February 22, 2025 05:54

Israel’s War on Gaza and the Unfolding of a New Regional Order

In 1967, Israel declared its survival unthreatened, yet the October 7, 2023 attack in Gaza challenged this. Israel’s history is marked by military aggression and territorial expansion, which it has justified with existential threat narratives. As Palestinians continue suffering, neither local nor international proposals offer a viable way forward, making a unified Palestinian front the only path to reclaiming agency.

the aftermath of the Six-Day War in June 1967, Israeli Prime Minister Levi Eshkol declared that the threat to destroy Israel since its founding had been eliminated. He further emphasized that Israel would not allow it to return. On October 7, 2023, following the attack launched by Palestinian Sunni military group and political party Hamas — which began with a barrage of rockets and was followed by infiltrations into the Gaza periphery — Israel’s image as an “invincible” military power was shaken temporarily in the Arab imagination and even more profoundly within Israeli society itself.

Throughout the history of the conflict, Israel’s portrayal as a formidable fortress and deterrent has been closely tied to its survival. It is thus unsurprising that Israel has made brutal efforts to restore this image, drawing inspiration from its past victories, particularly the Six-Day War. This war remains a pivotal moment in its military and political history. It not only led to geographic expansion by occupying Arab territories that remain under its control today, but also established the foundations of political and strategic influence that have shaped its future policies and global alignments.

Decoder: How foreign aid helps the country that gives it

by Daniel Warner | 18 Feb 2025 

Donald Trump is trying to cut off U.S. foreign aid. He might not understand that international good will is an investment that reaps all kinds of dividends.

Donald Trump is trying to cut off U.S. foreign aid. He might not understand that international good will is an investment that reaps all kinds of dividends.

When US President Donald Trump wanted someone to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin last week to open negotiations for a potential deal to end the Russia-Ukraine war, he didn’t dispatch his secretary of state.

The man he sent to the Kremlin to handle a titanic geopolitical challenge does not even have a diplomatic background.

Instead Trump picked his personal friend, golf buddy and billionaire real estate developer Steve Witkoff.

The president has made Witkoff his Middle East envoy. But last week the Bronx-born businessman found himself in discussions about ending a conflict in Eastern Europe – having been “with [Putin] for a very extended period, like about three hours”, in Trump’s words.

Witkoff was in Moscow to help facilitate a deal that saw the US and Russia swap prisoners, which was seen as signalling a possible thaw in relations between the two countries.

Witkoff also played a part in brokering the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas, for which both Trump and his predecessor Joe Biden took credit.

Though he was not yet officially in his post, Witkoff flew to Tel Aviv to meet Netanyahu before the deal was brokered in Qatar. He then spent time with Biden’s envoy Brett McGurk in Doha, who later praised their cooperation, calling it a “very close partnership, even friendship”, according to the Washington Post.