Epstein Secrets

hat a compromise on construction could bring the Palestinians back to the table with the government of Israel—until the agreement between Hamas and Fatah was signed on April 27. This agreement, unless and until it collapses, makes Israeli concessions or new flexibility in the West Bank impossible and

eft the southern flank exposed. Therefore, by holding the Levant, an eastern power protected itself against attacks from Mediterranean powers. The Levant was also important to any empire originating to the north or south of Israel. If Egypt decided to move beyond the Nile Basin and North Africa eastw

y over nearly 3,000 years. For convenience, we will use the term "Israel" to connote all of the Hebrew and Jewish entities that have existed in the Levant since the invasion of the region as chronicled in the Book of Joshua. As always, geopolitics requires a consideration of three dimensions: the int

the UN vote on November 29th that granted them non-member observer state status at the UN. The decision came two days after the 48th anniversary of Fatah, a major political party and the largest faction within the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO). This anniversary was celebrated by an unusual r

have taken place in the past two months—previously rare occurrences. In the midst of these changing political winds, a fierce winter storm hit the Levant on January 9th, leaving at least eight people dead in the region and bringing an unusual foot of snow to Jordan. Kuwait: The Constitutional Court i

fiant Asad Sticks to His Guns Patrick Seale Foreign Policy In Focus Egypt's Evolving Foreign Policy Richard Javad Heydarian Foreign Affairs How Fatah-Hamas Unity Threatens U.S. Funding Douglas N. Greenburg and Derek D. Smith TIME Why the Muslim Brotherhood Are Egypt's Best Democrats Bobby Ghos

can see that Alawite leadership will not leave power without a long and bloody fight. Recreating a sphere of Turkish-modeled Sunni influence in the Levant may be a long-term goal for Ankara, but the Turkish government is certainly not prepared to pay the near-term cost of civil strife in Syria spillin

s savvy about and commitment to Israel's security. I no longer think he cares much. And contiguity would only deepen the ongoing civil war between Fatah and Hamas, with which the administration will surely soon begin talks, like the drawn-out talks with Syria of which doubtless the president is prou

Syria, believes that the Syrian recognition of the Palestinian state today means that the al- Assad regime may give up the idea of custody over the Levant, i.e. Lebanon and Palestine, especially as Damascus also previously prevented Lebanon from recognizing the Palestinian state. The Syrian recogniti

in Gaza, but the "Hamas trumps Abbas" dynamic has been underway for some time now and is likely to continue. I'd offer four reasons why. Feckless Fatah Abbas's party is in disarray. The Islamists' victory in the 2006 Palestinian legislative elections, its takeover of Gaza in 2007, Fatah's own sens

ties to the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood to achieve political legitimacy. When unrest spread into Syria and began to threaten Iran's position in the Levant, Hamas made a strategic decision to move away from the Iran-Syria axis, now on the decline, and to latch itself onto the new apparent regional tren

human shields fighting on its behalf, so that American soldiers will no longer be returning home in coffins" "To undermine the resolution of the [Fatah-Hamas] rift, the US engaged the Jewish ISIL to attack Gaza" "The Americans... are truly the head of the snake" http.ilpalwatch orpnain.asprh=1578.

lds fighting on its behalf, so that American soldiers will no longer be in danger of returning home in coffins. The ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and Levant), Islamic Front, and Al-Nusra Front (i.e., all radical Islamists) are Muslims from various countries the US is using to fight in Iraq and Syria, in

s to Assad's concerns on both the Lebanese and Palestinian fronts. When in late 1979, radical factions in Iran endeavored, in coordination with al- Fatah, to dispatch volunteer corps to Southern Lebanon, Syrians thwarted the initiative. From the perspective of President Assad, the translation of an e

h the Palestinian as well as the Lebanese resistance from a Syrian perspective. This is well understood in the light of the three decades of Iran's Levant policy and partnership with Syria. Thirty three years ago, after the fall of the Shah, Yasser Arafat was the first foreign leader who arrived to r

s savvy about and commitment to Israel's security. I no longer think he cares much. And contiguity would only deepen the ongoing civil war between Fatah and Hamas, with which the administration will surely soon begin talks, like the drawn-out talks with Syria of which doubtless the president is prou

Syria, believes that the Syrian recognition of the Palestinian state today means that the al- Assad regime may give up the idea of custody over the Levant, i.e. Lebanon and Palestine, especially as Damascus also previously prevented Lebanon from recognizing the Palestinian state. The Syrian recogniti

ion freed OFAC to allow all transactions with the Fatah- controlled PA in the West Bank. But should Hamas

s can see that Alawite leadership will not leave power without a long and bloody fight. Recreating a sphere of Turkish-modeled Sunni influence in the Levant may be a long-term goal for Ankara, but the Turkish government is certainly not prepared to pay the near-term cost of civil strife in Syria spilling

that a compromise on construction could bring the Palestinians back to the table with the government of Israel-until the agreement between Hamas and Fatah was signed on April 27. This agreement, unless and until it collapses, makes Israeli concessions or new flexibility in the West Bank impossible and p

icy over nearly 3,000 years. For convenience, we will use the term "Israel" to connote all of the Hebrew and Jewish entities that have existed in the Levant since the invasion of the region as chronicled in the Book of Joshua. As always, geopolitics requires a consideration of three dimensions: the intern