Israel Archives - Arab Digest

A missile launched by Yemen's Ansar Allah (Huthi) movement hit a building owned by Saudi Arabia's state oil company Aramco in the eastern city of Dhahran on Tuesday

The Gulf and the US: shifting sands

Summary: as a consensus emerges that US hegemony in the Gulf is over and Washington continues to cast around for an acceptable exit strategy from the war with Iran, it is none too soon to consider how best the US could safeguard its national interests there into the longer term.

October 15, 2026

Saudi Arabia's energy minister has vowed a "serious" response to the deadly attacks on the kingdom's airports and oil and gas facilities by Yemen's Huthi movement.

Saudi Arabia and the Yemen dilemma

Summary: the Huthi offensive has heightened the challenge Saudi Arabia faces in its efforts to extricate the kingdom from the Yemen quagmire.

October 13, 2026

The words "The Qatari Embassy in Israel" projected onto Likud headquarters in Tel Aviv—a visual protest against Netanyahu's long-standing, state-sanctioned backchannel dealings with Doha.

Qatargate and Washington

Summary: much has been made of Qatar’s relationship with both Hamas and the Netanyahu government as a sinister plot; a Washington insider says the reality is far more mundane.

October 12, 2026

While public dissent over normalisation is met with court sentences and dispersal, the Marrakech Air Show showcases the seamless expansion of Israel and Morocco’s military-industrial partnership.

Managing dissent: Morocco, Israel and the Palestine Question

Summary: with American backing Morocco and Israel continue to deepen their diplomatic and business ties while overriding the support for Palestine and the Palestinian people of the vast majority of Moroccans.

October 9, 2026

King Mohammed VI appointed Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri as Morocco’s head of government, making her the first woman to lead the North African kingdom’s Cabinet.

The Moroccan election: plus ça change

Summary: low turnout, blank ballots and the resurgence of an Islamist party are signs that all is not well in Morocco even as the ruling elite retains its hold.

October 2, 2026

Riyadh's "Suez moment" arrives as Washington scales back its commitments, leaving the Gulf states to face regional rivals without an American shield.

Saudi Arabia’s ‘Suez Moment’

Summary: recent events have forced a recognition that the US hegemony in the Middle East is over. How the inevitable vacuum will be filled remains far from clear. But it is hard to be optimistic in the short to medium-term even though there is surely an opportunity for “a new beginning.”

October 1, 2026

American servicemen on parade in Iraq. The departure of coalition forces marks a dramatic recalculation for Erbil, forcing the KRG to balance ties between Baghdad and Washington without its historic military shield.

Iraqi Kurds Will Face Narrowing Options After US Troops Leave

Summary: as regional insecurity grows the withdrawal of US forces from Iraq has placed Iraqi Kurdistan in a difficult and challenging position.

September 29, 2026

Although denying the Nazi genocide is criminal in over a dozen countries Sir Simon Schama - who deliberately misrepresents, suppresses and fabricates Israel’s genocide of the Palestinians - is a BBC presenter whose documentary “The Road to Auschwitz / The Holocaust, 80 Years On” won the 2026 BAFTA Television Award for Best Specialist Factual programme.

Why Simon Schama is wrong to claim blood libel

Summary: a distinguished historian says there is no genocide in Gaza and that to say there is is a blood libel; in doing so he ignores the words and actions of Holocaust survivors who speak against the genocide Israel is committing.

September 25, 2026

ehran’s maritime legal strategy takes a rather direct form on the shoreline, where signboards outline precisely who—and what—is barred from the coastal zone.

Navigating the Strait of Hormuz toll, US sanctions and maritime law

Summary: the Strait of Hormuz is still not open for traffic, with the US targeting Iranian oil tankers and imposing more sanctions as the standoff continues, while differing views on maritime rights are further muddying the waters.

September 22, 2026

Saudi Arabia’s military defeat in Yemen has global consequences

Summary: a failed Saudi-backed ground offensive enabled Huthi forces to capture critical Red Sea territory, seize Western weaponry and severely disrupt global energy markets.

September 21, 2026

Algerian President Abdelmadjid Tebboune confronts UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan at the 2024 G7 Summit in Bari. Tebboune's gesture came months after he publicly accused Abu Dhabi of funding regional conflicts, a rift that has now culminated in Algeria severing diplomatic ties.

Algeria-UAE rupture shows a region rearranging its alliances

Summary: Algeria’s severing of diplomatic relations with the UAE is a statement that the North African country has lost patience with what it sees as Abu Dhabi’s meddling in its neighbourhood.

September 18, 2026

Iranian state-controlled media has released high-resolution satellite imagery confirming significant damage at Muwaffaq al-Salti Air Base in Jordan.

Amman’s Dilemma

Summary: the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan is caught in a vice; US bases there are the target of Iranian missiles and influential Jordanians are calling for the removal of the bases. But the US presence is part of the 1994 peace deal with Israel which is now threatening to drive Palestinians out of the West Bank and into the kingdom.

September 17, 2026

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