Latest Analysis and Commentary
by Khaled Abu Toameh • January 5, 2026 at 5:00 am
The Arab and Muslim countries, including Pakistan, will not disarm Hamas. Pakistan -- which does not recognize Israel and does not regard Hamas as a terrorist organization –- was the first country to recognize Iran's Khomeini regime in 1979, just as, in 1947, Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan's independence. Since then, not only has Pakistan had far closer relations with Iran than with Israel, but, after the Gaza War in 2023, has repeatedly called for Muslim nations to "unite against Israel." Meanwhile, it is simply not realistic to assume that the Palestinian terror groups will voluntarily hand over their weapons. These Arab and Muslim heads of state will only take action against Islamist terrorists when they pose a threat to their regimes, security and stability. The Gaza Strip does not need peacekeepers and monitors. US President Donald J. Trump himself came up with the solution months ago, as he did this week for Venezuela: "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition. So we don't want to be involved with having somebody else get in, and we have the same situation that we had for the last long period of years." Developers would rush in to create Trump's original vision of a "Gaza Riviera": "Gaza would be under U.S. trusteeship for around ten years 'until a reformed and deradicalized Palestinian Polity is ready to step in its shoes.'" Those Palestinians in Gaza who wish to leave would be able to do so without fear of being threatened or shot. The US could make sure that any terrorists who refused completely to disarm would, as Trump warned about "bad hombres" in Mexico be "taken care of." If there are legitimate concerns about US troops being put in harm's way, perhaps Gaza's neighbor to the east might help out. Above all, Trump the master builder could oversee the successful development of some of the world's most magnificent real estate, as he said about Venezuela: "We are going to have our very large United States oil companies go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken infrastructure... and start making money for the country." Change the word "oil" above to "real estate development" for Gaza, and Trump will have delivered the most far-reaching peace ever in history -- twice -- to two separate hemispheres. Arab and Muslim countries might object: it ruins their chances of attacking Israel more easily after Trump leaves office. That is precisely why a pervasive US or Israeli presence in Gaza is the only way to ensure the success of peace in Gaza, peace in the rest of the Middle East, and a spectacular future for the peaceful Palestinians who remain.
The Gaza Strip does not need peacekeepers and monitors. US President Donald J. Trump himself came up with the solution months ago, as he did this week for Venezuela: "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition." A pervasive US or Israeli presence in Gaza is the only way to ensure the success of peace in Gaza, peace in the rest of the Middle East, and a spectacular future for the peaceful Palestinians who remain. Pictured: Trump speaks during the Gaza Peace Summit in Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt on October 13, 2025. (Photo by Yoan Valat/Pool/AFP via Getty Images)
The Arab and Muslim countries, including Pakistan, will not disarm Hamas. Pakistan -- which does not recognize Israel and does not regard Hamas as a terrorist organization –- was the first country to recognize Iran's Khomeini regime in 1979, just as, in 1947, Iran was the first country to recognize Pakistan's independence. Since then, not only has Pakistan had far closer relations with Iran than with Israel, but, after the Gaza War in 2023, has repeatedly called for Muslim nations to "unite against Israel" (such as here, here and here). In a recent interview, Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty was asked about the issue of disarming the Iranian-backed terrorist group -- in accordance with the second phase of US President Donald Trump's 20-point peace plan for ending the war in the Gaza Strip. Abdelatty replied:
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by Ahmed Charai • January 5, 2026 at 4:00 am
The second [challenge to the Abraham Accords] is more insidious. It comes from states that speak the language of counterterrorism while enabling movements tied to the Muslim Brotherhood. They denounce extremism while empowering ideologues inside "legitimate" institutions; they praise stability while tolerating and even sponsoring destabilizing networks under the protection of state recognition. For those states supporting violent Islamists, including the Muslim Brotherhood, ambiguity must end. Strategic clarity is not moral theater; it is survival logic. One cannot oppose the Muslim Brotherhood while enabling its advance. One cannot fight terrorism while empowering regressive Islamist movements that capture governing institutions. One cannot defend the Abraham Accords rhetorically while eroding their foundations in practice.
One cannot fight terrorism while empowering regressive Islamist movements that capture governing institutions. One cannot defend the Abraham Accords rhetorically while eroding their foundations in practice. The Abraham Accords can still shape the Middle East's future, but only if those who benefited from their promise accept the cost of clarity. History will not record intentions. It will record strategic choices. Pictured from left to right: Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Donald Trump, and UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords in Washington, DC on September 15, 2020. (Photo by Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images)
Some media commentators were quick to dismiss Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's meeting last month with President Donald J. Trump, depicting it as driven by domestic politics, legal pressures, or media optics. But that is a mistake. This meeting comes at a time of profound regional fragility and converging pressures. On one front lies Iran's aggressive proxy network, stretching from Gaza to Lebanon, from Yemen across the Red Sea. On the other lies a quieter but no less corrosive danger: the strategic incoherence of actors who present themselves as partners of the United States while sustaining, through action or omission, the ecosystems in which extremism regenerates. This dual pressure — external aggression and internal contradiction — defines the strategic reality confronting Washington and its allies.
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by Con Coughlin • January 4, 2026 at 5:00 am
Ever since Trump succeeded in implementing the first stage of his 20-point plan for ending the Gaza conflict, Hamas has received widespread backing from its supporters in Ankara, Doha, Islamabad and Tehran for ignoring demands to surrender its weapons. Hamas's recalcitrance on the disarmament issue, moreover, has been reinforced by the support it has received from its backers in Turkey, Qatar, Pakistan and Iran to ignore the Trump administration's disarmament demand. Israeli officials believe that Turkey, and Qatar, which does not have diplomatic relations with Israel, are instead working on alternative solutions that would not require Hamas to disarm. The Turks and Qataris have proposed that Hamas either transfer its weapons to the Palestinian Authority (PA), or to some kind of "secure storage under oversight." Behind both proposals lies the aim of preserving Hamas' influence in Gaza and ability to rearm. Israel insists, however, that Hamas must be weapons‑free. Instead, all of Hamas's backers -- as well as the Palestinian Authority waiting in the wings to displace the group -- continue playing their dangerous double game of trying to be allies of both the Trump administration and Hamas's terrorist leadership at the same time. In addition, Turkey, Qatar, Iran and Pakistan have never designated Hamas as a terrorist organisation – and believe that it is entitled to continue its "resistance" -- meaning terrorism –- against Israel. It is commendable that the US president, rather than acting rashly, has continually offered adversaries -- such as Russia, China and Iran -- time to consider his requests. Hamas's allies, however, including the Palestinian Authority in its current form, have little incentive ever actually to comply with Trump's demands.
US President Donald Trump's demand that Hamas terrorists completely disarm will only happen if the White House is prepared to pressure countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Iran, which have historically backed the terror group, to force Hamas militants to lay down their arms. Pictured: A Hamas spokesman appears in a recorded statement to the media, in the Gaza Strip on December 29, 2025. (Photo by AFP via Getty Images)
US President Donald Trump's demand that Hamas terrorists completely disarm will only happen if the White House is prepared to pressure countries such as Turkey, Qatar and Iran, which have historically backed the terror group, to force Hamas militants to lay down their arms. Ever since Trump succeeded in implementing the first stage of his 20-point plan for ending the Gaza conflict, Hamas has received widespread backing from its supporters in Ankara, Doha, Islamabad and Tehran for ignoring demands to surrender its weapons. Requiring Hamas to disarm and end its malevolent presence in Gaza was one of Trump's key stipulations when drawing up his peace plan, with the disarmament process expected to begin as soon as all the remaining Israeli hostages had been released in return for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • January 3, 2026 at 5:00 am
These missiles – now part of reportedly the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East – can reach not only regional targets but also the U.S. and Europe, a senior Iranian lawmaker has openly boasted. The regime does not just brag about these weapons; it uses them. This trajectory should deeply concern the United States, Europe, and other democracies. A regime that openly calls for the destruction of Israel, supplies weapons to violent proxies, and supports Russia's war effort against Ukraine cannot be allowed to expand such a missile capability unchecked. Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and other armed groups aligned with Iran have all benefited from Iran's "beneficence." With the weapons it is supplying to Russia, Iran's drones and related technologies are already devastating Ukraine. This alone should dispel any illusion that Iran's ballistic missile program is a purely regional issue. Increased sanctions, unified pressure, and a clear willingness to keep all options -- especially a military one -- on the table are not acts of aggression. They are measures of responsibility in the face of a growing and irrefutable threat.
Since the end of Iran's 12-day war with Israel, there has been mounting evidence that its regime has been ramping up missile production. These missiles – now part of reportedly the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East – can reach not only regional targets but also the U.S. and Europe, a senior Iranian lawmaker has openly boasted. Pictured: Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian looks on as a 'Qasem Soleimani' missile is displayed during a military parade in Tehran, on September 21, 2024. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
Since the end of Iran's 12-day war with Israel, there has been mounting evidence that its regime has been ramping up missile production. Tehran's perspective is straightforward: if its nuclear program has become more vulnerable, then its missile arsenal must increase as a compensatory tool of power. It is no secret that the Iranian regime has been accelerating and expanding its ballistic missile program at an alarming pace, and has invested heavily in improving the range, accuracy, survivability, and payload capacity of its missiles. These missiles – now part of reportedly the largest missile arsenal in the Middle East – can reach not only regional targets but also the U.S. and Europe, a senior Iranian lawmaker has openly boasted.
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by Paul Trewhela • January 2, 2026 at 5:00 am
"[T]he Baqt treaty ... imposed an annual payment of 360 slaves on the Christian kingdom of Nubia [based along the Nile river].... By 1877, when there were said to be upwards of 6,000 slave-traders operating in the region, the British government estimated in a report to the Egyptian authorities that around 30,000 slaves per annum were being sent across the Red Sea from the East African coast to the Arabian peninsula alone." — Justin Marozzi, British historian, in his 2025 book Captives and Companions: A History of Slavery and the Slave Trade in the Islamic World. "For Arabic-speakers along the Nile Valley, both the terms Nubi (Nubian) and Sudani (Sudanese), meaning black, were synonymous with 'slave.'" — Justin Marozzi, Captives and Companions. "A lasting and painful irony...is that the northern Arab Sudanese do not consider themselves black, reserving that pejorative term for their dark-skinned Sudanese and South Sudanese compatriots, in addition to Africans from further afield, who for centuries they enslaved." — Justin Marozzi, Captives and Companions. Then followed the disgraceful betrayal of the black Africans of Sudan by the government of the African National Congress, with Cyril Ramaphosa both as deputy president (2014-2018) and as president, up to today. "By the dying years of the twentieth century... slavery was once again thriving in Sudan. For the National Islamic Front of Omar al-Bashir, the then president of Sudan (in office 1993-2019), it was an effective weapon of war against his black southern Sudanese compatriots." — Justin Marozzi, Captives and Companions. "When the country split in 2011, it was estimated that over 35,000 South Sudanese people remained enslaved in Sudan. In Darfur the Janjaweed militia ran amok, committing numerous atrocities. One eyewitness, Neimat al Mahdi, recalled how the Janjaweed would enter the village of an African tribe, kill all the men and rape the women, mocking them afterwards with the age-old racial slur: 'You should celebrate, you slave. You are going to give birth to an Arab.'" — Justin Marozzi, Captives and Companions. "Whichever way you looked across the nineteenth-century Dar al Islam ["Land of Islam"], slavery coolly returned your gaze." — Justin Marozzi, Captives and Companions. Sadly, in the Qur'an, slavery is condoned and used as a justification for rape, male control of women, and other abuse.
In 2015, South Africa's ruling African National Congress refused to implement the arrest warrant issued for genocide by the International Criminal Court against Sudan's then President Omar Al-Bashir when he visited South Africa -- a "shameful failure", as reported by Amnesty International. On January 4, 2024, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa continued this alliance when he welcomed Bashir's military appointee, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ("Hemedti"), the commander of Sudan's murderous and genocidal militia, the Rapid Support Forces. Pictured: Al-Bashir (foreground) arrives at a press conference during a visit to Durban, South Africa, on September 3, 1998. (Photo by Odd Andersen/AFP via Getty Images)
The African National Congress (ANC) government in South Africa has a shameful record in its response to the worst genocidal and racist crisis now continuing in Africa. "Is South Africa's voice... loud enough in addressing the recent conflict in Sudan?" asked journalist Nkanyezi Ndlovu recently. "While condemnation [of the war in Sudan] is noted, what other diplomatic steps has South Africa taken, not only as an African superpower but also as the current G20 President?" These are crucial points, but reflecting on the people of South Africa's response to what Ndlovu accurately calls the "humanitarian crisis" in Sudan, the reality is far more damning.
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • January 1, 2026 at 5:00 am
[T]he Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas is planning to elect a new leader for its political bureau and replace many of its members who were killed during the fighting with Israel. Hamas's goal: to show the world that it is not going anywhere; that it now, because it holds an internal election, should be considered a legitimate, respectable government, and that it solidly intends to maintain its control of the Gaza Strip, in violation of US President Donald J. Trump's 20-point peace plan. The terror group has simply exploited Trump's ceasefire plan to rearm, regroup and consolidate its civilian and military control in areas of the Gaza Strip in which Israeli forces are not present since the ceasefire agreement took effect. For Hamas, Trump's plan is just another temporary ceasefire that allows it to entrench its position and restock its military capabilities. "Hamas understood that overt control of the Strip would deter the international community from transferring the funds required for reconstruction, delay the rebuilding of the Strip and could spark civilian unrest, and therefore signaled its willingness to transfer the civilian administration to a Palestinian technocratic government, while refusing to disarm." — The Meir Amit Terrorism Information Center, November 3, 2025. Here is what the Trump administration needs to understand: Hamas, like ISIS, as a deeply committed terrorist organization, has no right to exist. Its military, civilian, and political infrastructure needs to be completely dismantled and destroyed. Unfortunately, this is the only way to achieve security and stability in the Middle East and prevent another October 7-style massacre against Israel.
Hamas seems more concerned about choosing new leaders in an internal election than about rebuilding the Gaza Strip. The Trump administration needs to understand that Hamas, like ISIS, as a deeply committed terrorist organization, has no right to exist. Its military, civilian, and political infrastructure needs to be completely dismantled and destroyed. Pictured: Two previous leaders of the Hamas political bureau, the late Yahya Sinwar (2nd R) and the late Ismail Haniyeh (L), on March 27, 2017 in Gaza City. (Photo by Mahmud Hams/AFP via Getty Images)
As part of its effort to emerge as a legitimate actor in the Palestinian arena in the aftermath of the war in the Gaza Strip, the Iran-backed Palestinian terror group Hamas is planning to elect a new leader for its political bureau and replace many of its members who were killed during the fighting with Israel. Hamas's goal: to show the world that it is not going anywhere; that it now, because it holds an internal election, should be considered a legitimate, respectable government, and that it solidly intends to maintain its control of the Gaza Strip, in violation of US President Donald J. Trump's 20-point peace plan. According to a report in the Saudi-owned newspaper Asharq al-Awsat:
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by Anna Mahjar-Barducci • December 31, 2025 at 5:00 am
Pakistan does not officially recognize Israel, and has never designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. It may well have an interest in making sure that Hamas can continue its "resistance" -- meaning terrorism. These examples demonstrate how freely Hamas operatives function within Pakistan. Allowing Pakistani troops into Gaza would therefore pose serious infiltration and counterintelligence risks. Unlike a genuinely neutral peacekeeping force, Pakistani soldiers may be unwilling — or ideologically disinclined — to confront Hamas. In a worst-case scenario, some elements could covertly assist Hamas fighters in evading disarmament. Pakistani media have reported that Islamabad does not wish to be perceived as a "B-team of the Israeli military focused solely on disarming Hamas." Such statements underscore the likelihood of operational friction and divided loyalties on the ground. Another major risk involves intelligence leakage.... Reports have previously alleged ISI involvement in facilitating Hamas outreach across South Asia, including visits to Bangladesh and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir to energize jihadist networks. For Israel, the implications are clear. A Pakistani role in Gaza could undermine efforts to dismantle Hamas's military infrastructure. In a mission intended to stabilize Gaza and dismantle Hamas, entrusting security to a state that openly legitimizes the terror group risks transforming the stabilization force into a Trojan horse for Hamas's survival.
A Pakistani role in Gaza could undermine efforts to dismantle Hamas's military infrastructure. In a mission intended to stabilize Gaza and dismantle Hamas, entrusting security to a state that openly legitimizes the terror group risks transforming the stabilization force into a Trojan horse for Hamas's survival. Pictured: A Pakistani soldier on a UN peacekeeping force in Kamanyola, Democratic Republic of Congo on February 28, 2024. (Photo by Glody Murhabazi/AFP via Getty Images)
Israeli officials report that three countries have agreed to Washington's request to participate in a postwar Gaza "International Stabilization Force" (ISF). The identities of all three have not been disclosed, though Indonesia may be one of them. Earlier reports also identified Pakistan as a possible contributor to the ISF. In addition, Pakistan does not officially recognize Israel, and has never designated Hamas as a terrorist organization. It may well have an interest in making sure that Hamas can continue its "resistance" -- meaning terrorism. Given the sensitivity of any postwar security arrangement in Gaza, the credibility and neutrality of participating forces are critical. A closer examination of Pakistan's record raises serious concerns about whether it can play a constructive or impartial role in such a mission.
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by Lawrence Kadish • December 31, 2025 at 4:00 am
(Image generated by Google Gemini)
The British were the first to develop the aircraft carrier as an emerging weapon of war. But it was the Japanese who perfected the ship by combining as many as four aircraft carriers into a single battle group and deploying a task force that led to their devastating strike against the American fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941. Nearly a century later, another ally, the State of Israel, has pioneered asymmetrical warfare in which they combine their technological superiority in gathering intelligence with precision strikes to counter enemies who seek their destruction. The Israelis' continued success can be found from the use of explosive pagers that took out Hezbollah terrorists, to hidden computer malware that disabled Iranian uranium enrichment. Their exploits could fill a book.
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by Robert Williams • December 30, 2025 at 5:00 am
"ChatGPT Advises Users On How To Attack A Sports Venue, Buy Nuclear Material On Dark Web, Weaponize Anthrax, Build Spyware, Bombs..." — Middle East Media and Research Institute (MEMRI), November 20, 2025. Meanwhile, Google is helping Qatar's terror-promoting Al Jazeera television network to be even more effective at terrorist propaganda: On December 21, Al Jazeera announced that it was expanding its collaboration with Google Cloud on the network's new initiative, "The Core," that will integrate AI into its news operations. Perhaps a start would be for the US government to "look into" what world-leading companies working with AI, such as Google, are doing to aid supporters and promoters of terrorism such as Al-Jazeera?
Terrorist networks, not surprisingly, are focusing their efforts on weaponizing artificial intelligence. (Illustrative image generated by Google Gemini)
Terrorist networks, not surprisingly, are focusing their efforts on weaponizing artificial intelligence (AI). A recent study by MEMRI discloses the use of artificial intelligence by Hamas, Al-Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS), the Houthis and Hezbollah, among others: "ChatGPT Advises Users On How To Attack A Sports Venue, Buy Nuclear Material On Dark Web, Weaponize Anthrax, Build Spyware, Bombs...."
The Associated Press reported on December 15: "Such groups spread fake images two years ago of the Israel-Hamas war depicting bloodied, abandoned babies in bombed-out buildings. The images spurred outrage and polarization while obscuring the war's actual horrors. Violent groups in the Middle East used the photos to recruit new members, as did antisemitic hate groups in the U.S. and elsewhere."
MEMRI noted:
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by Khaled Abu Toameh • December 29, 2025 at 5:00 am
Since the announcement of Trump's plan, Hamas... has dismissed the idea of laying down its weapons. It has also made it clear that the role of any international force should be limited just to monitoring the implementation of the ceasefire with Israel. According to Hamas, the proposed International Stabilization Force should be stationed at the borders of the Gaza Strip, and not in areas controlled by the terror group. "The Palestinian people have the right to all resistance [meaning: terrorism against Israel]." — Hamas statement, palinfo.com, December 12, 2025. These statements by Hamas and the other Palestinian terror groups show that they have no intention of honoring Trump's plan. They view the Trump plan as nothing more than a temporary ceasefire that allows them to regroup, rearm, and pursue their Jihad to annihilate Israel. It is simply nonsensical to believe that any peace plan would end the terrorists' Jihad against Israel. Unfortunately, there is no alternative to a total defeat and eradication of Hamas and its allies.
It is nonsensical to believe that any peace plan would end the terrorists' Jihad against Israel. Unfortunately, there is no alternative to a total defeat and eradication of Hamas and its allies. Pictured: Hamas terrorists in Jabalia refugee camp, in the Gaza Strip, on December 1, 2025. (Photo by Omar Al-Qataa/AFP via Getty Images)
More than two months after the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip went into effect, the Iran-backed Hamas terror group seems more determined than ever to stay in power and continue its armed struggle to destroy Israel. On December 14, Hamas marked the 38th anniversary of its founding by praising its October 7, 2023 invasion of Israel's southern communities as a "gigantic milestone and landmark in the struggle for freedom and independence and the defeat and elimination of the occupation [Israel]." On that day, more than 1,200 Israelis and foreign nationals were murdered, and thousands wounded. Another 251 Israelis and foreign nationals were kidnapped to the Gaza Strip, where Hamas is still holding the remains of one hostage.
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by Pierre Rehov • December 28, 2025 at 5:00 am
The Palestinian Authority is not a neutral Muslim-majority entity seeking peace. Its doctrine has, for decades, blended conventional diplomacy with asymmetric warfare — using terrorism as an instrument of policy. In the last decade, this double game has not disappeared. It has merely learned to speak the language of Western guilt. Countries in the West have actually rewarded its terrorism, both by continuing lavishly to fund it and by climbing over one another to recognize a fictitious, nonexistent "Palestinian State." Palestinians in Gaza might be tired of Hamas, but that does not mean they are ready to live peacefully side-by-side with Israel. Just imagine the Palestinian Authority inside Gaza's reconstruction ecosystem, with access to donor funds, humanitarian logistics, and institutional channels. Reconstruction money is not neutral. It creates influence, dependency, and leverage. The Palestinian Authority understands this better than anyone. The Palestinian Authority does not recognize Israel and most likely has no intention whatsoever of dismantling Hamas. For the Palestinian Authority, "reconstruction" offers laundering its legitimacy, access to institutions, long-term influence, and the chance, once President Donald Trump leaves office, of being deliciously positioned to do anything it likes. For Israel, this scenario is existentially dangerous. Israel would be expected to tolerate a hostile foreign security architecture on its southern border while remaining ultimately responsible for the consequences of its failure. Any future escalation — rocket fire, tunnel reconstruction, arms smuggling — would place Israel in an impossible position: to act militarily and be accused of attacking "the forces for peace " or refrain and absorb the threat. Either choice is unacceptable. For Washington, the trap is more subtle but equally severe. Once the United States endorses a framework, it becomes politically and financially invested in its survival. Billions of dollars in aid, contracts, and diplomatic capital follow. At that point, acknowledging failure becomes almost impossible. The priority shifts from solving the problem to preserving the framework — even as security deteriorates. A post-war Gaza that is not fully demilitarized -- and remains that way -- will not stay quiet. Hostility will mutate.... Reconstruction will become camouflage. And the international presence meant to stabilize the situation will end up institutionalizing the very forces it was supposed to eliminate. That is why this "Palestinian Authority solution" is a terrible idea for Israel — and a strategic trap for Washington: It offers the appearance of control while in fact hollowing out any real security. Trump's instinct to reject endless wars and failed orthodoxies is sound. Both Gaza and Ukraine are littered with the wreckage of peace processes divorced from security realities, aid policies disconnected from accountability, and diplomatic frameworks that rewarded rejection. Trump's real challenge is to resist the temptation to confuse participation with solution. The Middle East is full of actors eager to "participate" in Gaza — not to neutralize the threat it presents, but to shape its outcome to their advantage. The Palestinian Authority's interest in Gaza should be understood not as an act of goodwill, but as a bid for expanded power in a conflict that resonates across the Islamic world. Accepting such a compromised "solution" will create a familiar pattern: the United States funds, legitimizes and protects bad actors, while constraining Israel and empowering hostile intermediaries. When the stabilization force then inevitably collapses, Washington will be told that the failure was due to insufficient patience, insufficient funding, or insufficient engagement — never to the flawed premise itself. Trump has an opportunity to break this cycle. The opportunity requires drawing a clear red line that reconstruction comes only after demilitarization, not the reverse. Stability is the outcome of security, not a substitute for it. Legitimacy therefore cannot be granted to any actors whose strategic culture depends on permanent confrontation with Israel. The Middle East does not need another "grand framework" built on diplomatic wishful thinking. It needs fewer illusions, fewer intermediaries, and clearer consequences -- ones that are actually implemented. If Trump listens to the siren songs that promise order without disarmament, he will inherit the failures of his predecessors. If he refuses — and insists on realities rather than rituals — he may yet reshape the post-war equation.
The Palestinian Authority is not a neutral Muslim-majority entity seeking peace. Its doctrine has, for decades, blended conventional diplomacy with asymmetric warfare — using terrorism as an instrument of policy. Pictured: On July 23, 2018, at a ceremony honoring Palestinian terrorists and justifying his government's official payments to them in exchange for murdering Jews, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas said: "We will neither reduce nor withhold the allowances of the families of martyrs, prisoners, and released prisoners... if we had one single penny left, we would spend it on the families of the martyrs and the prisoners." (Image source: MEMRI) In Washington, there is a recurring temptation: when a crisis becomes exhausting, any actor offering "help" starts to look like a partner. The reconstruction of Gaza has reached that stage. The rubble is real. The humanitarian pressure is real. The Palestinian Authority is not a neutral Muslim-majority entity seeking peace. Its doctrine has, for decades, blended conventional diplomacy with asymmetric warfare — using terrorism as an instrument of policy. In the last decade, this double game has not disappeared. It has merely learned to speak the language of Western guilt. Countries in the West have actually rewarded its terrorism, both by continuing lavishly to fund it and by climbing over one another to recognize a fictitious, nonexistent "Palestinian State."
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by Amir Taheri • December 28, 2025 at 4:00 am
[R]eference... a dozen abortive attempts at peace-making across the globe, shaky compromises on tariffs and trade, and inertia disguised as hyperactivity A tantalizing peace deal in Ukraine seems within reach but always slipping away.... A shiny plan to settle the Israel-Palestine conflict is unveiled but quickly dissolves in deepening shadows. For his part, Russian President Vladimir Putin must realize that the war in Ukraine cannot end on his terms.
In some of the ancient civilizations, each year was designated with a label rather than a number. For example, there was a Year of the Locust, a Year of the Flood, or a Year of Golden Harvest. Following that tradition, what label do you think would suit 2025? One suggestion is: the Year of Impressions. That label could be justified with reference to a dozen abortive attempts at peace-making across the globe, shaky compromises on tariffs and trade, and inertia disguised as hyperactivity. In the year ending, leaders have spent more time flying from one place to another, making speeches, giving TV interviews, cutting ribbons and pressing flesh than coming to grips with core issues here and now. Impressionism is a school of painting in which real objects are never presented in a photographic way. You see a shape that looks like a tree but isn't one, and a human-like silhouette that might be a flamenco dancer but isn't.
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by Majid Rafizadeh • December 27, 2025 at 5:00 am
The regime has learned that sanctions are only as effective as their implementation. Over time, the regime has institutionalized sanctions evasion, embedding it into state policy and delegating it to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and affiliated economic networks. This has turned evasion from an improvised response into a permanent survival machine. Iran's continued oil exports depend on countries that are prepared to ignore sanctions, interpret them loosely, or exploit enforcement gaps. The central role in this system is played by China, which purchases large volumes of discounted Iranian oil, assuring China of a steady flow of oil and Iran of a steady flow of cash. So long as demand exists, Iran will try to find ways to supply it. Grounding Iranian airlines would sever a key logistical lifeline for sanctions evasion and regional influence. This requires sanctioning not only Iranian carriers but also foreign companies and governments that provide aircraft parts, maintenance, insurance, fuel, and airport services. Without these inputs, Iran's aviation network cannot function. Equally important is imposing consequences on countries and companies that enable Iran's oil exports. Sanctions must extend beyond Iranian entities to include buyers, refiners, shippers, insurers, and financial institutions that knowingly facilitate these transactions. Enforcement must be multinational, leaving no safe jurisdiction for intermediaries. If oil-sanctions evasion becomes costly and risky for buyers and service-providers, Iran's primary revenue source will shrink dramatically. As long as the Iranian regime can evade sanctions, it will continue to strengthen and project power. Sanctions that are porous cannot seriously weaken the regime. To truly constrain Iran, the focus must shift to stopping the mechanisms that allow it to freely operate — its aviation network, oil exports, front companies, and all the regime partners that obligingly enable it.
Iran's aviation sector is not merely civilian infrastructure but a strategic tool used to sustain the regime politically, economically, and militarily. Iranian airlines allow Tehran to move money, equipment, personnel, and goods across borders while bypassing traditional trade channels that are heavily sanctioned. Pictured: A new Airbus A321 airliner arrives at Tehran's Mehrabad International Airport during the delivery of a batch of planes to the Iranian state airline Iran Air, on January 12, 2017. (Photo by Atta Kenare/AFP via Getty Images)
No matter how many sanctions are imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran, its regime continues to survive, adapt and expand its influence. This endurance is not the result of economic strength or internal legitimacy, but of a carefully constructed system designed to evade restrictions, exploit loopholes, and rely on foreign actors willing to ignore or undermine international enforcement. As long as the Iranian regime can breathe through these openings, sanctions alone will not weaken it; instead, the regime will continue to fund repression at home, empower militant proxies abroad, and project dominance across the region.
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by Pierre Rehov • December 26, 2025 at 5:00 am
Normalize the slur here, wink at a trope there, then insist critics are "overreacting." That is how the ideological poison spreads. When someone habitually slanders Jews and then complains of being "silenced," the right needs to respond. Criticism is not censorship, decency does not require "consensus," and the Jewish people are not "clicks." Candace Owens, Tucker Carlson and Nick Fuentes represent regress masquerading as rebellion. They do not speak for the right; they speak for themselves and for the algorithms that reward outrage and sounding outrageous. Many, maybe most, prominent people on the right — from President Donald Trump to Pastor John Hagee to Thomas Sowell to Marco Rubio — stand with Israel because they stand with the West, with victims of jihad, and with a commitment to preserve the values of individual freedom, equal justice under the law and freedom of speech. The right should say so — clearly, repeatedly and without apology — and should quarantine the grifters who would trade civilization's cause for "clicks."
Many, maybe most, prominent people on the right — from President Donald Trump to Pastor John Hagee to Thomas Sowell to Marco Rubio — stand with Israel because they stand with the West, with victims of jihad, and with a commitment to preserve the values of individual freedom, equal justice under the law and freedom of speech. The right should say so — clearly, repeatedly and without apology — and should quarantine the grifters who would trade civilization's cause for "clicks." Pictured: Trump and Rubio, at a meeting with China's President Xi Jinping in Busan, South Korea, on October 30, 2025. (Photo by Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
It's back. Not the left's usual anti-Israel vitriol — but a creeping, winking strain of anti-Jewish hostility rising inside corners of the American "right." This chill is often dressed up as "anti-globalism" or "just asking questions" -- about Israel. There is nothing new about recycling century-old tropes, flirting with blood libels, or mainstreaming a Holocaust denier because he brings clicks. The American right — at its best — defends the Judeo-Christian foundations of the West, honors facts, allies, and moral clarity. This heritage means standing with Israel and against antisemites, even when they pretend to be on the side of all that is "good."
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by Gordon G. Chang • December 25, 2025 at 5:00 am
"Rather than grow dependent, China will take Nvidia chips while they are available, use them to train models to compete with American frontier variants and continue to invest heavily in domestic alternatives like Huawei's Ascend chips. When those are good enough, the firms will drop Nvidia—and quickly." — Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, letter to the Wall Street Journal, December 21, 2025. Alperovitch believes that America's only advantage in the AI race is its advanced chips. Trump, however, is giving the Chinese better chips than they now have. "During the height of the Cold War, it was unthinkable for the U.S. to sell supercomputers to the Soviet Union, the equivalent of the GPUs today. We've never won technological competitions by arming our competitors—we've prevailed by preserving a clear and enduring advantage." — Dmitri Alperovitch, co-founder of the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike, referring to Graphics Processing Units, the specialized chips at the core of AI infrastructure, letter to the Wall Street Journal, December 21, 2025. Whether or not Trump just gave away the century to China, he has definitely given the Chinese military better tools to kill Americans. Although the president in his Truth Social posting stated that licenses would be granted only for "approved customers," these chips will end up with military and other parties that threaten U.S. security. There is no way the U.S. can control their usage once they enter China. In China, Xi enforces "military-civil fusion," so the military has access to everything it wants. The Trump administration is now conducting an interagency review — State, Energy, War, and Commerce — of the proposed sale of H200 chips to Chinese customers. We can only hope the review reverses an unjustifiable giveaway to China.
President Donald Trump's decision this month to reverse a Biden-era ban on the export to China of advanced chips and approve the sale of Nvidia H200 chips is a grave mistake, wrong both strategically and morally. (Illustrative image generated by Google Gemini).
Nvidia has told Chinese customers that it can start shipping them its second-most powerful chip, the H200, before mid-February. President Donald Trump's decision this month to reverse a Biden-era ban on the export to China of advanced chips and approve the sale of H200s is a grave mistake, wrong both strategically and morally. Trump, keeping a pre-election promise to tech billionaires, is giving China the means to surpass the United States in the critical race to dominate Artificial Intelligence (AI). Moreover, China will almost certainly use the chip for military purposes. Trump, in a December 8 Truth Social posting, announced he had informed Chinese leader Xi Jinping that he would approve the sale of the H200. "We will protect National Security, create American Jobs, and keep America's lead in AI," Trump wrote. It is hard to see how both the first and third statements are true.
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