Tag Archives: Lebanon

18Sep/24

A view from Jordan

Jordan, Middle East,

Earlier this week, Jordan’s King Abdullah II appointed his Chief of Staff Jafar Hassan to form a new government, following last week’s Parliamentary elections. The Hashemite Monarch has commendably been trying to modernize the Kingdom’s political system, so as to better reflect the views and aspirations of a restless new generation.

The problem, however, is that the most adamant element in the Jordanian public, a distinct minority, is Islamic and bitterly anti-Israeli. The border with Israel, which used to be quite secure, is now porous, which enabled a terrorist to sneak through and kill three Israelis. This is also a testament to Iranian efforts to use Jordan as a corridor through which weapons and explosives are being smuggled to West Bank terror cells. Is the Hashemite Regime strong enough to withstand these pressures? Joining us for the analysis:

I was happy to join my colleagues Jonathan Hessen, Amir Oren, Col. (Ret.) Joel Rayburn to discuss of this.

03Mar/21

Israel and Lebanon: A Bridge Over Troubled Waters?

Lebanon, Middle East, , , , ,

In the latest edition of Tel Aviv Notes, Stéphane Cohen and Nir Boms explain the late 2020 negotiations between Israel and Lebanon over the maritime border.

map from honestreporting
Source: “Understanding the Israel-Lebanon Maritime Border Dispute,” HonestReporting.

Amidst a deep political and economic crisis in Lebanon, accelerated by the Beirut port explosion in August last year, the end of 2020 witnessed a surprising round of talks regarding the demarcation of the Israeli-Lebanese maritime border. These bilateral negotiations – mediated by the U.S. and the U.N. – are the first non-security talks held between the two countries since the 1990s. Of course, Lebanon and Israel have no diplomatic relations and are technically in a state of war. The incentives for progress in the talks are strong as they could pave the way for lucrative oil and gas deals on both sides, though there still appear to be significant obstacles on the Lebanese side. Speaking with John Desrocher, the most recent U.S. mediator for the negotiations, in December 2020, Lebanese President Aoun was quoted as saying that Lebanon wants the talks to succeed because “this will strengthen stability in the South and allow us to invest in natural resources of oil and gas.”[1] Could a maritime border agreement between Israel and Lebanon be feasible, despite the otherwise toxic atmosphere between the two countries and the recent escalating threats of Hizballah? In a region full of surprises, this, too, might be a part of a changing reality.

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18Aug/20

Israel’s Imminent Security Challenges

Israel, Middle East,

In recent weeks tensions along Israel’s northern front have erupted on several locations – steeply exacerbating the prospects for wider escalation.

Are we on the brink of war despite widespread domestic unrest in all the member-states involved?
Panel:
– Jonathan Hessen, Host.
– Amir Oren, Analyst.
– Brigadier General (Res.) Yossi Kuperwasser – Project Director on Middle East Developments, Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs.
– Dr. Nir Boms, Research Fellow, Moshe Dayan Center at Tel Aviv University.

08Dec/19

The Fuel of a Revolution

Iran, Lebanon, Middle East, Syria, Uncategorized, , , , ,

Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Iran in recent weeks, after the government announced a tripling of the price of gasoline. Credit: Belga

Faced with crippling international sanctions, revenue shortfalls and budget deficits, the Islamic regime in Iran seems to have made a fatal miscalculation by suddenly tripling the price of gasoline, a move which appears to put an entire region in flames.

Frustrated by worsening economic conditions, soaring prices and devastating national currency devaluation, Iranians from across the country immediately took the streets to demand a reversal of the decision. But what seemed to have started as a peaceful civil demonstration – in where drivers turned off their vehicles in the middle roads and highways  –  quickly escalated to a full-fledged uprising in nearly 100 cities. But not just in Iran. In Iraq, protesters burned the Iranian consulate in the holy city of Najaf and in Lebanon hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets, demanding the resignation of a government dominated by pro-Iran factions.

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