Research Library

President Biden’s announcement that the U.S. is preparing to open a maritime corridor to Gaza highlights a deteriorating relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and attempts to address voter concerns ahead of the November election.

In a new brief, contributing expert Robert Barron explores the first phase of the Israel-Hamas war and what stakeholders must consider for a viable pathway to peace.

Five key factors make the Biden administration’s attempts to expand the Abraham Accords in the Middle East likely to fail, writes nonresident fellow Omar Rahman. Instead, regional approaches like the restoration of Saudi-UAE diplomatic relations with Iran are now holding sway.

In April 2023 — 75 years after Israel's founding — diplomats, policymakers and other stakeholders gathered in Baker Hall to explore the past, present and future of the U.S.-Israeli relationship. This report summarizes key points that emerged from the discussions.

Information and cyber action have been important but ancillary components of the Ukraine war since its outbreak on February 24, 2022. We offer a set of observations:

President Biden’s visit was a disappointment for those advocating major changes in U.S. policy toward the Middle East.

A report from center experts on the evolution of Islamist politics, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, security in the Persian Gulf and displacement in the Middle East.

This report explores the current situation in Palestinian-Israeli dynamics and concludes that the only real solution is a return to the two-state paradigm. Peace and security — for both Israelis and Palestinians — will come through mutual recognition of statehood and clearly defined and respected international borders, the author writes.

Despite the frozen status of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations and the considerable obstacles to restart them, a U.S.-led effort could help to gradually forge a “Framework Agreement for an Israeli-Palestinian Permanent Peace.” This policy brief outlines the principles that such a framework might embody, with the essential objective of two states for two peoples.

Fellow Kristian Coates Ulrichsen examines where the six nations of the Gulf Cooperation Council currently stand in their outlook and approaches toward the Israeli-Palestinian issue.