Palestinian Territories

Politics

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas appointed longtime advisor and loyalist Hussein al-Sheikh to the authority's newly created vice presidential position, Al Jazeera reported on April 26.

Palestinian Territories: Palestinian Authority Appoints Fatah Insider as Abbas' Nominal Successor

Israel

Military & Security

The Palestine Liberation Organization's Central Council approved the creation of a vice presidential position for the Palestinian Authority, Reuters reported on April 24. 

Palestinian Territories: Vice Presidential Post Established as Abbas Succession Looms

Israel-Hamas Conflict

The Palestinian militant group Hamas reportedly told Arab mediators that it was willing to halt tunnel construction, stop governing Gaza, place its arsenal into a guarded warehouse overseen by Palestinian technocrats, and release all remaining Israeli hostages in exchange for a 5-15 year truce and Israel's exit from the strip, The Times of Israel reported on April 20. 

Israel, Gaza: Israel Rejects Hamas' Newest Peace Proposal

United States

Qatar

Saudi Arabia

Turkey

In drills that ended on April 11, the Israeli air force confirmed that it flew alongside Qatar's air force for the first time at the annual Iniochos exercise held in Greece, The Times of Israel reported the same day.

Israel, Qatar: Military Cooperation Signals Improved Relations, but Normalization Remains Unlikely

Indonesia

Social Issues

Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto announced his country was willing to temporarily host around 1,000 ''sick, traumatized and wounded'' Palestinians from Gaza, and confirmed that Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi had been instructed to begin logistical preparations, Reuters reported April 9.

Indonesia, Palestinian Territories: Jakarta Offers to Temporarily Host Gazan Refugees

Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz announced that Israel had significantly expanded its ground operations in the Gaza Strip to "capture extensive territory that will be added to the State of Israel’s security areas," CNN reported on April 2. 

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israel Expands Ground Operations

Hundreds of protesters in Gaza's northern town of Beit Lahiya on March 25 called for an end to the Israel-Hamas war and for Hamas to exit Gaza, the largest show of anti-Hamas sentiment since the war began in October 2023, NBC reported on March 26.

Gaza: Protests Break Out Against Hamas

Yemen

Hamas fired three rockets from southern Gaza toward Tel Aviv, with one intercepted and two landing in open areas, in retaliation for March 18 Israeli airstrikes that reportedly killed over 400 Palestinians, according to Hamas-run Palestinian health authorities, Times of Israel reported March 20. 

Palestinian Territories, Israel: Hamas, Houthis Attack Israel Amid Expanding Israeli Military Operations in Gaza

Assessments

Palestinian men walk amidst the rubble of a destroyed building following an Israeli strike on a residential area of Gaza City on April 9, 2025. 

With the U.S.'s tacit support, Israel will likely keep expanding its military operations in Gaza in the hopes of pressuring both Hamas and local civilians there to leave, thereby making it easier to reoccupy the Strip.

To Secure Gaza, Israel Pursues a Strategy of Occupation and Displacement

Somalia

Egypt

United Arab Emirates

Europe

Philippe Lazzarini (C), the commissioner general for the U.N. Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, attends a humanitarian conference for Gaza in Cairo, Egypt, on Dec. 2, 2024, amid the continuing Israel-Hamas war.

Economics

Egypt's economic limitations will continue to restrain its assertiveness in foreign policy, constraining its ability to project power in the region.

Egypt's Economic Priorities Sideline Assertive Foreign Policy

Smoke billows during Israeli strikes west of Gaza City on March 18, 2025. 

In the coming days and weeks, Israel will likely carry out phased escalations and de-escalations to pressure Hamas into releasing the remaining hostages, returning Gaza to war by effectively collapsing the January ceasefire.

Large-Scale Israeli Airstrikes Plunge Gaza Back Into an Open-Ended Conflict

Canada

Mexico

China

Ukraine

A truck drives toward the Canada-U.S. border crossing in Blackpool, Canada, on Feb. 2, 2025.

Russia-Ukraine Conflict

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

The Weekly Rundown: An EU Summit on Ukraine, U.S. Tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China

Algeria

Libya

Morocco

Tunisia

Egyptians protest in front of the Rafah border crossing, rejecting the proposed displacement of Palestinians in Gaza to Egypt and Jordan, on Jan. 31, 2025. 

Energy

Pro-Palestinian protests will persist regionwide amid allegations of Israeli ceasefire violations, but Morocco and Egypt will avoid taking action that could jeopardize their access to Israeli weapons and energy.

How Will North African Governments Respond to Ardent Pro-Palestinian Sentiment?

Columns

On Geopolitics

Armenia

Azerbaijan

Russia

Crowds of Palestinians gather to receive food outside a U.N. aid distribution center in the Gazan city of Deir al-Balah on Nov. 2, 2024.

The displacement of any Palestinians from the Gaza Strip will further erode post-World War II norms against population transfers, laying the groundwork for future global conflicts.

Trump's Gaza Plan Risks Further Eroding Global Constraints on Population Removals

Democratic Republic of the Congo

Ethiopia

Kenya

Rwanda

Lebanon

Sri Lanka

Damage on Feb. 13 in the Jabaliya refugee camp in northern Gaza.

The Weekly Rundown: Mideast Ceasefires and Arab Gaza Proposals, the AU Summit

Sub-Saharan Africa

Tanzania

Americas

Brazil

Colombia

Cuba

Haiti

Nicaragua

Venezuela

Iraq

Jordan

Syria

Cambodia

North Macedonia

Bosnia and Herzegovina

Serbia

Albania

Kosovo

South Asia

Afghanistan

Bangladesh

India

The lobby of the headquarters for the U.S. Agency for International Development is seen on Feb. 3, 2025, in Washington, D.C. 

Cuts to U.S.-funded humanitarian and development programs could worsen global health outcomes, destabilize security environments, accelerate democratic backsliding, and create opportunities for rival powers to expand their influence.

The Global Implications of Trump's Foreign Aid Cuts

Displaced Palestinians return to their homes in the Shijaiyah neighborhood, Gaza City, on Jan. 28, 2025, following the Hamas-Israel ceasefire.

Egypt and Jordan will reject Trump's current proposal to resettle over a million Palestinians from Gaza to their territories due to fears of stoking domestic unrest, but they will likely permit smaller, gradual resettlements via illegal smuggling routes.

Trump Wants Egypt and Jordan To Take in Palestinians From Gaza. Will They Do It?

Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani holds a press conference in Doha on Jan. 15, 2025, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in Gaza.

Despite Qatar's success in getting Hamas to accept a ceasefire with Israel, Trump will remain critical of Doha's support for Islamist movements in the region.

For Qatar, the Gaza Ceasefire Will Ease U.S. Pressure -- For Now

Germany

France

The West Front of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 17 in Washington. Donald Trump will be inaugurated as U.S. president on Jan. 20.

The Weekly Rundown: The Gaza Ceasefire, Trump's Inauguration

A smoke plume rises above destroyed buildings in northern Gaza on Jan. 13, 2025.

The truce will improve Israel's ties with Lebanon and Egypt, but eventual violations could reignite regional tensions, as could Israel's intensified counter-insurgency operations in the West Bank.

The Regional Implications of the Gaza Ceasefire

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

Palestinian Territories: Palestinian Authority Appoints Fatah Insider as Abbas' Nominal Successor

Palestinian Territories: Vice Presidential Post Established as Abbas Succession Looms

Israel, Gaza: Israel Rejects Hamas' Newest Peace Proposal

Israel, Qatar: Military Cooperation Signals Improved Relations, but Normalization Remains Unlikely

Indonesia, Palestinian Territories: Jakarta Offers to Temporarily Host Gazan Refugees

Israel, Palestinian Territories: Israel Expands Ground Operations

Gaza: Protests Break Out Against Hamas

Palestinian Territories, Israel: Hamas, Houthis Attack Israel Amid Expanding Israeli Military Operations in Gaza

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