Creating new perspectives since 2009
Items by Dr Adnan Abu Amer
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First 100 days of Netanyahu’s gov't are characterised by failure
The deteriorating security situation has given Israelis a great opportunity to list the failures of the new government 100 days after its formation. Members of the current coalition admit that many electoral plans and promises have not yet been fulfilled, and it is not clear whether they can be considering the...
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Attacks on Al-Aqsa Mosque are draining Israel on all fronts
The Israeli occupation forces’ attacks on worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque led to a series of developments. These attacks caused rockets to be fired from the Gaza Strip towards Israel, and several commando operations in the West Bank were carried out, but the height of actions was the firing of...
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Israeli extremism means that there are fewer opportunities for Arab normalisation
There are concerns in Israel that the path towards normalisation with more Arab countries is no longer smooth in light of the planned legislation to suit the extreme far-right in the coalition government. Added to this is the stepping up of action to annex the occupied West Bank, and...
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Saudi-Iran deal raises Israeli worries and concerns
The agreement to renew relations between Riyadh and Tehran was not just a matter that concerned the two countries, or which helped benefit the region; for Israel it was as important as an internal affair. Israeli political, partisan and media officials were all talking about the repercussions of such...
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The Megiddo explosion presents a new front for Israel
Israelis believe that Hezbollah and Hamas were behind the Megiddo junction explosion in northern Israel in mid-March. There is also a growing concern that their cooperation could be the beginning of carrying out more operations within Israel, although investigations into the blast are still underway. This may indicate a...
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There are signs of escalating tension between Tel Aviv and Washington
The US has announced that it will not participate in a conference in Washington DC for senior economists because Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich, the leader of the Religious Zionist Party, will be there. Even though he has been granted a diplomatic visa by the US, this is a...
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Israel needs to reassess the effectiveness of its air strikes on Syria
Nearly a decade has passed since Israel began its “battle between wars” strategy in Syria targeting Iranian forces and Hezbollah weapons convoys. Every few days or weeks, the media reports a mysterious attack in Syria, for some of which Israel did not hesitate to claim responsibility. Now questions are...
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Israel is gradually taking Ukraine’s side in the war against Russia
As the Russia-Ukraine war enters its second year, Israeli political and military officials have watched US President Joe Biden’s visit to Ukraine closely and seen it as a sign of Washington’s support for Kyiv. Biden’s visit coincided with that of Knesset members Yuli Edelstein and Ze’ev Elkin, and that...
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Israel is headed towards a new political assassination
The Israeli government’s intentions to implement legal changes have spiked up Israeli polarisation, prompting security services to raise the level of protection for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Chief Justice Esther Hayut and Minister of Justice Yariv Levin, to the maximum level. In addition, an important phone call took place...
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Sudan surprises Israel by rushing to normalise relations
Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen’s recent visit to Sudan was followed by expectations that the African country will soon sign a normalisation agreement, thus ending 75 years of hostility with the occupation state. Those years witnessed Sudanese troops fighting alongside other Arab soldiers against Israel, and Khartoum hosting a...
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The Jerusalem operation brings the conflict with the Occupation back to square one
The operation that took place in Beit Hanina in Occupied Jerusalem continues to stir fear among Occupation soldiers, who worry that similar operations could be carried out by Palestinian youth. The Occupation claims it has already thwarted 29 possible attacks and there are more threats of individual armed attacks....
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Israel’s new chief of staff faces some stern challenges
It’s only been a few days since General Herzl “Herzi” Halevy was appointed Chief of Staff of the Israel Defence Forces (IDF), succeeding Aviv Kochavi, whose four difficult years of service saw four governments and three security ministers. Halevy is not expected to experience fewer challenges than his predecessor,...
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Calls to overthrow the Netanyahu government are moving from the Knesset to the streets
The Israeli polarisation continued until they reached the point of organising large-scale popular protests last Saturday evening, in protest against the current government’s policy, amid the increased calls by former senior officials from the political and partisan arena, including former generals, who joined the call to rein in this...
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As the Israeli army bids farewell to a bloody year, what does 2023 hold for it?
The Israeli army bid farewell to 2022 with its Human Resources Division revealing the number of soldiers killed in various incidents. The figures show that 2022 was a bloody year with 44 soldiers killed, the highest figure since 2017. Three were killed when tackling resistance fighters in the occupied...
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New collective punishments against Palestinians include execution, exile
There have been recent Israeli calls to enact new racist laws that can be classified as collective punishment and constitute a war crime. These laws call for the execution of the Palestinian perpetrators of commando operations and the deportation and exile of their families outside the borders of occupied...
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The new Israeli government faces internal and external challenges
Hours after Israeli Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu announced that he has been able to put together a coalition government, the most far-right in the history of Israel, just a few minutes before his mandate to form it ended, it is clear that it faces internal and external challenges. Not...
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Israel boosts its profits by arms deals fuelling wars and conflicts
As the year end approaches, it’s become clear that Israeli arms manufactures have concluded more unprecedented deals which mean that three of them are responsible for two per cent of the total arms deals in the world. These companies — Elbit, Rafael and Aerospace Industries — remain on the...
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Israel is hostile towards the United Nations following its diplomatic losses
Although the United Nations was the one that established Israel and granted it international legitimacy, the latter launched a major political, diplomatic and media attack against the UN organisation recently, accusing it of being biased in favour of the Palestinians, who have gained many political and legal achievements that...
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Why are relations between Azerbaijan and Israel developing now?
Azerbaijan’s announcement that it’s going to open an embassy in Israel came as no surprise. It reflects the strong ties between the two countries for nearly three decades in the political, security and military fields. While there is an Israeli Embassy in the Azerbaijani capital, Baku, the latter only...
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Israel is disappointed to be losing the narrative battle to the Palestinians
Despite Israel’s lethal military capabilities, it is still bitterly disappointed to be losing the narrative battle to the Palestinians, who are making significant inroads in terms of international public opinion. Several incidents illustrate where Israel has failed on the diplomatic and media fronts. One of those was the Israeli commando...
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In Israel the big debate is now spy technology vs. human assets
Israeli security agencies are still in shock after it was reported last month that three Palestinian “Arab Israeli” citizens managed to leak sensitive information about Israel’s mobile phone company Cellcom to Hamas after testing during a round of fighting whether they could disrupt the company’s infrastructure. Israel’s security agencies...
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Israel: On the road to international isolation with the rise of fascists
As Benjamin Netanyahu, head of the Likud party that won the Israeli elections, rushes to form his new government, unprecedented international and US warnings have been made calling for right-wing Knesset members not to participate. These include Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich of the Religious Zionist party, as their...
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Israel fears a clash with Russia if it were to arm Ukraine
The Ukrainian war continues to have negative effects on Russian-Israeli relations where, recently, there was a warning by former Russian President, Dmitry Medvedev, to Israel that if it offered military assistance to Ukraine, it would seriously harm relations with Moscow. This warning came in light of continued Western pressure...
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Israel is facing diplomatic problems in every direction
Despite Israel’s efforts to strengthen its ties with countries around the world, it has recently been involved in several political crises. These have uncovered a big diplomatic failure, given that the countries it’s clashing with were some of its close political allies. Tensions started east, with Russia. These increased after...