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U.S. President Donald Trump poses with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council, at the Ritz Carlton Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, May 14, 2025. (Official White House Photo/Daniel Torok)

Why the Iran war has caught Gulf states in a bind

Facing the consequences of U.S. military dependence, the GCC is still reluctant to criticize Washington — but public anger will not be easily contained.

By Hind Al Ansari March 12, 2026

Displaced Palestinians in their tents at the Nuseirat camp in the central Gaza Strip, November 25, 2024. (Ali Hassan/Flash90)

Rejoicing at Lebanon ceasefire, Gazans ask: ‘When will our turn come?’

Successful diplomacy in Lebanon has deepened Gazans' sense of isolation — and with Hezbollah out of the way, they fear Israel's assault will only intensify.

By Mahmoud Mushtaha December 2, 2024

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks at a press conference in Jerusalem on September 2, 2024. (Chaim Goldberg/Flash90)

The not-so-secret history of Netanyahu’s support for Hamas

From sabotaging Oslo to funneling Qatari cash into Gaza, Bibi has spent his career bolstering Hamas to help perpetuate the conflict. Even after Oct. 7, argues historian Adam Raz, he's still advancing the same strategy.

By Ghousoon Bisharat November 11, 2024

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From left to right, the author's aunt, mother and grandmother on the land they used to harvest in Jordan. (Photo courtesy of the author.)

Three generations after the Nakba, still struggling to define home

For Madlaine Ahmad, born and raised in Doha to Palestinian parents with Jordanian citizenship, the answer to ‘where are you from?’ is never simple, and always seems to be wrong. By Madlaine Ahmad I changed my Facebook profile picture the other day. It was a photo of a fair woman covered in gold and henna.…

By +972 Magazine October 26, 2018

A file photo of Alan Dershowitz. (Yossi Zeliger/Flash90)

Why Israel is so worried about Qatari outreach to American Jews

Qatar has been focusing on prominent American Jewish leaders as the isolated Gulf state seeks to repair its image. Why American Jews? It’s about Saudi Arabia. By Mitchell Plitnick On January 31, the Israeli embassy in the United States stated that Israel did not approve of several right wing, pro-Israel American Jewish leaders meeting with…

By +972 Magazine February 16, 2018

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attends a PLO executive committee meeting in the West Bank city of Ramallah, August 22, 2015. (Flash90)

Palestinian reconciliation could work this time. Israel must support it

The current Palestinian reconciliation agreement looks like it could actually hold, largely due to regional and internal changes over the past few years. What does this bode for the peace process? A former minister in the Palestinian government explains. By Ashraf al-Ajrami This is not the first time the two large Palestinian political movements, Fatah…

By +972 Magazine October 15, 2017

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu looks through binoculars during his visit to the border with Syria, August 18, 2015. (Amos Ben Gershom/GPO)

As Mideast borders open, Israel is more isolated than ever

Over the past decade, Middle Eastern countries have viewed their borders as a physical obstacle. The recent warming of relations between Arab states has led to increase in trade, leaving Israel more regionally isolated than ever before. By Moran Zaga Over the last month, border crossings have opened along both the Jordan-Iraq and Iraq-Saudi Arabia…

By +972 Magazine September 18, 2017

President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu shake hands after giving final remarks at the Israel Museum in Jerusalem before Trump's departure, May 23, 2017. (Yonatan Sindel/Flash90)

The Trump effect hits Gaza

No, Trump did not create the rift between the PA and Hamas. But he has bought into the Israeli narrative, thus creating an environment that encourages more aggressive steps by stronger parties. The most dangerous part? Trump surely has no idea he did any of this. By Mitchell Plitnick The effects of Donald Trump’s trip…

By +972 Magazine July 3, 2017

U.S. President Donald Trump meets with the Emir of Qatar Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani in Saudi Arabia, Sunday, May 21, 2017. (White House photo)

What’s the story with the siege on Doha?

It is very difficult to accept at face value this newfound determination to defeat terrorism by the Gulf states by humiliating a smaller neighbor whose differences consist primarily of alternative choices of distasteful proxies. By Gary Sick There are several things that I find confounding about the current conflict within the GCC: First, as a…

By +972 Magazine June 20, 2017

The bodies of Palestinians lie in the Al Shifa Hospital morgue in Gaza City following an attack on an UNRWA school in Jabaliya, July 30, 2014 (photo: Activestills)

129 Palestinians, 3 Israeli soldiers killed; U.S. approves Israeli request for ammunition

Wednesday saw a particularly deadly day of violence in the Gaza Strip, while diplomatic efforts to reach a ceasefire continued with urgency. According to officials at the Palestinian Health Ministry, 129 people were killed and more than 200 wounded in Gaza throughout Wednesday. Israel’s Operation Protective Edge has killed a total of 1,400 Palestinians and…

By +972 Magazine July 30, 2014

Secretary of State John Kerry with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem, September 15, 2013 (State Dept. Photo)

Why did Israel reject Kerry’s ceasefire proposal?

Is Israel willing to prolong the fighting and to intensify the killing and bereavement on both sides just so that its ally in Cairo gets the credit, rather than the Hamas-allied Turkey and Qatar? By Elizabeth Tsurkov There is hardly any difference between the draft agreement presented by Kerry and the Egyptian proposal, apart from the question…

By +972 Magazine July 28, 2014

Bahraini journalist Nazeeha Saeed (Photo: NZ/facebook)

Honoring my friend: A tortured Bahraini journalist taking on the courts

A female Bahraini officer has been acquitted by a court in Manama on charges of torturing a local journalist working for a French TV and radio station. As the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) notes, reporter Nazeeha Saeed claimed: …during her 13-hour detention, al-Moussa and the other officers blindfolded her, beat her repeatedly with a…

By Roee Ruttenberg October 25, 2012

As Palestinian frustration grows, young man considers armed struggle

Hakem* believes that armed struggle and the strategic use of violence is the only way to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. He calls BDS ‘silly’ and says Hamas has gone soft. He calls Israel ‘the entity’ and says it must be dismantled. After that, Hakem adds, Jews are welcome to stay. The situation in the West…

By Mya Guarnieri Jaradat October 12, 2012