Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was on course for a record fifth term after most votes from Tuesday’s parliamentary elections were counted, with Israel’s three main TV stations declaring him the winner.
Benjamin Netanyahu has been at the front line of Israeli debate since the 1980s, but this week he faces the prospect of political mortality, with parliamentary elections leaving open the very real possibility that his time in office might be over. Yet whether or not he retains his post, whether or not he ever really believed the things he said—supporters of his argue that for “Bibi,” the nationalist rhetoric has always been a vehicle, not a core belief—his efforts have been emulated the world over by right-wing populists.
Arab leaders meeting in Tunis have issued a renewed call for the establishment of a Palestinian state and condemned a move by the United States to recognise Israeli sovereignty over the occupied Golan Heights. Held in Tunisia’s capital, the 30th Arab League summit kicked off on Sunday against the backdrop of ongoing wars in Syria and Yemen, instability in Libya and mass anti-government protests in Algeria and Sudan, as well as a continuing boycott of Qatar by four fellow bloc members.
How to explain the Trump administration’s fixation with Iran? The Islamic Republic is an economic wreck and in political disarray, and lacks an effective conventional military. It obviously cannot seriously threaten America. Moreover, Tehran’s capabilities are dramatically overshadowed by Israel’s nuclear arsenal, Saudi Arabia’s lavishly appointed military, and the United Arab Emirates’ brutal war-making.
The Syrian Civil War is the world’s bloodiest conflict, and much of the blame can be laid at the feet of Syria’s neighbours and the world’s major powers. So far, France, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, the UAE, the United Kingdom and of course the United States have all intervened—and this long list of countries excludes the dozens of other coalition members that back U.S. efforts or otherwise played smaller roles.
President Donald Trump said he will impose “the highest level” of economic sanctions on Iran, dealing a potentially fatal blow to the Iran nuclear deal and once again spurning mainstream foreign policy opinion. He insisted that what he called a “decaying and rotten” deal is deeply flawed because it does not permanently cap Iran’s nuclear program or address topics such as Tehran’s ballistic missile program and support of terrorist groups.
Read White House Statement Here
Also Read: The Iran Deal Will Limp Along Without America—For Now
US President Donald Trump is poised to announce on Tuesday his decision on whether or not to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal, as Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Tehran “will overcome” any “problems” it could face in the coming months.
Iran hawks seem to be in pretty good spirits these days, with John Bolton having taken over as national-security adviser and Mike Pompeo as secretary of state. They are thrilled with the promotion of two high-ranking officials who want to tear up the nuclear deal, actively promote regime change in Tehran, and vigorously confront Iran throughout the region, just like many of them have been advocating for years—what’s not to like?
For years, the U.S.-led peace process has focussed its energies on the roughly 40 percent of the West Bank in which the PA operates, while basically ignoring Gaza and East Jerusalem—the former because it was ruled by Hamas, an officially designated foreign terrorist organisation, and the latter because of its sensitivity to Israel. In the meantime, both areas have become regular flash points of Palestinian unrest.
As the modern Israeli state celebrates 70 years, the prevailing sentiment is one of extraordinary accomplishment. American Jewish leaders were incensed in 1948 when Ben-Gurion came to the U.S. and spoke about the fledgling state as the new center of the Jewish world; today, that status is nowhere in doubt.
