Political renewal is needed to argue Palestinian positions internationally, build consensus and apply pressure on actors that deviate from this. Until Palestinians have legitimate institutions that speak for them, some will be driven to violence to make themselves heard. ecfr.eu/publication/...

Backed by far-right ministers such as Itamar Ben-Gvir and Bezalel Smotrich, the settler movement seeks to incorporate the West Bank, Gaza and, at its most extreme interpretation, parts of Syria, Lebanon and Jordan, into Israel. ecfr.eu/publication/...

Big & important new @ecfr.eu read: Averting West Bank collapse: How to revive Palestinian politics - by @hlovatt.bsky.social & @tahanimustafa.bsky.social ecfr.eu/publication/... @ecfrmena.bsky.social

A very interesting new @ecfr.eu report about countering Russian hybrid warfare in Africa by @willbrownecfr.bsky.social. I am glad to see that the report really underlines one of my recent pet peeves: The need to go on the offensive on cyber.+

✍️ Europeans should capitalise on the Polisario’s willingness to engage in renewed negotiations that would preserve the current economic interests of Morocco relating to Western Sahara’s natural resources, writes @hlovatt.bsky.social buff.ly/9ducliL

Part of the background to the fall of El Fasher and RSF atrocities there is the sustained airlift from the UAE to the RSF via Libya - sixty Il-76 flights during October alone. For the past six months, Haftar-controlled eastern Libya has supplanted Chad as the RSF's most important supply route.

Pleasure to be at ISPI's MED Dialogues on a panel moderated by @martinkonecny.bsky.social talking about the future of Palestinian governance with Obada Shtaya and Hiba Husseini Watch what we had to say 👇 events.ispionline.it/the-future-o...

New @ecfr.eu by @muhammadshehada.bsky.social: "The question is not whether Hamas will change overnight, but whether diplomacy can evolve fast enough to meet Hamas at its most flexible before it returns to the logic of perpetual war." t.co/LPBLj4qNV8

Positive news to see Polisario updating its 2007 peace proposal -- long overdue and something we @ecfr have been advocating for the past 4 years. On why this is needed, and how it can advance a Trump deal, here is my most recent piece: cidob.org/en/publicati...

European states should offer support for the broad principles of the plan conditioned on a clear Israeli commitment to a full withdrawal from Gaza, write @hlovatt.bsky.social @jbdacey.bsky.social @ecfrmena.bsky.social https://bit.ly/42YPEqn

European governments need to recognise the destabilising effects of ever-escalating Israeli actions on European interests. Europe must do much more, write @jbdacey.bsky.social @hlovatt.bsky.social and Ellie Geranmayeh @ecfrmena.bsky.social https://bit.ly/3IhltUe

📰 “A far more significant shift is happening among long-standing supporters of Israel, predominantly on the political Right, who are also becoming increasingly critical." comments @hlovatt.bsky.social for @telegraphnews.bsky.social. For more 👇 buff.ly/vAddSsv

Wonderful @telegraphnews.bsky.social obituary of my (soon to be) father-in-law Byron Rogers, Welsh writer & journalist. "His interviewees included Helen Mirren – whose convivial boyfriend, Liam Neeson, got him so drunk that he fell off his bicycle on the way home" www.telegraph.co.uk/obituaries/2...

New for @ecfr.eu by @muhammadshehada.bsky.social: Hamas is battered but unbroken. The group is now quietly opening up to decommissioning. European leaders, long sidelined in the diplomatic arena, now have a real chance to help chart a new course away from perpetual war. ecfr.eu/article/deco...

A few thoughts ahead of tomorrow's EU Foreign Affairs Council meeting to discuss possible restrictive measures against Israel, including suspension of preferential trade tariffs and Horizon Europe, arms embargo and a settlement trade ban... 🧵

Here are the 30+ Israeli international law violations in Gaza and the West Bank, identified in the EU's review. The EU review has concluded Israel is in breach of its human rights obligations under Article 2 of the EU-Israel Association Agreement. 🧵🧵🧵

🧵In new @ecfr.eu piece @jbdacey.bsky.social, Ellie Geranmayeh & @hlovatt.bsky.social argue that Israel's destabilising regional role threatens Euro interests, including by trying to draw the West into an unnecessary & dangerous war with Iran focused on regime change as much as nuclear issues

Maxime Prévot annonce qu'avec 8 autres Etats membres (🇫🇮 🇮🇪 🇱🇺 🇵🇱 🇵🇹 🇸🇮 🇪🇸 🇸🇪), la 🇧🇪 a adressé une lettre à la Commission 🇪🇺 lui demandant une analyse sur les implications pour l'UE de l'avis de la CIJ sur le commerce avec les colonies israéliennes. Spoiler alert : ce commerce est ILLÉGAL et doit CESSER.

Our latest: Enough is enough: Europe needs to oppose Israel’s aggression, with @hlovatt.bsky.social & Ellie Geranmayeh At this pivotal moment European gov supporting Israeli strikes as “doing our dirty work” must come to their senses ecfr.eu/article/enou... @ecfr.eu

'If European leaders want to seriously address the escalating insecurity and retain any political credibility in the region, they need to enforce some form of accountability on Israel for its actions that clearly violate EU’s human rights standards and long-standing red lines.'

[email protected] for @ecfr.eu: As Europeans focus on Israel’s intensifying conflict with Iran, the country is continuing its expansionist project in the West Bank. After its failed engagement policy, the EU should finally act against Israeli violations. t.co/AhCJ2x8ny6

Israel has become the biggest destabiliser in the Middle East, overstepping its right to self-defence, ethnically cleansing Gaza, undermining western-orientated governments in the Levant, and fuelling war with Iran. None of this is in Germany's interest. 👇 internationalepolitik.de/de/warum-deu...

With Hannah Lettl for @internationalepolitik.de: "Saying no to a friend is never easy. However, the German government's attitude towards Israel's actions in Gaza and the region has long since ceased to reflect its own strategic interests. A change of course is needed."

"Anstatt zur Stabilisierung beizutragen, schafft Israel Bedingungen für neue Gewalt und Staatszerfall in der Levante – mit sicherheitspolitischen Folgen für Deutschland." Hannah Lettl und ich fordern einen Kurswechsel der deutschen Nahostpolitik:🔗 internationalepolitik.de/de/warum-deu...

Several factors contributed to Israel’s war against Iran, incl a desire to fully exploit its perceived regional weakening and thwart a U.S. nuclear deal — as @ecfr.eu has consistently warned. But the spectre of Netanyahu’s quest for political survival also looms large.🧵

Ellie Geranmayeh: Israeli aggression against Iran is a threat to regional peace and security, derailing hopes of a diplomatic pathway to resolve Iran’s nuclear crisis and risking a deep regional war, both of which directly threaten core European interests. ecfr.eu/article/euro... @ecfr.eu

Join our online panel, Thurs, June 12, 1 PM ET — “French-Saudi Two-State Solution Conference: Game Changer or Too Little, Too Late?” Experts: @hlovatt.bsky.social, @claudiofrancavilla.bsky.social, @omerman.bsky.social, Raed Jarrar, @sarahleah1.bsky.social Register: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

A full suspension of EU’s Association agreement with Israel is unlikely due to lack of unanimity among member states. However a qualified majority could suspend parts of the agreement, blocking Israel's access to preferential trade tariffs and important EU funding under projects like Horizon Europe.

Great summary and analysis of European policy changes towards Israel brewing

The tide is turning, as the reality of Israel's ethnic cleansing of Gaza and growing public anger finally catch up with Europe's leaders. The EU aspires to be a geopolitical power. It must now demonstrate to Israel that its actions come with a cost. dawnmena.org/is-europe-fi...

Europeans have a chance to guide the Levant towards stability by supporting effective state institutions that serve their people and prevent external interference. New ECFR paper by Ellie Geranmayeh, @hlovatt.bsky.social ‬& @jbdacey.bsky.social

My contribution to @carnegieeurope.bsky.social debate: "Israel has become the Middle East’s new de-stabilizer-in-chief....Suspending the association agreement, even in part, would create the sort of tangible dilemmas that Israelis have so far avoided." t.co/1SHldoOZXl

The regional shifts following October 7 remain uncertain & dangerous. Nonetheless, they present #Europe with an opportunity to help shape a more stable regional order. Read @ecfr.eu 's new policy brief by @jbdacey.bsky.social , @hlovatt.bsky.social & Ellie Geranmayeh 👇 bit.ly/3GTwbPO

🚨New @ecfr.eu report with @jbdacey.bsky.social & Ellie Geranmayeh on the shifting geopolitics of Iraq, Syria and Lebanon: "long-term stability depends on the establishment of a new balance of power that can support independent governments free from external hegemony." ecfr.eu/publication/...

In response to its violation of the ceasefire and renewed war on Gazans, Europe must finally sanction Israel by banning settlement products & financial services, suspending the EU-Israel Association Agreement (incl. preferential trade tariffs) and ending all military support. ecfr.eu/article/isra...

What a privilege to be back in Syria this week. Joy and relief still, but an increasing sense that the honeymoon period is ending. The intensity of the deep, interlinking & very immediate econ, pol & security challenges are coming ever more to the fore & the fragility of the situation is clear

Research by Profundo finds that Israel issued sovereign bonds between 7 October 2023 and January 2025 with a total value of $19.4 billion to meet the “significant funding needs” arising from its war on Gaza. Seven banks underwrote these bonds for Israel: t.co/IPQeib8u81

Congo stands on the brink of being at the centre of a devastating new regional war. Europe should act in its own self-interest to avert further humanitarian catastrophe, writes @willbrownecfr.bsky.social 📝 @ecfrafrica.bsky.social

James Lynch: "Scything cuts to US foreign aid will drain an already shallow pool of funding for embattled human rights defenders and independent media. That should worry Europeans, whose own budget cuts are part of the problem" ecfr.eu/article/the-...

As per the UNGA's September resolution welcoming the ICJ's Advisory Opinion on the illegality of Israel's continued presence in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 32 members & observers have reported on measures taken to implement its provisions. docs.un.org/en/A/79/588 👇Thread👇