Israel

Palestinian Territories

Israel-Hamas Conflict

Military & Security

The World Health Organization (WHO) announced that it had received a ''preliminary commitment'' from Israel for temporary, localized humanitarian pauses in fighting in Gaza to allow for polio vaccinations after the war-torn enclave reported its first confirmed case of the deadly virus in 25 years, Al Jazeera reported Aug. 29.

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israel Agrees to Temporary Pauses in Fighting in Gaza for Polio Vaccine Campaign

Lebanon

The Israel Defense Forces announced it was conducting a large-scale raid and airstrikes around the northern West Bank in the areas of Jenin and Tulkarem, CNN reported on Aug. 28.

Israel, West Bank: Israel Launches Major Operation in West Bank

Politics

The Palestinian militant group Hamas said it would not accept the current framework for ending the war with Israel in Gaza because it aligned too closely with Israel's demands, including a continued Israeli presence in the Philadelphi corridor along the Egyptian border, The Times of Israel reported on Aug. 19.

Israel, Gaza: Hamas Rejects Latest Cease-Fire Proposal

United States

Iran

Iraq

Baghdad said the announcement of the timeline for the U.S.-led coalition's withdrawal from Iraq would be delayed following the Middle East's "latest developments," Reuters reported Aug. 15.

U.S., Iraq: Announcement of U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Iraq Delayed

Hamas has decided not to attend the "last opportunity" negotiations that the United States, Egypt and Qatar urged to be held on Aug. 15, and Israel had agreed to send a delegation, the Times of Israel reported Aug. 11.

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Hamas Refuses to Participate in Aug. 15 Negotiations

Israel will dispatch negotiators to resume cease-fire/hostage talks with the Palestinian militant group Hamas in either Cairo, Egypt, or Doha, Qatar, on Aug. 15, in a move that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's office described as an attempt to "finalize the details for implementing the framework agreement," The Times of Israel reported on Aug. 9.

Israel, Gaza: Hostage Talks To Resume on Aug. 15

The Palestinian militant and political group Hamas chose Yahya Sinwar, Hamas' leader in the Gaza Strip and a mastermind of the Oct. 7, 2023, attack on Israel, as its new political leader following the July 31 assassination of former leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, Iran, AP reported Aug. 6.

Palestinian Territories: Hamas Selects Sinwar as Political Leader

The Palestinian militant and political group Hamas chose Muhammed Ismail Darwish, the head of its Shura Council, as an interim leader while the group waits on its Politburo to formally elect a successor to assassinated leader Ismail Haniyeh, Saudi-based outlet Al Arabiya reported on Aug. 6. 

Palestinian Territories: Hamas Chooses Shura Council Head as Interim Political Leader

Assessments

Kenya

Mexico

China

A special session of the U.N. General Assembly is held on the Palestinian bid for full membership to the United Nations at the U.N. headquarters in New York City on May 10, 2024.

Economics

A look at what the coming week will bring -- and a list of recommended RANE articles from the week that was.

The Weekly Rundown: Mexico Ratifies a Controversial Judicial Reform, the U.N. Votes on a Palestinian Resolution

Columns

On Geopolitics

Jordan

The Palestinian refugee camp of Bourj al-Barajneh on Aug. 8 in Beirut. Hamas's ascendency toward leadership of the Palestinian national movement seems likely to portend new cycles of violence and new major military operations.

Hamas's ascendency toward leadership of the Palestinian national movement seems likely to portend new cycles of violence and new major military operations.

The Future of Hamas in Gaza: Gauging Political Resilience, Part 2

An Aug. 29 Israeli military operation in Tulkarm in the northern West Bank. In the coming months, wide-scale Israeli military operations and expanding settlements in the West Bank will further weaken the Palestinian Authority and put the territory at greater risk of uprising.

In the coming months, wide-scale Israeli military operations and expanding settlements in the West Bank will further weaken the Palestinian Authority and put the territory at greater risk of uprising. 

Will Israel Face a Third Intifada in the West Bank?

Demonstrators calling for action to secure the release of Israeli hostages held captive since the Oct. 7, 2023, attacks by Palestinian militants Sept. 3 in front of the Israeli Defense Ministry in Tel Aviv, Israel. A strengthened anti-government movement in Israel is likely to reduce coalition government unity and could lead to months of disruptions to daily life, incentivizing the Israeli government to intensify military operations in Gaza, pulling forces from the northern front and West Bank, and seeing tensions between pro- and anti-government partisans possibly escalate into violence.

Social Issues

A strengthened anti-government movement in Israel is likely to reduce coalition government unity and could lead to months of disruptions to daily life.

As the Opposition Gains Strength, Disruptions in Israel and the Gaza Conflict Will Increase

Smoke billows following an Israeli strike in Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip on Aug. 11, 2024, amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.

Growing domestic and international pressure may force Israel to walk back its demands, leaving Hamas to step into an influential role in Gaza.

The Future of Hamas in Gaza: Gauging Political Resilience, Part 1

Sub-Saharan Africa

Mongolia

Germany

Russia

Supporters attend a campaign event for the left-wing Sahra Wagenknecht Alliance (BSW) in Erfurt, eastern Germany, on Aug. 29, 2024, ahead of upcoming regional elections.

The Weekly Rundown: An Africa-China Summit, State Elections in Eastern Germany

Syria

Yemen

An Israeli air force Samson C-130J Super Hercules cargo plane flies over the Israeli coastal city of Netanya toward northern Israel on Aug. 25, 2024, after Israel launched airstrikes targeting Hezbollah targets in Lebanon.

Israel's recent preemptive strike on Hezbollah reflects an increasing willingness to strike Iran's regional proxies -- and potentially even Iran itself -- to interdict their impending attacks, raising the risk of a larger regional war.

As It Awaits Iran's Retaliation, Israel Mulls More Preemptive Strikes

Australia

Samoa

Federated States of Micronesia

Fiji

Kiribati

Marshall Islands

Nauru

New Zealand

Palau

Papua New Guinea

Solomon Islands

Tonga

Tuvalu

Vanuatu

France

Ukraine

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky holds a flag during a ceremony on Ukraine's Independence Day on Aug. 24, 2023, in Kyiv, Ukraine. 

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

The Weekly Rundown: Gaza Cease-Fire Talks Resume, Ukraine Observes Third Post-Invasion Independence Day

Lebanese authorities inspect a car that was targeted with an Israeli strike and killed a Fatah official in the southern city of Sidon on Aug. 21, 2024. 

Should the strike signal the start of a larger assassination campaign against the controlling party of the Palestinian Authority, it would significantly increase the likelihood of a full-scale uprising in the West Bank.

What Israel's Killing of a Fatah Official Means for Gaza and the West Bank

Angola

Botswana

Comoros

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Lesotho

Madagascar

Malawi

Mauritius

Mozambique

Namibia

Seychelles

South Africa

Eswatini

Tanzania

Zambia

Zimbabwe

Egypt

Qatar

Vietnam

Yael Braun-Pivet, a French lawmaker for the ruling Renaissance party, delivers a speech after being reelected as National Assembly president following the third round of voting on July 18, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: France Resumes Political Horse-Trading, Blinken Returns to Middle East

A security guard stands in front of a poster of Hamas' slain political leader, Ismail Haniyeh, on Aug. 2, 2024, in Sanaa, Yemen.

The assassination of its political chief will exacerbate Hamas' constraints toward reuniting with its West Bank counterpart, leaving the Palestinian political movement fractured.

Haniyeh's Death Serves a Blow to Hamas-Fatah Reconciliation Efforts

Venezuela

U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris listens as President Joe Biden speaks during a Women's History Month reception in the White House on March 18, 2024.

The Weekly Rundown: Escalation in the Middle East, Kamala Harris' VP Pick

The Palestinian Territories comprise two sections of the former mandate of Palestine: the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. The two small areas are separated from one another by Israel, which controls most of their frontiers. Jordan borders the West Bank on the east, while Egypt lies to the west of the Gaza Strip. The West Bank is a hilly, warm country that enjoys sufficient rainfall to support agriculture, but because the Gaza Strip receives little precipitation due to its location next to the dry Sinai Desert, its economy has traditionally relied on fishing and trade. The territories' only natural border is the Jordan River on the eastern edge of the West Bank.    The Palestinian Territories lack a clear demographic core, although the lands have a symbolic heart: the city of Jerusalem, which Palestinians view as their capital.    The Palestinian Territories evolved over time. After Israel gained its independence in 1948, Jordan annexed the West Bank while Egypt took control of Gaza. After the Six Day War in 1967, however, Israel occupied both territories. The occupation strengthened Palestinian identity, and members of the community eventually came to regard Gaza and the West Bank as components of a united proto-state.      But due to their size and domination by Israel, the Palestinian Territories have not succeeded in achieving state status. The territories, meanwhile, are not only divided geographically but also politically, as the Islamist party Hamas rules Gaza, while the more nationalist and secularist Fatah controls the West Bank. In addition to overcoming the lack of unity, the Palestinian Territories must convince Israel's allies to allow the entity to gain autonomy and eventually achieve independence. Ultimately, internal political divisions and the need to pursue diplomacy to become a sovereign state represent the core geographic challenges for the Palestinian Territories.  

Israel's Survival Strategy

The Pulse of Political Islam

SITUATION REPORTS

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israel Agrees to Temporary Pauses in Fighting in Gaza for Polio Vaccine Campaign

Israel, West Bank: Israel Launches Major Operation in West Bank

Israel, Gaza: Hamas Rejects Latest Cease-Fire Proposal

U.S., Iraq: Announcement of U.S. Troop Withdrawal From Iraq Delayed

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Hamas Refuses to Participate in Aug. 15 Negotiations

Israel, Gaza: Hostage Talks To Resume on Aug. 15

Palestinian Territories: Hamas Selects Sinwar as Political Leader

Palestinian Territories: Hamas Chooses Shura Council Head as Interim Political Leader

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