Middle Israel

How US President Donald Trump is boxing Israel, Hamas into a Gaza deal - analysis

To get to “yes” on both sides, Trump reached into his toolbox of his concept of dealmaking - as well as his own doctrine about big ideas and peace in the Middle East.

|BySETH J. FRANTZMAN
US President Donald Trump in the Oval office of the White House in Washington, DC, US, September 30, 2025
A woman walks past a poster with an image of late Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in Beirut's southern suburbs, Lebanon June 23, 2025.

Two years on: Hezbollah and Lebanon's Shi'ites are the biggest losers of Israel's war - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: The biggest losers of the war that began two years ago next Tuesday are Lebanon’s Shi’ites, their brash leader, and the militia that was his pride, and his country’s bane.

|ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a press conference, in Jerusalem, May 21, 2025.

The king has no God: Netanyahu lost the right to rule in his lust for power - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: Bibi Netanyahu has not slain any of his people, let alone a whole town. He has, however, lost the ability to distinguish between good and bad, just and unjust, or even friend and foe.

|ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP has said of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a man who personally and systematically dismantled a functioning democracy, ‘I happen to like him’ and ‘I have great relations’ with him. This was said hardly 30 days after Erdogan, threated by his main rival’s popularity, h

Donald Trump is throwing America's legacy of liberty out the window - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: America, once the free world’s emblem, inspiration, and engine, is now being led by a man for whom liberty means nothing.

|ByAMOTZ ASA-EL

Netanyahu's sins: Gaza plan rejection leading Israel to strategic dead end in Gaza - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL | Netanyahu is not prepared to admit that his big gamble – invest in Hamas, pit it against the PA, and rule the Palestinians – has failed.

APRIL 25, 2025ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
The aftermath of an IDF strike on a house in Khan Yunis in the southern Gaza Strip on April 22.

Beware: Trump’s Middle Eastern rhetoric echoes Obama - opinion

Middle Israel: Sorry to make this rude analogy to a man who is actually trying to defend us, but we have already been to this movie, and it starred Barack Obama.

MARCH 28, 2025ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
US PRESIDENT Donald Trump looks on as military strikes are launched against Yemen’s Iran-aligned Houthis, in this handout image released on March 15.

America's betrayal should not mean Ukrainian defeat - opinion

Yes, Ukraine’s situation is different. However, Israel overcame its betrayals with a population hardly the size of Kyiv's and a land hardly 3% of Ukraine's size, and with no mineral riches at all.

MARCH 7, 2025ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
US President Donald Trump meets with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at the White House in Washington, US, February 28, 2025.

Letter to a Syrian rebel (II): 'Your trauma and ours are different' - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL - Recent events have given Middle Israelis no solid reason to change these somber expectations. That is why this letter is not about your relationship with us.

DECEMBER 27, 2024ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
SYRIA’S DE FACTO leader, Abu Mohammed al-Julani, attends a meeting with former rebel faction chiefs, in Damascus, on December 24.

'We want peace': New Damascus gov. says Syria wants better relations with Israel

In a meeting with NPR's Hadeel Al-Salachi, Maher Marwan said it was "natural" that Israel had concerns about the new Syrian government.

DECEMBER 27, 2024ByJERUSALEM POST STAFF
Newly appointed interim Governor of Damascus Maher Marwan. (Illustrative)

Only one nation can help Syria recover: The Arabs - opinion

MIDDLE ISRAEL: The civil war’s victors wasted all six years in which they could have rebuilt the land they had destroyed.

DECEMBER 6, 2024ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
RESIDENTS OF Aleppo, Syria, line up to receive bread on Tuesday.

How Israel and the Trump administration can win the war and shape Middle East policy - analysis

Israel's military campaign against Hamas and Hezbollah could reshape Middle Eastern alliances and weaken Iran's regional influence.

NOVEMBER 14, 2024ByYAAKOV AMIDROR
US PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP takes the stage to address supporters at his election night rally in West Palm Beach, Florida, early Wednesday morning.

To recover, Democrats must expel anti-Zionist extremists who put off Middle America - opinion

The Democratic Party’s defeat has many causes, but its anti-Zionist wing has clearly contributed to its electoral collapse.

NOVEMBER 9, 2024ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
THE DEMOCRATIC Party has faced a tightening siege by radicals – some, like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar, with a Middle Eastern agenda. Here, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) speaks, as Reps. Ayanna Pressley (D-Massachusetts), Ilhan Omar (D-Minnesota), and Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan) listen

There’s no question, everyone should vote Trump - opinion

If you care about the future of America, if you care about the safety and security of Jews in America, if you care about the US-Israel relationship - then pull the lever for Trump.

OCTOBER 28, 2024ByARYEH LIGHTSTONE, SHMUEL WINIARZ
REPUBLICAN PRESIDENTIAL nominee and former US president Donald Trump speaks on Saturday during a campaign rally in Novi, Michigan.

Farewell Baghdad? Iran shifts to consolidate its power in Iraq - analysis

Iran consolidates its influence in Iraq through Shi'ite militias, using the country as a hub for regional power projection, targeting Israel, and aligning with proxies like Hezbollah and Hamas.

SEPTEMBER 27, 2024ByJONATHAN SPYER
A VEHICLE carrying the coffin of a commander from Iraq’s Ktaeb Hezbollah armed group, who was killed in what the militia called a ‘Zionist attack’ in Damascus on Friday, is seen during a funeral in Baghdad on Sunday.

Netanyahu faces backlash at hostage shiva, signaling political isolation

Middle Israel - The Netanyahus’ shiva call to the Danino family laid bare the prime minister’s social detachment, moral bankruptcy, and political demise

SEPTEMBER 13, 2024ByAMOTZ ASA-EL
THE FAMILIES OF Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Ori Danino, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Alex Lobanov, and Almog Sarusi meet in Tel Aviv in September.