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

Sign up to our Daily Briefing

Keep up with Al-Monitor's top stories with a morning digest from across the region.

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

Israel, US, UAE, Bahrain to cooperate on energy

Israel’s Energy Minister Yuval Steinitz participated in a first-of-its-kind meeting with his counterparts from the United States, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain to create a platform of cooperation.

Israeli Arabs break glass ceiling to become flight attendants

After many years where Arab citizens were barred from courses for flight attendants, the Arkia airline decided to change its policy.

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: Special adviser to the president Jared Kushner (L) and Ivanka Trump arrive to the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Witnessed by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu signed a peace deal with the UAE and a declaration of intent to make peace with Bahrain. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

White House's Kushner to visit Israel, Morocco following normalization agreement

Senior Trump administration adviser Jared Kushner will lead a US and Israeli delegation to Morocco next week.

Israeli soldiers stand in front of an Iron Dome defence system battery, designed to intercept and destroy incoming short-range rockets and artillery shells, in the Hula Valley in northern Israel near the border with Lebanon, on July 27, 2020. - On either side of the Israeli-Lebanese border, the language is military: The Lebanese Hezbollah movement asserts that anti-Israel action is "irremediable", Israel warns the movement that it "is playing with fire". But according to analysts, from declarations to actu

Israel open to teaming up with Gulf states on missile defense, official says

Shift in tone comes as Israel hails "successful" missile defense exercise in cooperation with Pentagon's Missile Defense Agency

Oman praises Israel-Morocco relations

Oman has yet to recognize Israel officially, despite speculation that the sultanate would do so.

The Takeaway: Israel would prefer Assad rely on Gulf, not Iran

Israeli scholar Micky Aharonson says Israel can live with Assad, if Assad can live without Iran; Amberin Zaman gets the scoop, again, on Turkey-Israel ties; should we forget about Israel-Saudi normalization for now?

(L-R)Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,UAE Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif al-Zayani pose before they participate in the signing of the Abraham Accords where the countries of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates recognize Israel, on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, September 15, 2020. - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the foreign ministers of Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates arrived September 15, 2020 at the

Emirati, Israeli officials upbeat about Biden Administration

The director general of Israel’s Foreign Ministry, Alon Ushpiz, and the UAE’s assistant minister for culture and public diplomacy, Omar Ghobash, discussed the prospects for Israeli-Palestinian peace, Iran, and combating bigotry in the region and more at an Al-Monitor event.

United Arab Emirates

For Palestine’s negotiations strategy to work, Gulf must be united

Reports about an end of the nearly four-year Gulf crisis pitting a Saudi-led bloc of nations against Qatar is a good omen for the Palestinians, who are seeking to restart the stalled Israeli-Palestinian negotiation process.

Israel ‘very comfortable’ with $23B UAE arms sale, says ambassador

Israeli Ambassador to the US Ron Dermer said the sale won't undermine Israel's military advantage in the Middle East.

Mizrahi Israelis hope normalization with Gulf will bring regional peace

For Israelis of Mizrahi origin, normalization with the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain has great significance; it reconnects them to the Arab world, with its history and heritage.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, right, listens to Saudi Minister of Foreign Affairs Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud speaks during their meeting at the State Department, October 14, 2020, in Washington, DC. - US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on October 14, 2020 encouraged Saudi Arabia to recognize Israel, in what would be a massive boost for the Jewish state amid normalization by two other Gulf Arab kingdoms. (Photo by Manuel Balce CENETA / POOL / AFP) (Photo by MANUEL BALCE CENETA/POOL/AFP via Getty Image

A new page in Israeli-Saudi relations? Not so fast

With US President Donald Trump soon out of the picture, the Saudis prefer to take things slow with Israel, and await the new Biden administration.

Israeli FM responds to Saudi critique with renewed calls for dialogue with Palestinians

Ahead of President-elect Joe Biden assuming office, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi multiplies his calls upon the Palestinian leadership to return to the negotiating table.