Saudi efforts to position the kingdom as a key player in global soccer resembles a train crashing multiple times with the locomotive continuing to barrel ever closer to an abyss. The train’s last crash, Saudi Arabia’s decision to drop its US$392 million bid to acquire English Premier League club Newcastle United, has not brought the…
A Palestinian move to secure Palestine’s energy needs by tying them to high-stakes Turkish regional gambits constitutes an effort to reduce Palestinian dependence on Israel at a time when the Jewish state is looking at annexing parts of the occupied West Bank. When Faed Mustafa, Palestine’s ambassador in Ankara, expressed interest in June in negotiating with…
The Arab uprising that took place in 2011, and the cameo appearance of democracy in Egypt, unleashed a wave of military interventions, coups and civil wars that show no signs of exhaustion even after a decade. The targets of this campaign are either dead, in prison or in exile – the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Al…
With Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu advancing his West Bank annexation plan, albeit only gradually, attention has been directed towards the warming ties between the United Arab Emirates and Israel in recent years. Although Yousef al-Otaiba, the UAE ambassador to Washington, took a strong stance against the planned annexation in an op-ed published in Hebrew,…
Already at the core of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, Jerusalem is emerging as yet another frontline in the struggle for regional hegemony in the Middle East. With its annexationist policies, Israel is backing Saudi and UAE efforts to counter Turkish activity in the city and weaken Jordan’s position as the custodian of Islam’s third most holy…
The Trump administration’s quest to curb relationships between its allies in the Middle East and China offers a preview of how big power rivalry in the region is likely to unfold. It also suggests the limits on the United States’ ability to reduce its commitment to regional security. While much of the focus in recent…
