Etiket arşivi: Hamas

A Week After Trump Day

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October 20, 2025

It has been a week since the Middle East’s Trump Day. With expected accusations of violations, the ceasefire is not an irreversible fact yet, and questions about the following phases and the long-term future remain. Still, the Gaza ceasefire is a positive development. As for the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, this was probably a frustrating experience for most attendees. Many of those leaders who shook hands with President Trump and then stood behind him to listen to his remarks for half an hour might have regretted being there, even if they received personal compliments. And Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s sycophantic comments about Mr. Trump’s leadership could have annoyed many in Pakistan.

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A Critical Day for Gaza

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October 6, 2025

On September 29, 2025, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu met at the White House. Mr. Trump announced his 20-point plan for Gaza. During remarks to the media with the Israeli Prime Minister, Mr. Trump said that Hamas has ‘three or four days’ to respond to the proposal.

Last Friday, “An Agreement must be reached with Hamas by Sunday Evening at SIX (6) P.M., Washington, D.C. time. Every Country has signed on! If this LAST CHANCE agreement is not reached, all HELL, like no one has ever seen before, will break out against Hamas.” Mr. Trump wrote on Truth Social.

His fixing the deadline one day before the second anniversary of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel was another warning to Hamas, signaling that without an agreement, that very day would be a big day of punishment. Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey started talks with both Hamas and the US administration.

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The Question of the Endgame in Gaza (2)

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April 7, 2025

On January 18, 2025, following the Israeli government’s approval of the Gaza ceasefire, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement.  He notably declared that Israel retains the right to return to the war, if necessary, with the backing of the US. And in a broad assessment of the war against Hamas and Iran’s Axis of Resistance, he said:

“We eliminated Sinwar, Deif and Haniyeh. We eliminated Nasrallah and the entire Hezbollah leadership. We destroyed most of the weaponry of the Syrian military. We struck the Houthis in Yemen. We acted against Iran. Indeed, we struck all of these very hard, that is to say that we struck the entire Iranian axis very hard – and we are still active.

“Just as I promised you, we have changed the face of the Middle East.”

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The West in Disarray

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October 14, 2024

The November 5, US presidential election is only three weeks away. On January 20, 2025, the new US president will take office. Thus there will be a six-week period of transition. Then the new president will form her/his government and get a closer look at the challenges ahead. In brief, the new US administration’s fully taking the reins will take time.

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Foreshocks of a Bigger Middle East Earthquake?

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October 6, 2024

Tomorrow will mark the first anniversary of the Hamas the Hamas onslaught of October 7 that left 1,200 Israelis dead. Since then Israel has been fighting its longest war. With nearly 42,000 dead and almost 100,000 wounded, mostly women and children, the tremors of the Gaza earthquake continue. The Strip has been reduced to rubble and winter is approaching. Moreover, some 800 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank. With the beginning of IDF operations, Lebanon is now the major battleground. IDF’s recent airstrikes in Lebanon have so far killed over 1,400 people and displaced more than 1,200,000. And the risks of Lebanon turning into a second Gaza are growing if strikes were to continue at this pace.

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Gaza Ceasefire Talks Should No Longer Be a Distraction

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August 19, 2024

Since the Hamas onslaught of October 7, world attention has essentially focused on two aspects of the war in Gaza. First, the ferocity of the IDF operations that have caused immense loss of civilian life and devastation, and second, the ceasefire and hostage-prisoner exchange talks.

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Where to Turkish-Israeli Relations?

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August 5, 2023

In 1492, the Ottoman Empire, the predecessor of Atatürk’s modern Türkiye, opened its doors to Jews after they had been expelled from Spain. Türkiye became the first Muslim-majority country to recognize Israel as an independent state in 1949. In the late 1950s, Türkiye and Israel agreed to expand their cooperation in diplomatic, economic, and military fields during Israeli Prime Minister David Ben Gurion’s visit to Ankara. Relations kept developing.

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Gaza Becoming Inhabitable Land

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July 22, 2024

During the past weeks, developments of global public interest somehow diverted attention away from the war in Gaza until the Israeli strikes on Al-Mawasi, an area in southern Gaza where tens of thousands of Palestinians had fled to after the Israeli military declared it safe for civilians. The attack targeted Mohammed Deif, a Hamas commander, but also left nearly a hundred dead and more than three hundred wounded.

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Türkiye’s Overlooked Gift to Israel

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July 8, 2024

President Bashar al-Assad met with Alexander Lavrentiev, President Putin’s special envoy in late June. During their discussion, President al-Assad reportedly expressed Syria’s openness to all initiatives aimed at improving Syrian-Turkish relations, provided Ankara respects Syria’s sovereignty and commits to combating all forms of terrorism and terrorist organizations. In the following days, President Erdoğan said that Türkiye has no interest in interfering in Syria’s domestic affairs and that the two countries could act in unity as in the past. Yesterday, he also said an invitation could soon be extended to President Assad to visit Türkiye. These statements and the acts of violence between Syrian refugees and the locals in some Turkish cities once again moved the question of “reconciliation with Syria” up Türkiye’s foreign policy agenda. Whether this is simply another distraction from our depressing economic problems or represents a genuine change of heart remains to be seen.

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The War in Gaza to Continue

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June 17, 2024

On May 31, President Biden announced that Israel has offered a comprehensive new proposal. He described the three-phase Israeli plan as a roadmap to an enduring ceasefire and the release of all hostages. He added that the proposal had been transmitted by Qatar to Hamas.[i]

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