On 10 and 11 November, the Middle East Network of the Centre for Liberal Modernity organized two polit­i­cally signif­icant events in Israel and the Pales­tinian terri­tories of the West Bank, creating space for an open dialogue between Israelis and Pales­tinians. Despite the tense situation on the ground, more than 100 partic­i­pants came together to discuss prospects for peace, regional cooper­ation, and the future of diplo­matic initiatives.

No one in Gaza is under the illusion that peace is fully here. The cease-fire agreement announced on Wednesday in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, repre­sents the first phase of a U.S.-brokered plan: Hostil­ities are to pause, the Israeli military will pull back to agreed-on positions and Hamas is to release all hostages in exchange for Pales­tinian prisoners. Human­i­tarian access is expected to increase, and more detailed arrange­ments for recon­struction, gover­nance and security will be negotiated in subse­quent phases. While these steps are signif­icant, the hard work now begins — turning promises into realities, and ensuring that rebuilding does not stop at concrete and steel but extends to trust and coexistence.

When President Emmanuel Macron sat down with Israel’s Channel 12, he declared that appointing a vice president to the Pales­tinian Authority was a suffi­cient reform step to justify France’s recog­nition of a Pales­tinian state. With those words, Macron handed Mahmoud Abbas a free pass—applauding a cosmetic gesture while ignoring the single reform Pales­tinians have been demanding for nearly two decades: the right to vote in free presi­dential and legislative elections.

For almost two years – since October 7, 2023, when the terrorist organi­zation Hamas attacked Israel, murdered 1,200 civilians, and took 240 hostages – war has been raging in Gaza. The conflict is being fought with unrelenting ferocity – on both sides. Kerstin Müller, Program Director for the Middle East Network, assesses the current situation and explains why recog­nizing a Pales­tinian state would currently be purely symbolic politics.

In his essay for the major German weekend newspaper “Welt am Sonntag” Ralf Fücks, founding director of LibMod, analyzes the current debate about Israel, the efforts to get rid of Germany’s special commitment to the Jewish state (“end of the cult of guilt”), and the long lines of hostility toward Israel on the “progressive” left.

Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu and his coalition partners are celebrating Donald Trump’s election victory. But the future US president could still cause headaches for the government in Jerusalem, as our columnist Richard C. Schneider writes.

Given the level of violence and hostility since 7 October, a political solution to the Israeli-Pales­tinian conflict seems a long way off. At the same time, it is more urgent than ever. Together with experts from the region, a new LibMod project aims to explore the oppor­tu­nities for a two-state solution and for security and cooper­ation in the Middle East. 

The situation in the Middle East is at the brink of escalation. While observers are waiting for Iran and its proxies to start their announced attack on Israel, diplo­matic crisis inter­vention is running at full speed in order to prevent a full-blown regional confla­gration. In his interview with Till Schmidt, Ali Vaez analyzes the current situation.

In Gaza, the Israeli army is currently fighting Hamas, while at the same time the ongoing conflict with Hezbollah in the north is at the brink of escalation. Is there a two-fronts war ahead for Israel? Till Schmidt talks with political scientist Matthew Levitt.

Despite clear polls and massive protests, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is still in office. Richard C. Schneider on the exhaustion of the people in Israel, possible scenarios for the end of the governing coalition — and why Netanyahu is playing for time. 

Yossi Klein Halevi in an interview about the goals and motives of the far right in Israel’s government – and why the decision whether to exempt the ultra-Orthodox from military service could lead to the fall of the coalition.

Gershon Baskin is one of the leading voices on the Middle East peace process and one of the few Israelis with direct contact to Hamas. For almost two decades, he was in contact with Ghazi Hamad, one of organ­i­sa­tion’s senior political leaders. In this interview, Baskin provides insights into Hamas’ ideology, its often presumed willingness to sign ceasefire agree­ments and into ways to combat the organi­za­tion’s cult of death.

A conver­sation between Kerstin Müller, former Minister of State at the Federal Foreign Office, and Iran specialist Kasra Aarabi about 7 October, Iran as a sponsor of terrorist organi­za­tions in the Middle East, cooper­ation with Russia and the special role of the Iranian Revolu­tionary Guards. The EU should classify them as a terrorist organization.

Arkady Mil-Man was Israeli ambas­sador to Russia and now heads the Russia program at think tank Institute for National Security Studies (INSS) in Tel Aviv. In an interview with Till Schmidt, Mil-Man explains the role Russia played in Hamas’s attack on Israel and the relationship between the Russian and Iranian regimes.

Israel and Iran: Iranian-Israeli author Meir Javendafar in an interview with Till Schmidt about the mutual perception of the two countries, the current situation of protests and Russia’s influence on the nuclear agreement.

The Tehran-Moscow axis seems threat­ening, but it was born out of necessity and does not change much for Israel and the Middle East. However, the Russia-Israel relationship has already deteriorated...

In Israel, Chinese invest­ments are increas­ingly viewed criti­cally, partly because of China’s relations with Iran. On the other hand, China offers enormous economic oppor­tu­nities, according to Galia Lavi of the...

The anti-liberal revolt ist not limited to the US and Europe. Tendencies towards an ‘illiberal democracy’ and ethnic nation­alism can be observed in Israel as well. The Israeli author Dahlia...