Spoke yesterday with Deutsche Welle about POTUS' plan for Gaza. (You can watch at 7:30) www.youtube.com/watch?v=VrwW...

“Netanyahu couldn’t allow himself to resist the ambitions of Trump, Israel’s prime benefactor,” said Mr Lipner, now a non-resident senior fellow for the Middle East Programmes at the @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.straitstimes.com/world/united...

Trump & Netanyahu heralded a Gaza deal last night, but... “there will be many spoilers working hard to make sure that doesn’t happen.” Good speaking with @wsj.com for this piece. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

"Netanyahu has put all his chips on Trump... and while he may believe he’s won the jackpot, he doesn’t have an open tab in the Oval Office... Matters could come to a head if he balks at Trump’s program for Gaza." My latest for @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menaso...

Great speaking with @wsj.com's Alex Ward for this piece. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

"Immediate Israeli goals are to guarantee security along the border with Syria, prevent any entrenchment of hostile interlopers and ensure protection of Syria's Druze... Normalization would be a longer-term, aspirational objective." Good speaking with Deutsche Welle. www.dw.com/en/are-syria...

“Clearly everyone is running out of patience. But I don't think it necessarily means that, were Hamas to come back with something people felt was more viable, that they wouldn't re-engage to get across the finish line.” Nice to speak again with @ebazail.bsky.social. www.politico.com/newsletters/...

"The recent events in Syria have underscored the fact that any excitement about that country’s imminent participation in the Abraham Accords was woefully premature." Shared some thoughts for this @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social Q&A on the situation in Syria. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-at...

"Lipner said that while Netanyahu’s personal popularity had risen after the war vs Iran, polling showed the multiparty coalition he now heads would likely end up in opposition after elex." Great speaking w/@theglobeandmail.com's @markmackinnon.bsky.social. www.theglobeandmail.com/world/articl...

Great to be on @cnbc.com's Access Middle East this morning. www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...

Iran, Israel & the US "are pivoting to a series of accomplishments that offer ladders from which to climb off their warhorses. Those parallel narratives facilitate moving their respective publics toward deescalation." My latest via @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menaso...

"Netanyahu’s son called him “Churchill of our time”... but change could end many different ways, for the region & for Israeli politics. Churchill won the war only to be rejected by voters. The same could happen to Netanyahu." My latest for @foreignpolicy.com. foreignpolicy.com/2025/06/18/n...

Good speaking with @kathimerini.gr. www.kathimerini.gr/opinion/inte...

"Israel’s intent is not only to eliminate Iran’s nuclear program, but also to undermine its potential to inflict retaliatory harm on Israel and defend against subsequent waves of Israel’s offensive..." Some initial thoughts for @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-at...

"The pressing need to make strategic decisions is exposing fissures that now threaten the stability of Netanyahu’s governing coalition." - from my comments for @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-at...

"Impressions matter, Lipner told The Straits Times. “Even if the President’s primary focus is on doing business in the Gulf, not making a stop in Jerusalem is being perceived as a message in itself,” said Lipner, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council." www.straitstimes.com/world/united...

"“Everyone is on edge. There’s a lot of pushback in both Washington & Jerusalem insisting that it’s actually ‘business as usual.’ But... ‘Thou doth protest too much,’” says Lipner, referring to comments by various US & Israeli officials." @dinakraft.bsky.social www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle...

“This current trip is about doing serious business, about solidifying [Trump’s] relationship with the countries that he’s visiting. Israel is not, apparently, part of that conversation right now,” said Shalom Lipner. Good speaking with @jewishinsider.com. jewishinsider.com/2025/05/trum...

"Trump and Netanyahu are exasperated w/each other—each feeling their concerns & objectives are under-appreciated by the other," Lipner told @newsweek.com. "Both of them have legitimate arguments to make but they seem to be talking past each other." www.newsweek.com/what-cracks-...

Great to speak again with @gerryshih.bsky.social for this piece. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

Thanks to BBC Persian for hosting me. x.com/bbcpersian/s...

"After being blindsided by POTUS' abandonment of the campaign vs the Houthis & his administration’s dialogue with Hamas, PM Netanyahu will be losing sleep over the possibility of a similar, rude awakening on the Iran front." My latest via @foreignpolicy.com. foreignpolicy.com/2025/05/09/n...

“What’s taking shape is a more ominous clash btw the govt & the court, w/mixed signals about whether the PM will-or won't-comply w/its ruling,” said Lipner. “After [much] stage-setting, a constitutional crisis could be fast upon Israel.” @gerryshih.bsky.social www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

"Bar’s removal after a showdown w/Netanyahu risks destabilizing Shin Bet & undermining soc cohesion in israel just as IDF resumes its offensive. A dangerous ripple effect could ensue amidst growing regional tension." My latest for @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menaso...

"Taken w/other US moves—incl this wk’s attacks on Houthi positions & POTUS' tough rhetoric vs Iran—it appears IDF designs for Gaza might constitute an integral part of Trump’s 'hell to pay in the ME' threat." From my comments for @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-at...

"As long as Hamas refuses to surrender & Israel—with the apparent blessing of the administration—refuses to accept anything less than the group's total destruction, the more likely result will be a return to full-scale warfare," Lipner told @newsweek.com. www.newsweek.com/israel-gaza-...

“Israel has a lot invested to portray that Washington & [Jerusalem] are on the same page,” helping Netanyahu to keep his coalition together & carry out tough negs w/Hamas, said Lipner. “Anything that suggests rifts in that firmament complicates all those tasks.” @wsj.com. www.wsj.com/world/middle...

Pleasure speaking with Deutsche Welle about Trump's plans for Gaza. youtu.be/ubPcyXkBnc8?...

With US President Donald Trump set to meet with Israel’s prime minister on Tuesday, “the world will be watching to see whether he offers Netanyahu a deal that he can’t refuse,” writes @shalomlipner.bsky.social.

Great speaking with my friend, @cnbc.com's @murphymedia.bsky.social, about last night's Trump-Netanyahu meeting. www.cnbc.com/video/2025/0...

"Not only the prime minister’s political fate, but also the future of the entire Middle East is hanging in the balance, waiting for Trump to decide how much slack he is prepared to grant Netanyahu." My latest via @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social. www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/menaso...

“Netanyahu and his allies are keen for Bar to follow Halevi out the door now, hoping for an opportunity to ‘clean house’ and reconfigure Israel’s strategy under new commanders,” said Lipner. Good speaking with @gerryshih.bsky.social at @washingtonpost.com. www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/0...

«Η "ολική νίκη" του Νετανιάχου ήταν περισσότερο ρητορική και ευσεβής παρά σχέδιο δράσης. Οι δυνατότητες της Χαμάς έχουν υποβαθμιστεί σοβαρά, αλλά οι όροι της συμφωνίας θα μπορούσαν να διευκολύνουν την επικίνδυνη αναβίωσή της». Great speaking with @kathimerini.gr. www.kathimerini.gr/world/563423...

“It was a rare display of coop spirit btw the Biden & Trump teams – united in their desire for a Gaza deal before Jan 20 – that constrained the wiggle room of both Hamas & Israel, propelling negs over the finish line,” said @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social's Lipner. www.straitstimes.com/world/united...

"The game-changer was “the Trump effect.” His ominous (if amorphous) threat that “all hell will break out” unless the captives are freed before Jan 20 energized the parties to compromise, lest they suffer the consequences." - for @atlanticcouncil.bsky.social www.atlanticcouncil.org/blogs/new-at...

“HTS in Damascus, under Turkish patronage, raises the daunting possibility for Israel of hostile Islamists on its border. That predicament could become even darker if the Kurds are pushed back, making room for a resurgence by ISIS.” Good speaking w/ @yarotrof.bsky.social www.wsj.com/world/middle...

“Obviously, there are all kinds of concerns about who could take over once this thing shakes out,” Lipner said. “I think that it’s not just an Israeli concern—it’s an international concern.” - from my conversation with @foreignpolicy.com's Amy Mackinnon. foreignpolicy.com/2024/12/08/a...

Shalom Lipner considers how Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are thinking about Donald Trump’s return to the White House: