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What Q3 security risks should companies expect and prepare for?

Essential Geopolitics: An Overview of RANE's Q3 Forecast

Assessments

Saudi Arabia

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (second from right) attends the weekly cabinet meeting in his office in Jerusalem on June 25, 2023. 

The country's push to impose a one-state solution on the Palestinians is angering its new Arab allies and hardening Saudi Arabia against normalization. 

Israel's Far-Right Policies Slow Progress on the Abraham Accords

Snapshots

Lebanon

A section of the Lebanese-Israeli border is seen near the village of Shtula in northern Israel on April 6, 2023. 

The attacks coincide with rising unrest in Israeli cities and the West Bank that could embolden the hawkish, far-right members of Israel’s new government.

In Israel, Rocket Fire From Lebanon Risks Spurring a Major Escalation

Essential Geopolitics: Recent Trends in Israeli-Palestinian Violence

Algeria

Libya

Morocco

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Western Sahara

Energy

After decades of isolation, Algiers plans to use its energy wealth to engage with the world, but its lack of economic diversification will hamper this process.

Algeria Emerges From Isolation, but Its Economy and Foreign Policy Will Limit Change

Learn more about the controversy surrounding new Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben Gvir's recent visit to the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque.

Essential Geopolitics: The Geopolitics of the Temple Mount/Al-Aqsa Mosque

Nigeria

Venezuela

Egypt

United Kingdom

A supporter of the ruling United Socialist Party of Venezuela waves the flag of Venezuela on Jan. 10, 2022, in Barinas, Venezuela. The four major political parties that comprise Venezuela's opposition coalition will vote Dec. 29 on a motion to eliminate the country's interim government.

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

The Weekly Rundown: Venezuela's Opposition Votes to Oust Guaido, Christmas Brings Currency to the Middle East

Several factors make the latest uptick in West Bank violence different from previous Israeli-Palestinian escalations.

Essential Geopolitics: Violence and Extremism in the West Bank

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On Security

A Palestinian youth throws a rock with a slingshot at Israeli security forces during Oct. 3, 2022, clashes at the northern entrance of the city of Ramallah in the West Bank. The recent sustained increase in Palestinian militant violence highlights both the short-and long-term threat West Bank militancy poses to Israeli-Palestinian security.

The recent sustained increase in Palestinian militant violence highlights both the short-and long-term threat West Bank militancy poses to Israeli-Palestinian security.

The Security Implications of Intensifying West Bank Militancy

Demonstrators wave the Israeli flag and the banner of the far-right Jewish group "Lehava" (Flame) gather for the "Flag March" on May 29, 2022, marking "Jerusalem Day" in the Old City of Jerusalem. Palestinian attacks and Israeli nationalist rhetoric appear to be increasing Israelis' support for far-right narratives and policies, with notable implications for Israel's national security.

Palestinian attacks and Israeli nationalist rhetoric appear to be increasing Israelis' support for far-right narratives and policies, with notable implications for Israel's national security.

Examining the Israeli Right Wing and Its Implications for National Security

Kazakhstan

Russian President Vladimir Putin (center) listens to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) at the 2019 Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) in Dushanbe, Tajikistan. 

The Weekly Rundown: Putin and Erdogan Head to Kazakhstan, Palestinian Leaders Head to Algeria

Who is Palestinian Islamic Jihad, and why should we care?

Essential Geopolitics: What's Behind Israel's Latest Flare-up of Violence?

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman offered to renew financial aid to the Palestinian Authority (PA) in April if the PA reined in terror groups in the West Bank, while Saudi officials added that the government hoped the offer would improve PA sentiment toward eventual Saudi-Israeli normalization, The Wall Street Journal reported on Aug. 29.

Saudi Arabia, Palestinian Territories: PA Remains Unconvinced of Saudi-Israeli Normalization

Saudi Arabia designated its ambassador to Jordan, Nayef Al-Sudairi, as a "nonresident ambassador to the state of Palestine," Riyadh announced on Aug. 12.

Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Appoints First-Ever Ambassador to Palestinian Territories

Lebanese caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati warned that the Lebanese military might intervene in the Ein el-Hilweh refugee camp outside the southern Lebanese city of Sidon if violence continues, AP reported on Aug. 3.

Lebanon: Prime Minister Threatens Military Intervention in Palestinian Refugee Camp

Israeli forces launched a large-scale counterterrorism operation targeting militants in the West Bank city of Jenin that has killed at least eight people and wounded 27 others, The Times of Israel reported on July 3. 

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israeli Counterterrorism Operation May Provoke Palestinian Reprisals

Israel's Cabinet announced that it would begin an "immediate advancement" of 1,000 new homes in the West Bank settlement of Eli, where Palestinian gunmen killed four Israelis on June 20, The Times of Israel reported on June 21.

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israel to Build 1,000 New Settlement Homes, Citing Terror Attack

Israel's far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir called for a harsh response to a Palestinian militant attack on an Israeli settlement in the West Bank, The Times of Israel reported on June 20.

Israel: Far-Right Minister Calls for Crackdown Following Palestinian Attack on Settlement

China announced that it and the Palestinian Authority, which governs parts of the West Bank, signed a "strategic partnership," The Guardian reported on June 14.

China, Palestinian Territories: Beijing Flexes 'Strategic Partnership' and Peace Plan

The U.S. State Department criticized Israel's order to legalize the Jewish Homesh outpost in the northern West Bank, a settlement that was evacuated as part of the 2005 Gaza disengagement law under which Israel withdrew from the Gaza Strip, The Jerusalem Post reported on May 29.

U.S., Israel: Washington Criticizes Israeli Reoccupation of West Bank Outpost

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A view of the Register in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

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Covering an area that spans the entire width of the continent beginning at the Sahara Desert and ending at the southernmost tip of South Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa is home to countless cultures, languages, religions, plants, animals and natural resources.

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The administrative center of the Gakh region of Azerbaijan, located at the foot of the southern slope of the Greater Caucasus, on the river Kurhumchai.

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Mir Castle in the Minsk region of Belarus.

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A horse grazes in front of Kara-Kul lake in the Chon-Ak-Suu valley, 300 kilometers southeast of Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan.

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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

Saudi Arabia, Palestinian Territories: PA Remains Unconvinced of Saudi-Israeli Normalization

Saudi Arabia: Riyadh Appoints First-Ever Ambassador to Palestinian Territories

Lebanon: Prime Minister Threatens Military Intervention in Palestinian Refugee Camp

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israeli Counterterrorism Operation May Provoke Palestinian Reprisals

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israel to Build 1,000 New Settlement Homes, Citing Terror Attack

Israel: Far-Right Minister Calls for Crackdown Following Palestinian Attack on Settlement

China, Palestinian Territories: Beijing Flexes 'Strategic Partnership' and Peace Plan

U.S., Israel: Washington Criticizes Israeli Reoccupation of West Bank Outpost

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