Tag Archives: Israel

Türkiye and the Gaza War

November 1, 2023 The October 7 Hamas assault was a shock for the Israelis. It should not have been. As I mentioned in an earlier post, some foresaw that trouble was in the making. The following is from an International … Continue reading

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The Gaza War

October 16, 2023 The following is from an International Crisis Group statement of March 21, 2023, titled “Persistent Violence in Israel-Palestine Could Escalate Further”: “Tensions have been rising for the past few months, fueled by a combination of factors. Among … Continue reading

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A World of Conflict

October 9, 2023 Following the recent developments in Nagorno-Karabakh, Presidents Aliyev and Pashinyan were supposed to meet in Granada, Spain on October 5. Only days before the scheduled meeting French Foreign Minister Colonna visited Yerevan where she said: “I would … Continue reading

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The Middle East Sending Reminders

February 6, 2023 At the end of January Secretary of State Blinken visited Egypt where he met with Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and President El-Sisi. His remarks there were full of praise for Egypt and the strategic partnership between the … Continue reading

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“Retreat” or “Normalization of Relations”?

August 25, 2022 In the military context, the word “retreat” means “the usually forced withdrawal of troops from an enemy or from an advanced position”. In a broader context, it is defined as “an act or process of withdrawing especially … Continue reading

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President Biden’s Middle East Trip

July 18, 2022 President Biden’s trip to the Middle East took place against the background of Arab-Israeli disenchantment with the Obama White House, the Netanyahu-Trump relationship, the uncertain future of the Iran nuclear deal, the far-reaching consequences of the war … Continue reading

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Turkey’s Middle East Policy Coming Full Circle

December 6, 2021 The so-called “Friends of Syria Group”, now history, held its first meeting in Tunis on February 24, 2012.  On April 1, 2012, it met for the second time in Istanbul. Later that month in 2012, Turkey’s Foreign … Continue reading

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Spy Games Between Israel and Turkey

November  22, 2021 In late October Turkish news outlets reported that fifteen individuals suspected of spying for Israel were arrested as part of a security operation. Reportedly, the suspects were spying on senior Hamas officials based in Turkey who were … Continue reading

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The Gaza Cease-fire

May 24, 2021 With the Egyptian-brokered cease-fire taking hold last Friday, the 11-day Gaza conflict is hopefully over. By and large, this latest episode also conformed to the pattern of Gaza confrontations. There were clashes at Jerusalem’s holy sites; Israel … Continue reading

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Gaza Violence (2)

May 17, 2021 In my last post I tried to highlight the roller-coaster pattern of Israeli-Palestinian violence. In his New York Times article of May 14, titled “Arab World Condemns Israeli Violence but Takes Little Action”, Eric Erlanger started off … Continue reading

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