries Iranian and Palestinian flags at a pro-Hamas rally in Tehran in October 2023 - source: Reuters

Articles & Testimony

Beyond Gaza, the Confrontation with Iran

By supporting Hamas’s operation, the Islamic Republic managed to subvert a broad emerging Arab-Israel partnership—but Israeli success in destroying the group’s military capabilities could turn the tables.

Oct 26, 2023

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Ehud Yaari

Palestinians throw stones near the West Bank border with Israel.

Brief Analysis

A Second Palestinian Front:

Relative Quiet, Restlessness, and Waiting

Palestinian residents of the West Bank and East Jerusalem, along with Arab Israelis, have not yet taken up Hamas’s call to join the fight, but amid increasing tensions, all sides must work diligently to preserve the fragile calm.

Oct 26, 2023

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Neomi Neumann

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Articles & Testimony

Syria Strikes Show U.S. a “Cool Customer” in Containing Gaza Crisis...for Now

Iran-backed groups have remained on the move since October 7, likely accounting for the increase in Israeli strike activity.

Oct 26, 2023

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Andrew J. Tabler

Articles & Testimony

Combating Hamas's Networks of Illicit Finance and Terrorism

A former Treasury Department official testifies on how this longstanding policy imperative should be approached at a time when terrorist groups like Hamas are bringing the Middle East to the brink of regional war.

Oct 26, 2023

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Matthew Levitt

Brief Analysis

Morocco and North Africa Are Feeling Anti-Normalization Ripples from the Gaza War

The conflict will make it more difficult for Washington and Israel to preserve—let alone expand—the diplomatic progress they have made with North African governments in recent years, particularly as public opposition intensifies.

Oct 25, 2023

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Sabina Henneberg

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Articles & Testimony

How America and Its Allies Can Stop Hamas, Hezbollah, and Iran from Evading Sanctions and Financing Terror

An in-depth look at Hamas's numerous means of financing terrorist operations like the October 7 assault on Israel, including recommendations for shutting off this flow of illicit funding.

Oct 25, 2023

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Matthew Levitt

Brief Analysis

Putting the Hamas Massacre, and Hamas Denials, in Context

The group’s own documentation of atrocities belies its claims that it did not target civilians.

Oct 25, 2023

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Matthew Levitt
Delaney Soliday

◆ Tracking International Reactions to the Hamas-Israel War

Articles & Testimony

Why Egypt Won’t Open the Border to Its Palestinian Neighbors

Cairo has understandable concerns about unsustainable refugee flows, Sinai terrorist threats, and longer-term Palestinian political aspirations, all of which need to be taken into account when pushing for humanitarian corridors into Gaza.

Oct 24, 2023

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Ghaith al-Omari
David Schenker

Supported by the

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

The Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics focuses on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the Arab countries of the Levant.

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Featured experts

Ghaith al-Omari

Ghaith al-Omari is the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation Senior Fellow in The Washington Institute's Irwin Levy Family Program on the U.S.-Israel Strategic Relationship.

David Makovsky

David Makovsky is the Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute and director of the Koret Project on Arab-Israel Relations.

Dennis Ross

Dennis Ross, a former special assistant to President Barack Obama, is the counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow at The Washington Institute.

Ehud Yaari

Ehud Yaari is the Lafer International Fellow at The Washington Institute.

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Palestinians

Policy Analysis on Palestinians

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

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Regions & Countries

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Palestinians

Policy Analysis on Palestinians

Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

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