Israeli-Gulf relations

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (R) poses beside Khalid Mashaal (C), the Hamas chief in exile, and Gaza's prime minister Ismail Haniyeh prior to their meeting in Ankara on June 18, 2013. Senior leaders of the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas met today in Ankara with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan to discuss Erdogan's planned visit to the Gaza Strip as well as the situation in Syria, the source said on condition of anonymity. AFP PHOTO/ PRIME MINISTER PRESS OFFICE/ YASIN BULBUL == RESTRICTED T

Analysis

Will Turkey host Hamas leaders after consequential Qatar departure?

Pro-Muslim Brotherhood groups and leaders in Turkey enjoyed few restrictions on their activities in the past but are now seeing their activities curtailed.

Barin Kayaoglu

By Barin Kayaoglu

In Ankara, reporting on geopolitics and national security

WASHINGTON, DC - MARCH 20: President Donald Trump (R) holds up a chart of military hardware sales as he meets with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in the Oval Office at the White House on March 20, 2018 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch-Pool/Getty Images)

Analysis

Saudi Arabia to pursue two-track approach for Trump presidency

Riyadh is likely to compartmentalize business dealings with incoming President Donald Trump separately from its foreign policy engagements, where there is likely to be disagreement.

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

ATTA KENARE/AFP via Getty Images

After UAE visit, Qatari PM holds talks in Iran as Hamas officials depart Doha

A Gulf political official told Al-Monitor on Wednesday that the Qatari prime minister's visit to the UAE is designed to communicate Doha's new policy toward Hamas, where it seeks to be more in alignment with them regarding the group.

Chief of the General Staff Lieutenant-General Herzi Halevi (C), Director the Security Agency Ronen Bar (C-R) and Israel's Chief of the Mossad David Barnea (R).

Shin Bet chief discusses Gaza truce in Turkey: What we know

The Israeli official's travel to Turkey marks a dramatic development considering that Ankara has not played a part in these negotiations over the past year and Israel-Turkey relations have significantly deteriorated amid the Gaza war.

Latest News

MBS condemns Israel's 'genocide' in Gaza as Saudi frustrations mount

Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman arrives to attend a EU - Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) summit in Brussels on October 16, 2024. Avoiding a "general conflagration" in the Middle East will be top of the agenda when European Union and leaders of countries from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), which brings together Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, meet in Brussels on October 16, 2024. (Photo by JOHANNA GERON / POOL / AFP) (Photo by JOHANNA GERON/POOL/AFP via Get

Analysis

Beyond congratulations, Trump faces changed, eastward-looking Gulf

US President Donald Trump (L) speaks with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) as Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe (R), Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi (2nd R) and Britain's Prime Minister Theresa May smile during a family photo session at the G20 Summit in Osaka on June 28, 2019. (Photo by KIM KYUNG-HOON / POOL / AFP) (Photo credit should read KIM KYUNG-HOON/AFP via Getty Images)

Jennifer Gnana

By Jennifer Gnana

In Dubai, reporting on Gulf energy policy and politics

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Saudi-Israel normalization 'off table' until Palestinian statehood, FM says

Saudi Arabian Minister for Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud arrives at the BRICS summit in Kazan on October 24, 2024. (Photo by Alexander Zemlianichenko / POOL / AFP) (Photo by ALEXANDER ZEMLIANICHENKO/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)

Analysis

As response looms, US tries to dissuade Israel from catastrophic attack on Iran

Italian F35 fighter jets take part in the "Blue Flag" multinational air defence exercise at the Ovda air force base, north of the Israeli city of Eilat, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

In Tel Aviv, reporting on national security, Israeli politics, defense

Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid (L) shakes hands with European High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs, Josep Borrell (R) during a Foreign Affairs Council meeting at the European Union headquarters, Brussels, Belgium, July 12, 2021.

Israel’s Lapid, Herzog out to rehabilitate Israel’s global image

Newly appointed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid and President Isaac Herzog are working to boost Israel's diplomatic ties following some tensions under former PM Benjamin Netanyahu.

Emirati Ambassador to Israel Mohamed al-Khaja delivers a speech at the new UAE Embassy in Tel Aviv on July 14, 2021.

UAE opens embassy to Israel in Tel Aviv

The UAE ambassador to Israel called the Abraham Accords "solid" during the historic ceremony.

Israeli Foreign Ministry/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Lapid opens Israeli Embassy to UAE

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid has inaugurated Israel’s embassy in Abu Dhabi, his first task in his historic visit to the United Arab Emirates.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken (C) greets Israeli Foreign Minister Yair Lapid ahead of their meeting in Rome, on June 27, 2021.

Israel’s Lapid puts Iran talks on table in meeting with Blinken

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid is committed to repairing ties with the US administration and opening discrete dialogue channels on the Iranian file.

MAZEN MAHDI/AFP via Getty Images

Omani FM voices hope Israel's new leaders will advance Palestinian state

Omani Foreign Minister Badr al-Busaidi told his Israeli counterpart that the Gulf country is hopeful the new government in Israel can take "concrete steps" to establish a sovereign Palestinian state.

Amir Levy/Getty Images

New Israeli government jumps to deepen ties with Emirates, Bahrain

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid plans to travel to the United Arab Emirates June 29-30 in the first ever Israeli ministerial visit to the country.

EMMANUEL DUNAND/AFP via Getty Images

New environment minister has ambitious plans for Israel

New Environmental Protection Minister Tamar Zandberg has announced some lofty goals, including raising the target for renewable energy to 40% by 2030.

New Foreign Minister Yair Lapid greeted by outgoing Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi at the Foreign Ministry, Jerusalem, June 14 2021.

Israel’s Lapid enthusiastic to take on foreign affairs portfolio

Entering his new office, newly appointed Foreign Minister Yair Lapid told Israeli diplomats that he is there by choice and not by default, and that he is eager to start working with them.

Eid al-Adha in Dubai

UAE ramps up diplomacy following Israel-Hamas conflict

'There is no worse tragedy than that of Palestine over last 100 years,' Emirati political analyst Abdulkhaleq Abdulla told Al-Monitor.

DONT USE - Gulf Pulse

US President Joe Biden delivers remarks on the conflict in the Middle East from the White House on May 20, 2021 in Washington, DC.

Israeli-Palestinian conflict forces Biden to put Mideast on agenda

Egyptian and Palestinian Authority leaders are back at center stage of US regional diplomacy.

MENAHEM KAHANA/AFP

Environmentalists call Eilat oil shipping disaster waiting to happen

Environmental groups claim that the new project to transport Gulf oil via Eilat to Europe is likely to damage the local unique coral reef.

Netanyahu in Lod

Has war on Hamas given Netanyahu a political lifeline?

Conflict with Gaza proving a political winner, so far, for the embattled Israeli prime minister; Arab states may take center stage in mediation efforts; Al-Monitor’s unmatched reporting from Gaza.