Arab-Israeli Relations

The headline sports deal holds wider implications for normalization with Israel, nuclear proliferation, and Saudi modernization, among other pressing bilateral issues.

After months of delay, U.S. and Israeli government officials reportedly suggested that the second Negev Summit will proceed on June 25.

Opposition leader and former defense minister Benny Gantz discusses Israel’s domestic political challenges, the triggers for action against Iran’s nuclear program, the prospects of normalization with Saudi Arabia, and more.

A fresh opinion poll of UAE citizens, commissioned by The Washington Institute and conducted by a reliable independent regional firm in April 2023, reveals some of the most pro-American and anti-Iranian attitudes of any Arab country surveyed lately. On normalization with Israel, views are more mixed—yet surprisingly moderate, given this poll’s timing during Ramadan.

Over nearly two decades, President Abbas has consolidated power and scorned a consensus-based approach to governance, making a smooth eventual leadership handover unlikely.

Watch video or read a transcript of a new Biden administration speech on U.S. policy in the Middle East, delivered at The Washington Institute’s 2023 Soref Symposium.

Their willingness to stand against perceived threats to their democratic institutions is laudable, but allowing Israel to drift toward a de facto “one-state” peace solution poses serious threats of its own.

Even if another civil war is averted, the delay in signing a peace agreement has provided room for the rise of political factions that oppose further relations with Israel.

Many Middle Eastern outlets have used the crisis to reinforce their inflammatory rhetoric, but some have provided nuanced analysis through the lenses of democratic principles and Arab-Israel peace.