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In Brief: Post-election coalition building ongoing as fifth election looms

Posted 30 March, 2021 in Analysis, Israel, Israeli Politics, Labour Party
PM Benjamin Netanyahu. Photo: Crown Copyright, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 A week after Israel’s fourth election in two years, negotiations to build a coalition government have begun. Of the 13 parties represented in the new Knesset, all have previously ruled out coalitions with at least one other party. Should all keep their promises, it will be…

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Analysis: Iran and China seal $400bn economic and military pact

Posted 30 March, 2021 in Analysis, Iran, Middle East
Xi Jinping visits Iran. Official website of Ali Khamenei, Supreme leader of Iran, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Iran and China signed a major 25-year economic and military partnership agreement at the weekend which could boost the Islamic republic’s sanctions-wracked economy by $400bn. The move comes as Tehran continues to resist efforts by the Biden…

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In Brief: Vaccination progress in Israel and the Palestinian Territories

Posted 26 March, 2021 in Analysis, Israel, Israeli Politics, Palestinian Territories
CDC/ Alissa Eckert, MS; Dan Higgins, MAM, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons Israel’s success in rolling out covid-19 vaccinations has continued this week, with more than 100,000 West Bank Palestinians who work in Israel receiving their first dose so far in March. All Palestinians in East Jerusalem are likewise entitled to be vaccinated by Israel, while a…

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In Brief: Keir Starmer holds call with Israeli Labor leader Merav Michaeli

Posted 26 March, 2021 in Analysis, Antisemitism, Israel, Israeli Politics, Labour Party
Merav Michaeli. Photo: Ron Kedmi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons UK Labour leader Keir Starmer held a phone call with Merav Michaeli, leader of Israel’s Labor Party, last weekend. Days before Israelis went to the polls for the fourth time in two years, Starmer wished Michaeli – elected to lead Labour in January 2021 – luck…

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In Brief: No clear lead in polling ahead of May Palestinian elections

Posted 26 March, 2021 in Analysis, Hamas, Palestinian Territories
Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons The unclear results of Israel’s general election this week appear to be mirrored within the Palestinian Authority, according to polling conducted by the Palestinian Centre for Policy and Survey Research. Should elections go ahead in May, the polling found that both Fatah, the party of PA president Mahmoud Abbas, and…

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Analysis: Netanyahu faces further post-election deadlock

Posted 26 March, 2021 in Analysis, Israel, Israeli Politics, Labour Party
Photo: Crown Copyright, CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 Benjamin Netanyahu’s future as prime minister hangs in the balance after Israeli voters delivered another deadlocked election this week. Analysts predict that the country may be returning to the polls – for the fifth time since April 2019 – later this summer. What happened Overall, 57 percent of Israelis voted for…

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In brief: UAE and Israel announce $10bn investment fund to boost regional cooperation

Posted 16 March, 2021 in Analysis, Israel, Middle East
Photo: Wadiia, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons Israel and the United Arab Emirates have announced the establishment of a new $10bn investment fund aimed at boosting regional economic cooperation between the two countries. The fund builds on last summer’s Abraham Accords, which saw the Jewish state establish diplomatic relations with the UAE and Bahrain for…

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In brief: Blinken adopts tough line on Iran as US says alarmed at Houthi attacks

Posted 16 March, 2021 in Analysis, Iran
Photo: U.S. Embassy Nigeria, Public Domain via Flickr Anthony Blinken last week used his first appearance before a congressional committee since being confirmed as the new US secretary of state to adopt a tough line on Iran. America’s top diplomat (pictured) said the Biden administration did not intend to make any initial “concessions” to Tehran to…

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In brief: Fatah and Hamas hold new Cairo talks on Palestinian elections

Posted 16 March, 2021 in Analysis, Hamas, Palestinian Territories
Photo: Kremlin.ru, CC BY 4.0  via Wikimedia Commons Representatives of arch-enemies Fatah and Hamas are meeting this week in Cairo for a second round of talks aimed at allowing elections in the West Bank and Gaza to go ahead this summer. Mahmoud Abbas (pictured) called the elections – the first for 15 years – in January but…

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Analysis: Could “Bibi fatigue” topple Netanyahu next week?

Posted 16 March, 2021 in Analysis, Israel, Israeli Politics
Merav Michaeli. Photo: Ron Kedmi, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons Campaigning in Israel’s general election is entering its final week, with polls indicating there will be no end to the deadlock which has paralysed the country’s politics for the past two years. Nonetheless, with “Bibi fatigue” apparently affecting some sections of the electorate, Benjamin Netanyahu’s…

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