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

This picture taken on November 22, 2020 in Cairo shows a man holding a phone showing a picture of Egypt's self-proclaimed "superstar" Mohamed Ramadan posted by the official Facebook page of the State of Israel in Arabic (linked to the foreign ministry) depicting Ramadan (R) hugging Israeli midfielder Dia Saba in Dubai. - Ramadan, a 32-year-old actor and rapper, boasts millions of followers in the Arab world, is a close friend of Morocco's King Mohamed VI and the recipient of the 2019 All Africa Music Awards

Israeli Arabs enjoy fruits of normalization with the Emirates

For some Israeli Arabs the normalization agreement with the United Arab Emirates opens a range of possibilities for both business and tourism.

United Arab Emirates

An Etihad Airways plane carrying a delegation from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on a first official visit, lands at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, on October 20, 2020. - The UAE delegation left on the country's first official visit to Israel with a string of deals set to be signed after the two countries signed a deal to normalise ties last month. (Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images)

El Al, Etihad pledge further air travel cooperation

The memorandum of understanding is the latest development in UAE-Israel ties following the normalization agreement.

United Arab Emirates

Qatari Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman al-Thani meets with Prime Minister of the Iraqi Kurdish Regional Government (IKRG) in Arbil, capital of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, on January 15, 2020. (Photo by SAFIN HAMED / AFP) (Photo by SAFIN HAMED/AFP via Getty Images)

Qatar calls UAE and Bahrain's normalization with Israel 'sovereign decision'

Qatar's foreign minister also stressed a "united front" of Arab states on the Israel-Palestine issue and discussed Qatar's relations with Israel.

Bahrain FM to visit Israel on Wednesday, meet with Netanyahu, Pompeo

Bahrain Foreign Minister Abdullatif bin Rashid Al-Zayani will visit Israel on Wednesday for a trilateral meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Etihad to start daily Tel Aviv flights in 2021

Air travel is a major part of the newly established relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Israeli settlers visit Dubai to discuss business ties

Palestinian officials are angry the Gulf state welcomed Israeli settlers from the West Bank.

Israel approves normalization with Bahrain, advances ties with Sudan

It was a rich diplomatic day in Israel, with the Knesset validating the normalization deal with Bahrain and an Israeli official delegation preparing to depart on Sunday to Sudan for rapprochement talks.

Opposition slams Netanyahu for allegedly approving US-Emirates F-35 deal

Opposition members keep slamming Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu over the imminent sale by the United States to the UAE of F-35 stealth jets.

Biden's campaign showed what his Middle East policy may be as president

The former vice president criticized President Donald Trump's sanctions on Iran and also spoke out on Turkey's role in the Azerbaijan-Armenia war leading up to the Nov. 3 vote.

As Biden takes lead, Palestinians eager to return to talks with US

While Palestinian officials don't expect a Biden administration to roll back all of Trump's policies, they are hopeful for a change in course in US-Palestinian ties.

Dubai-based airline announces daily flights to Tel Aviv

The budget carrier flydubai will start flying to Israel's largest city later this month in the latest sign of deepening economic ties between Israel and the Emirates.

United Arab Emirates

WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 15: (L-R) Foreign Affairs Minister of Bahrain Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, Prime Minister of Israel Benjamin Netanyahu, U.S. President Donald Trump, and Foreign Affairs Minister of the United Arab Emirates Abdullah bin Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan participate in the signing ceremony of the Abraham Accords on the South Lawn of the White House on September 15, 2020 in Washington, DC. Witnessed by President Trump, Prime Minister Netanyahu signed a peace deal with the UAE and a decl

Israel's intelligence chief wants next US president to continue Abraham Accords

Eli Cohen told Ynet TV that Saudi Arabia and Qatar are "on the agenda" for recognizing the Jewish state.