Sam Menassa

Sinwar, Netanyahu and the Al-Aqsa Flood 

The Ramadan truce between Hamas and Israel that we had been promised does not seem forthcoming. In fact, Benjamin Netanyahu and Yahya al-Sinwar could be dragging the region in general, and their countries in particular, to a dangerous place, as they are accounting only for their own personal fates…

Saving Peace from the Machinations of Extremists

Last week’s “bread massacre” in Gaza was a bloody incarnation of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan for the "day after" his war. In essence, the plan is for Israel to maintain freedom of action in the Gaza Strip indefinitely and establish a security zone along the Gazan side of the border. …

Will Biden Dare to Recognize a Palestinian State

Both Iran and Israel have managed, in record time, to mobilize the largest number of adversaries or lose the largest number of friends. Iran has Europe’s overt or covert sympathy, pushing the Europeans to adopt a position more aligned with their US ally because they have concluded that Iran has…

The Obstacles to Hindering the Israeli War Machine

It is now reasonable, after the thousands of civilian casualties and indescribable destruction we have seen, to ask how effectively the United States could pressure Israel, which is determined to continue its hysterical war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip. Almost every country and international…

‘Flood of Peace’ 

One month after the Al-Aqsa Flood operation, we can say that its objectives go beyond undercutting Israel’s security, standing up to its arrogance, and dealing a blow to the prestige of its so-called invincible army. It would be misguided to underestimate the political gains made by those who…

After Gaza… Assumptions Were Debunked and Developments Emerged

The "2023 Gaza War" that began just over three weeks ago has turned long-held beliefs and formulas for understanding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict on their head. The developments seen will inevitably have political and military implications for the countries of the region. It will change their…

What Comes After the Flood?

The Aqsa Flood operation Hamas launched against Israel could change the course of the entire region’s politics for decades to come. Israel’s wound will not heal quickly or easily, given the sense of humiliation it engendered and the number of people killed, wounded, and taken hostage after Hamas…

Hezbollah: From ‘Statelet’ to ‘State Outside the State’ 

A conversation with a senior figure who has occupied several high-ranking positions pushed me to write this article. Our discussion revolved around political powers that have become part of the system despite operating outside of it. Lebanon has undergone several major crises since its…

Will Anyone in Lebanon and Palestine Take What Saudi Arabia Has Said into Account?

Rarely have global politics seen changes and shifts like those that have occurred since the war between Russia and Georgia in 2008, which was the first of its kind in Europe after World War Two. It was then followed by Russia's invasion of the Crimean Peninsula, and finally, the ongoing Ukrainian…

30 Years Later: Be Weary Of the West Bank Becoming Another Oslo

It has been exactly thirty years and three weeks since the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) were signed, and the situation in Palestine, and the conditions of the Palestinians, are worse than ever. Indeed, parts of the West Bank are on the brink of turning…