Arab world

Voices from the Arab press: Withdrawal of US forces from the region is off the table

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

|ByTHE MEDIA LINE
RECRUITING POSTER for US armed forces, 1917.
Ze’ev Jabotinsky, founder of Revisionist Zionism

Jabotinsky's ‘Iron Wall’: The strategic doctrine Israel desperately needs - opinion

The Iron Wall was never just about force. It was about vision and the clarity to defend our legitimacy unapologetically and understand our enemies.

|ByDEBORAH DANINO HARKHAM
France's Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot delivers a speech after a meeting with European partners to suggest a negotiated solution to end the conflict between Iran and Israel at the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs (Quai d'Orsay) in Paris, France, June 19, 2025.

French FM: Arab countries will condemn Hamas to recognize Palestinian state

Barrot also called on fellow European countries to demand the removal of the financial blockade on the Palestinian Authority so it can receive 2 billion euros, he said, which it is owed.

|ByREUTERS
JERUSALEM POST Editor-in-Chief Zvika Klein, who is one of a handful of Israeli journalists who have more than once been among the recipients of B’nai B’rith journalism awards, is interviewed by Yuna Leibzon.

Grapevine, July 11, 2025: When the writer becomes the story

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

|ByGREER FAY CASHMAN

Deterrence to diplomacy: Can Israel’s military might facilitate Middle East peace? - opinion

It overestimates the appeal of military might while ignoring the real motivations that have historically led Arab states to normalize relations with Israel.

JULY 8, 2025ByGIL MURCIANO
A PALESTINIAN woman looks on at the site of an Israeli strike on a house in Gaza City earlier this week. The Gaza war has returned the Palestinian issue to center stage, linked to any key movement on normalization, states the writer.

Grapevine June 25, 2025: Yesteryear, today and tomorrow

Movers and shakers in Israeli society.

JUNE 25, 2025ByGREER FAY CASHMAN
ADAM MONTEFIORE.

From the Basij to Balochistan: How Iran has encircled the Arab world - opinion

Iran’s peripheral militias and quiet encirclement of the Arab world.

JUNE 19, 2025ByCATHERINE PEREZ-SHAKDAM
MEMBERS OF Iran’s Basij militia force attend an anti-Israel march in Tehran last week before Israel launched its attacks. It’s a quiet war of encirclement, exemplified by the Islamic Republic of Iran’s patience, theological certainty, and strategic depth, says the writer.

How the keffiyeh has been co-opted and weaponized - opinion

The keffiyeh is now worn as a symbol of violence, terror, incitement, and antisemitism.

JUNE 19, 2025ByALAN BAKER
A STATUE of George Washington is tied with a Palestinian flag and keffiyeh at George Washington University in Washington last year. The keffiyeh is consistently employed as a symbol of revolt, incitement, and terror, says the writer.

Public condemnation, private interest: Arab world response to Israel's Iran strikes - opinion

Almost all Arab states that have signed peace or normalization agreements with Israel issued statements of condemnation against the attack.

JUNE 16, 2025ByELIE PODEH
IRAN’S PRESIDENT Masoud Pezeshkian meets with Saudi Defense Minister Prince Khalid bin Salman in Tehran in April. Most Arab rulers oppose Iran’s turning into a nuclear power, the writer states.

The 'fig leaf' that hid Arab regime failures and seriously harmed the Palestinian cause - opinion

Post-1948, Arab regimes weaponized the Palestinian cause. Lacking organic legitimacy, they turned anti-Israel hostility into a survival mechanism.

MAY 25, 2025BySALEM ALKETBI
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour, sits in the General Assembly. The State of Palestine is recognized by more than 130 countries, but not by most of the countries of the OECD.

Voices from the Arab press: Israel’s strategy for managing US tensions

A weekly selection of opinions and analyses from the Arab media around the world.

MAY 24, 2025ByTHE MEDIA LINE
US PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP meets with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a ‘coffee ceremony’ at the Saudi Royal Court in Riyadh, May 13

Arab world must view Israel as strategic partner to advance development, stability - opinion

Recognizing Israel as a strategic partner – not an eternal enemy – is a necessity dictated by geography and mutual interest.

MAY 19, 2025BySALEM ALKETBI
Israel and UAE flags at a table with documents.

Muslim and Christian Arab leaders join March of the Living

The delegation, led by Sharaka, featured participants from Morocco, Bahrain, Pakistan, Afghanistan and other countries

APRIL 29, 2025ByOHAD MERLIN
Sharaka delegation during March of the Living

Syria's Sharaa will attend Arab Summit, marking a potential path towards stability

Syria's invitation to the Arab Summit comes after Sharaa met Iraqi Prime Minister Sudani.

APRIL 28, 2025BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa attends an interview with Reuters at the presidential palace, in Damascus, Syria March 10, 2025.

Nuclear talks may empower, embolden Iran if US isn't careful - opinion

Without these considerations, the US risks unintentionally accelerating a new Cold War in the Middle East.

APRIL 26, 2025ByDALIA ZIADA
FOREIGN MINISTERS from Egypt and Gulf Cooperation Council countries meet in Mecca last month. Arab states, particularly in the Gulf, are recalibrating their positions toward the US-Iran nuclear talks because they fear being left behind by the US and outmaneuvered by Israel, says the writer.