Courtesy: Gateway House
A visit to Israel in the last week of January coincided with the six-week ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and the 80th anniversary of the Holocaust in which 6 million Jews were killed during the Second World War. It revealed a country at war and in mourning, yet one whose natural resilience looked to the future with optimism.
Courtesy: X / Jaime Kirzner-Roberts
Iran has the largest Jewish diaspora in the Middle East outside of Israel. Since the 7 October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, a proxy of Iran, the Iranian Jews have been publicly denouncing Israel’s actions in Gaza and Lebanon. Is this a sign of a loyal community or one under pressure from Iran’s ruling regime?
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At a time of high geo-political tensions, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia can play a calming role as it mediates between the U.S., Israel, and Iran. It is enabled by its own diplomacy, moving to strengthen ties with Iran, with the Gulf nations slowly coalescing on issues. For the first time, it is being done without the U.S. as interlocutor.
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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has secured his political survival since October 7 by managing his key constituencies – domestic and in the U.S. – and doubling down on his war strategy. Now he is making another calculated risk – to ensure a non-nuclear Iran, and thereby his continued political positioning.
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The Maritime Silk Road, the Belt and Road Initiative, and a sizeable catalogue of agreements with actors from Kabul to Tel-Aviv have been the basis for the growing presence of China spanning the military, diplomatic, economic, and political spheres in the Middle East.
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On June 3, Claudia Sheinbaum made history by becoming the first woman elected President of Mexico. In terms of foreign policy and carving a geopolitical identity, this marks the beginning of a new stage of Mexican integration into the global agenda. It provides another dimension for international stability, including a revitalized Mexican perspective of the Middle East.
Courtesy: CivisDaily
The Oslo Accords’ two-state solution for Palestine-Israel, visualised Gaza and the West Bank as self-governing entities under the Palestinian Authority. That political hope existed in an expanding global economy led by the U.S. and secured by American armies, with the promise of capital flows and investments to develop Palestine on its way to statehood. All this changed in the 2000s, as both Israelis and Palestinians became significant regional actors.
Courtesy: The Jerusalem Post
The October 7 intrusion of Hamas into Israel has exposed a respectable military institution and one of the most influential intelligence agencies, impacting their image in a contest where prestige is crucial. It weakens the Palestinian Authority internally and abroad, diminishes any peace processes, buries hope of a two-state solution, and marks the beginning of an unprecedented phase of war with repercussions far beyond the region.
Courtesy: Observer Research Foundation
In West Asia, nations such as Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries are starting to understand their pivotal geopolitical positioning in world affairs – and are making calibrated and strategic moves to preserve or recover global stability. It’s welcome at a time when more than two dozen conflicts are ongoing, when geopolitical rivals have hardened their positions, and diplomacy has failed to de-escalate in the primary contests.
Courtesy: India Today
The Shanghai Cooperation Organisation's growing importance is seen in the numerous new applicants waiting in line for membership. The 23rd SCO Summit hosted by India on July 4 saw progress in areas like digital transformation and economic cooperation. However, timidity in acting on foundational issues like anti-terrorism reflects the internal contradictions and tensions within member states - a continuing challenge for SCO.