Middle East Press On: Egyptian, Gaza, Israel, US, Ceasefire, Syria: New Age Islam's Selection, 6 March 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
6 March 2025
The Egyptian Gaza Plan: A Deadly Trap For Israel And The US
How Hamas Exploits, Abuses, Weaponise Children
An Investment In National Resilience: Strengthening Israeli Engineering Education
US-Israel Relations Face A Fragile Future: Abandoning Ukraine Is A Warning
Why The Second Phase Of The Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations Is Failing
The Arab Summit’s Gaza Plan Is A Step Forward, But The Road Ahead Is Long
How Israeli Strikes In Syria Threaten Regional Stability
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The Egyptian Gaza Plan: A Deadly Trap For Israel And The US
By Amine Ayoub
March 6, 2025
The latest Arab summit in Cairo has produced yet another deceptive proposal disguised as a humanitarian effort to rebuild Gaza. In reality, the Egyptian plan is a dangerous scheme that threatens Israel’s security, strengthens Hamas, and undermines US strategic interests.
Rather than paving the way for peace, this initiative ensures that Hamas remains armed and capable of launching future attacks, all while securing billions in international funding under false pretenses.
Arab leaders, who have long manipulated the Palestinian issue to serve their own political agendas, cannot be trusted to oversee any aspect of Gaza’s reconstruction.
Their endorsement of this plan is not about peace – it is about maintaining Hamas as a weapon against Israel while deceiving the world into believing they are working toward stability.
Any serious effort to rebuild Gaza must begin with the total disarmament of Hamas and the dismantling of its terror infrastructure, yet the Egyptian plan deliberately ignores this fundamental necessity.
Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which resulted in the deaths of over 1,200 people and the capture of hundreds of hostages, was met with deafening silence from much of the Arab world.
Now, the same leaders who refused to condemn Hamas’s atrocities are pushing for a “reconstruction” plan that leaves the terror group intact. This is not a peace initiative; it is a strategy to rehabilitate Hamas while forcing Israel into concessions that would endanger its security.
The Egyptian plan’s so-called “interim government” is another sham. It claims to place Gaza under independent political leadership until the Palestinian Authority can assume control, yet it allows Hamas to maintain its military wing.
This is nothing more than a rebranding of Hamas’s rule, ensuring that the terror group continues to operate under the guise of governance.
Hamas has a long history of diverting humanitarian aid to fund its military operations, and there is no reason to believe that billions in international aid will be used any differently under this plan.
Arab states have consistently played a double game when it comes to Hamas. While some publicly condemn terror, they privately fund it, with countries like Qatar funneling millions of dollars to Hamas annually.
If Arab leaders were genuinely interested in peace, they would cut off all financial support to Hamas and demand its complete disarmament.
Instead, they are using the Egyptian plan to secure international backing for a policy that leaves Hamas’s power untouched while pretending to seek stability.
Egypt itself has been complicit in Hamas’s survival. While it cooperates with Israel on border security, it has also allowed weapons and fighters to flow into Gaza through the Rafah crossing.
If Egypt were serious about peace, it would permanently shut down Hamas’s supply routes and prevent any future arms transfers. Instead, it positions itself as a neutral mediator while continuing to enable Hamas’s operations.
The Trump administration must not be fooled by this deception. US interests in the Middle East demand the complete dismantling of Hamas’s military capabilities, not its preservation under the guise of reconstruction.
Any American support for the Egyptian plan would be a massive strategic mistake, empowering Hamas while weakening Israel’s position.
Instead of backing a flawed initiative, Washington should make it clear that any rebuilding effort in Gaza must be contingent on Hamas’s total disarmament and the elimination of all foreign funding to terrorist groups.
Broader geopolitical implications involved
Beyond the immediate security threat to Israel, this issue has broader geopolitical implications for American policy in the Middle East. A Hamas-controlled Gaza emboldens Iran, which provides weapons and financial support to the terrorist group in its larger mission of destabilizing the region and challenging US influence.
Allowing Hamas to remain in power, even under the guise of an “interim government,” strengthens Iran’s position and weakens America’s standing among its regional allies.
The US must ensure that its foreign policy aligns with the long-term goal of eliminating Iranian-backed terrorism rather than enabling it through misguided diplomatic efforts.
Israel cannot afford another ceasefire that allows Hamas to rearm and prepare for its next attack. Every previous attempt to reach a negotiated settlement has resulted in Hamas exploiting the pause to rebuild its military infrastructure.
The only viable path forward is one that ensures Hamas is permanently removed from power, Gaza is demilitarized, and Israel retains full control over security operations to prevent future attacks. Any plan that fails to meet these conditions is doomed to perpetuate the cycle of violence.
Moreover, the West must recognize that the Palestinian issue has long been used as a political tool by Arab leaders who are less interested in solving the problem than in using it to deflect from their own domestic issues.
Many of these leaders rely on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict to distract from economic hardships, political repression, and lack of basic freedoms in their own countries.
The current push for an Egyptian-led solution is yet another example of this strategy, aimed more at boosting Egypt’s diplomatic clout than at creating real peace.
The Egyptian plan is not a peace proposal – it is a dangerous ploy designed to preserve Hamas’s power while misleading the international community.
America and its allies must reject it outright and instead support a security-focused approach that prioritizes Israeli defense and the eradication of terrorism. Anything less would be an invitation for future bloodshed and a betrayal of the principles of true peace and stability in the region.
The international community must wake up to the reality that Hamas is not a political entity seeking compromise but a terrorist organization committed to Israel’s destruction. The only path to real peace in Gaza is one that ensures Hamas is removed from power and its ability to wage war is permanently dismantled.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-844813
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How Hamas Exploits, Abuses, Weaponise Children
By Amotz Eyal
March 6, 2025
The BBC recently broadcast a documentary called Gaza: How To Survive A War Zone, which supposedly told the personal story of a 14-year-old boy, Abdullah al-Yazouri. The film, which purported to present the reality in Gaza through the innocent eyes of a child, was eventually revealed to be a severe and sophisticated media manipulation by Hamas.
This is the most prominent recent example of Hamas’s cynical exploitation of children in propaganda. What the BBC did not reveal to its viewers was the crucial fact that the teenager is none other than the son of Ayman al-Yazouri, a senior Hamas official in Gaza.
Throughout the entire film, in a calculated and sophisticated ploy, this family connection was concealed, with the boy’s uncle being presented as his father - a transparent attempt to deceive viewers and hide the relationship to the senior ranks of the terrorist organization.
The film, which was full of staged scenes, essentially became a platform for Hamas propaganda. Thus, the BBC allowed Hamas to use a child as an empathy-evoking front for conveying the political messages of a terrorist organization while cynically exploiting the special protections that media outlets grant to minors.
Children have sadly long become a weapon of war in terrorist propaganda. In an era where a single image can go viral within minutes and shape global public opinion, the exploitation of children by Hamas has become a strategic tool. Through my work at The Press Service of Israel (TPS-IL) over the past decade, I have identified a systematic pattern in which children - dead or alive - have become pawns in the hands of terrorists without restraint.
This didn’t begin recently
For many years, TPS-IL has been writing about this and issuing warnings. For example, in 2019, after an investigation spanning over three months, we exposed through exclusive documentation from our photographers Hamas’s use of children in protests against Israel along the security fence in the South.
In the footage, we showed Hamas leaders sitting at a distance, sending children forward with combat equipment. Hamas even built a playground adjacent to the fence to attract children there and then transported them to these violent demonstrations in organized buses.
At the beginning of the war, we documented weapons training equipment in schools throughout the Gaza Strip, including within UNRWA schools, proving that Hamas uses children and trains them for terrorist purposes. For years, we have also been documenting Hamas summer camps where they train children with live ammunition and educate them for terrorism.
The footage recently revealed by a TPS-IL agency photographer adds another disturbing layer to Hamas’s well-oiled propaganda machine. The photographer documented two separate instances of child exploitation: in one, children were staged for well-choreographed demonstrations, carrying signs and being instructed exactly where to stand to create the perfect image for foreign media.
In the second incident, it was documented how children were specifically brought to sit on the ruins of buildings, aimed at creating dramatic images that would feature in international newspaper headlines.
Are we finally at a tipping point? The severity of the case above led the leader of the Conservative Party in Britain, Kemi Badenoch, to demand an investigation into whether money was transferred to Hamas during the production of the film. Could it be that the BBC not only served as a media platform for Hamas terrorists but may have also funded its activities?!
The harsh public criticism forced the BBC to remove the film from its iPlayer service and announce “further due diligence” with the production company. But the damage was already done - millions of viewers worldwide were exposed to mendacious propaganda centered around a child who was exploited by both a terrorist organization and a once-respected British broadcasting network.
Hamas’s evil does not only stretch to abusing their own children as propaganda tools but also Israeli children during this war. One of the most well-known and truly shocking cases was that of the Bibas family's young children. They were kidnapped from their kibbutz home on October 7, along with their brave mother, Shiri.
Hamas not only kidnapped these innocent children but also abused and murdered them in the most brutal manner imaginable. As if that wasn’t enough, the organization chose to display their bodies on a hostage stage in Gaza, crossing every possible red line of humanity – horrifically using their bodies as propaganda tools.
Media exploitation is but the tip of the iceberg. Hamas's education is the core issue, one that would fester for generations to come. The organization instills hatred in children from a young age and operates summer camps where minors train in shooting and learn to “fight the Zionists.”
Hamas uses children – dead and alive – as part of its propaganda mechanism, without any moral restraints. Children are not seen by Hamas as individuals to be protected but as tools in the cognitive struggle. This is manifested both in the recruitment of minors for terrorist activities, in their exploitation for public relations purposes, and in the horrific use of their bodies as a means of spreading fear and hatred.
As a seasoned media professional, literally on the front lines of the information war, I call upon my peers to open their eyes. Check your sources carefully. Understand that behind every “spontaneous” image of a child in ruins may lurk a well-oiled propaganda apparatus.
As human beings, we cannot afford to ignore this shocking phenomenon. Our silence is tacit consent. As long as we continue to give a platform to propaganda that exploits children, we will be complicit in the ongoing crime against humanity of exploiting innocent minors.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-844787
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An Investment In National Resilience: Strengthening Israeli Engineering Education
By Ami Moyal
March 6, 2025
As Israel faces unprecedented security and economic challenges in the wake of October 7, the critical role of engineers in our economy and overall national resilience has become even more apparent.
From defense technologies to economic growth, engineers are the driving force behind Israel’s technological capabilities and its status as the Start-Up Nation.
At Afeka, we witnessed this firsthand when 44% of our students were called to active military duty during the war. We responded with comprehensive support systems, including hybrid learning models, condensed courses for reservists, and extensive academic assistance through advising, mentoring, and tutoring.
This approach proved highly effective – we achieved our largest graduating class to date in 2023-2024, despite the challenges.
Who will develop the next Iron Dome?
The question that drives us remains constant: Who will develop the next Iron Dome? The answer lies in educating the next generation of Israeli engineers.
This challenge exemplifies why Afeka has pioneered a distinctive approach to engineering education over the past several years. Recognizing that today’s engineers need strengths beyond technical aptitude, we developed and implemented a competency-based educational model that integrates professional knowledge with vital personal skills.
Our curriculum combines theoretical coursework with extensive hands-on experience and innovative pedagogy. It emphasizes multidisciplinary collaboration, critical thinking, and effective communication – skills that are crucial for success in Israel’s hi-tech industry, the backbone of our national economy and security.
This model, developed through ongoing dialogue with industry partners, has proven highly effective in preparing workforce-ready graduates who can contribute to Israel’s technological advancement and leadership.
Now, as the nation shifts from short-term crisis response to long-term strategic planning, Afeka is positioned to play a crucial role. We will begin construction of our new campus in the Yad Eliyahu neighborhood in the coming months, addressing both immediate national needs and long-term strategic objectives of the college, the city of Tel Aviv, and the nation.
The data supporting this initiative is compelling: Israel’s hi-tech sector faces a shortage of approximately 13,000 engineers and software developers, while the industry contributes nearly 20% of Israel’s GDP and accounts for over half of the country’s exports.
The choice of location is significant. Yad Eliyahu, with a socioeconomic ranking of three out of 10, is among the most underserved Jewish communities in Tel Aviv. Only 39% of residents in south Tel Aviv hold academic degrees, compared to 68% in the northern part of the city.
This disparity presents both a challenge and an opportunity for meaningful impact.
The 25,000-square-meter first phase of the new campus has been designed as a comprehensive educational hub that will amplify this successful model.
Beyond providing advanced facilities for our faculty, staff, and students, the campus will create an integrated ecosystem connecting pre-K -12 STEM education, academic engineering and science programs, and local industry partnerships.
The campus design reflects this holistic approach, featuring spaces for educational outreach programs, advanced teaching laboratories, flexible learning environments, and industry collaboration zones – all configured to support our distinctive pedagogical model that encourages interdisciplinary collaboration and bridges theoretical knowledge with real-world application by supporting both practical and personal skill development.
This initiative builds on Afeka’s established track record. Over the past five years, we have increased our student body by 50% while maintaining high academic standards and strong industry placement rates.
The new campus will enable us to grow by an additional 50%, allowing us to graduate over 1,000 new engineers annually. These graduates will strengthen both Israel’s economic resilience and its defense capabilities.
Construction is scheduled to begin in mid-2025, with completion planned for late 2026. The project represents a collaborative effort supported by the Tel Aviv Municipality, the Planning and Budgeting Committee of the Israeli Council for Higher Education, and private sector donors.
This new campus represents a comprehensive approach to expanding Israel’s engineering education capacity while contributing to urban development.
Through this initiative, we aim to strengthen both Israel’s technological capabilities and its educational infrastructure in a way that serves academic, local, and national interests, collectively enhancing our national resilience.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-844792
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US-Israel Relations Face A Fragile Future: Abandoning Ukraine Is A Warning
By Dr Mohammad Makram Balawi
March 5, 2025
Henry Kissinger’s cynical observation that, “It may be dangerous to be America’s enemy, but being America’s friend can be fatal,” has never felt more relevant. As the United States navigates its role as a global power, its alliances — once thought unshakable — are increasingly exposed as conditional. Nowhere is this fragility more evident than in the contrasting trajectories of two allies: Israel and Ukraine.
For decades, Israel has enjoyed bipartisan devotion in Washington, bolstered by an influential lobby. Ukraine, meanwhile, has relied on fleeting geopolitical calculus to secure aid. But as US politics evolve, Israel’s once-unassailable position is crumbling. A generational reckoning, moral disillusionment among American Jews, and the spectre of transactional abandonment, as seen in Ukraine’s plight, now threaten to unravel this historic alliance.
Israel’s clout in Washington has long been unmatched, thanks to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) and a deeply entrenched Zionist lobby. These forces have secured billions in annual military aid and diplomatic immunity at the UN, framing support for Israel as both a moral imperative and a strategic necessity. This influence is rooted not just in lobbying prowess but in a symbiotic relationship with American Jews, many of whom view Israel as a cultural sanctuary, a narrative forged by Holocaust trauma and Cold War-era ideals of democracy in a turbulent Middle East. Ukraine, by contrast, lacks such institutional muscle. Yet, the base built by the pro-Israel lobby is shaking terribly.
Support for Israel among younger Americans — particularly progressives — has plummeted. Where older generations saw Israel as a democratic ally, young people increasingly see it as an apartheid state. Social media has weaponised this shift, flooding feeds with images of Gaza’s rubble: bombed hospitals, grieving families and children’s bodies pulled from the ruins of their homes.
Organisations like Jewish Voice for Peace and IfNotNow mobilise thousands to protest against the occupation, boycott Israeli goods and demand US divestment. A 2023 Pew survey found that 52 per cent of US Jews under 40 believe that Israel’s government is guilty of the crime of apartheid, a seismic shift for a community raised on stories of Israel as a refuge.
Meanwhile, Israel’s leadership seems oblivious. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right coalition, his judicial overhaul eroding democratic checks, and his dismissal of American Jewish critics — “They don’t understand our security needs” — have alienated liberal allies. The Nation-State Law, enshrining Jewish supremacy, and relentless settlement expansion only deepen the rift.
Indeed, the divide between American and Israeli Jews has erupted into open conflict. American Jews, largely secular and progressive, champion pluralism and equality. Israeli Jews, particularly under Netanyahu, increasingly embrace ethno-nationalism, viewing legitimate Palestinian rights as incompatible with Israel’s security. This clash exploded during the 2021 Gaza war. While Israeli media framed Israel’s bombing campaigns as self-defence, American Jews flooded social media with evidence of Palestinian suffering.
The backlash has turned venomous. Israeli officials accuse American Jews of “disloyalty”, while figures like Steve Bannon — Donald Trump’s former strategist — label progressive Jews as “the worst enemies of Israel.” Such rhetoric, dripping with anti-Semitic tropes, reveals a bitter truth: to Israel’s government, dissent is tantamount to betrayal.
Once hailed as “the only democracy in the Middle East,” Israel now faces apartheid allegations from Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as well as B’Tselem. The International Criminal Court (ICC) investigates alleged war crimes in Gaza, while the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement gains momentum on campuses worldwide. For American Jews, this isolation is agonising. The myth of Israel as a safe haven collides with the reality of checkpoints, home demolitions and segregated roads. Younger Jews, steeped in ancestral trauma, draw parallels between Palestinian displacement and their own history of persecution. A 2022 survey found that 25 per cent of US Jews under 35 oppose Israel’s existence as a specifically Jewish state, a once-unthinkable stance.
His reliance on ultra-Orthodox parties marginalises non-Orthodox Jews, who face discrimination in marriage and conversion laws. His prioritisation of military strikes over hostage negotiations in Gaza further stains Israel’s humanitarian image.
Ukraine’s abandonment by the US sends a dire warning. Initially lavished with US weapons, Kyiv now begs Europe for air defences as Republican support evaporates. President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, once celebrated in Congress, embodies the peril of transactional alliances: they dissolve when interests shift.
Israel is not immune to this. Trump’s “America First” policy lavished Netanyahu with embassy moves and peace plans favouring annexation, but loyalty hinged on utility. A second Trump term could see Israel discarded if it clashes with the MAGA (Make America Great Again) movement’s priorities.
The occupation state thus stands at a crossroads. Its lobbying machine remains formidable, but its moral capital is bankrupt. American Jews, once bedrock allies, increasingly reject tribal solidarity for universal justice. The rise of domestic-focused nationalism further strains the bond, as younger Jews prioritise inequality and climate change over overseas conflicts.
The parallels to Ukraine are unmistakable. Just as Kyiv’s aid dried up when US. priorities shifted, Israel risks obsolescence if it loses the support of American Jews and, eventually, US sponsorship. Observing the current Israeli trajectory, it is not unthinkable for Israel to join the ranks of abandoned US allies, a fate foreshadowed by Kissinger and exemplified by Ukraine’s anguish.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250305-us-israel-relations-face-a-fragile-future-abandoning-ukraine-is-a-warning/
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Why The Second Phase Of The Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations Is Failing
By Jamal Kanj
March 5, 2025
The three-phase ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinian Islamic Resistance Movement, while offering a fleeting glimmer of hope for ending the occupation state’s genocidal assault on Gaza, was never likely to succeed. Benjamin Netanyahu’s decision to break the ceasefire terms by blocking food and medical aid from entering Gaza — furthering mass starvation, another war crime — was never a matter of “if”, but “when”.
The ceasefire agreement was designed carefully to be implemented in three distinct phases, each to be implemented sequentially, with oversight and verbal guarantees from the three key mediators: the United States, Qatar and Egypt. The integrity of the agreement hinges on the mediators’ ability to ensure that all parties remain fully committed to honouring its terms. Otherwise, what credibility would the mediators’ signatures or the mediation process hold if Netanyahu could simply demand to renegotiate an agreement that took at least eight months to finalise?
Netanyahu is leading negotiations on two conflicting fronts: one with the Palestinian resistance to exchange Israeli captives for Palestinian hostages held in Israeli prisons, and the other with the racist warmongering wing of his government.
In preparation to break the agreement, and to placate his warmonger ministers, Netanyahu changed his negotiating team for phase two by replacing the heads of Mossad and Shin Bet with his alter ego, Minister of Strategic Affairs Ron Dermer. He’s the man who told the then US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a war cabinet meeting in mid-October 2023:
Talks for the second phase were scheduled to start in the first week of February, but Israel did not show up at the negotiation table. In a desperate bid to buy time and secure American support, Netanyahu dispatched Dermer to Washington over a week ago. His mission: to sell the idea of renegotiating the current agreement and extend the first phase.
This tactic is emblematic of Netanyahu’s broader strategy, exploiting diplomatic engagements to maintain the status quo, buying time and maximising the number of released Israeli captives by extending phase one before going on to finish his genocide and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinians in Gaza.
The timing is no coincidence. With growing international scrutiny mounting over Israel’s genocide in Gaza and the West Bank, Netanyahu is investing in Washington’s unquestioned deference to Israeli demands. By stalling negotiations, Netanyahu hopes to delay difficult political reckonings required in phase two, mainly ending the Israeli blockade and aggression in Gaza.
The Trump administration complied with Netanyahu’s request, pledging to dispatch its Middle East special envoy, Steve Witkoff, to renegotiate the current ceasefire agreement and float an Israeli demand to extend phase one for an additional 50 days. Trump’s decision to heed the Israeli prime minister’s request so swiftly only serves to validate Netanyahu’s view of the US, as expressed openly on tape back in 2001: “America is a thing you can move very easily.”
By acquiescing to Netanyahu’s manoeuvring, Trump not only reinforced this perception but also undermined his own standing as a world leader. The pattern of deference to Israeli interests continues to resonate as a stark reflection of the bizarre dynamics in US-Israel relations, where America’s Middle East foreign policy is franchised exclusively to Israel and its Washington lobby.
Netanyahu’s latest scheme is a reminder that as long as Washington remains willing to be “moved” at Israel’s convenience, meaningful progress towards peace will remain unattainable. Rather than acting as an impartial mediator, the US continues to function as a complicit enabler, reinforcing the very power imbalances that perpetuate Israeli depravity and Palestinian adversity.
In endorsing Netanyahu’s demand to renegotiate the existing agreement rather than negotiating an end of war in phase two, the Trump administration is effectively empowering Netanyahu’s prevarications. This allows Israel to prolong Palestinian suffering while appearing to engage in negotiations. In reality, the extension serves as a tool for Netanyahu to consolidate his power amid domestic political turmoil; neutralise international pressure; and further cement Israel’s occupation and apartheid policies.
By backing Netanyahu’s decision to halt humanitarian aid to Gaza, Trump, much like his predecessor Joe Biden, kowtows to Netanyahu’s wishes. America’s willingness to leverage its global influence in service of Israel is a major factor in the increasingly rigid Israeli position, enabling a racist, Zionist government more invested in maintaining the status quo than in seeking genuine peace.
Israel has also violated the ceasefire agreement with Lebanon by failing to withdraw fully from Lebanese territory within the 60-day timeframe stipulated under the US- and French-mediated agreement. Moreover, it has breached the decades-old ceasefire treaty with Syria, launching countless air raids and occupying the buffer zone with army positions along the border.
Israel’s willingness to violate every agreement it signs is not a failure of diplomacy, it is a direct result of enabling a war criminal who has shown time and again that his only path forward is through bloodshed. If the international community truly seeks an end to this genocide, it must stop treating Netanyahu as a legitimate partner for peace and start holding him accountable for his crimes.
By denying Palestinians their agency and as long as Washington remains beholden to an Israel-centric foreign policy — shaped by doomsday messianic Christians and the pro-Israel lobby — the occupation state will continue to perpetuate repression, sustain aggression and ensure the failure of phase two of the Gaza ceasefire.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250305-why-the-second-phase-of-the-gaza-ceasefire-negotiations-is-failing/
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The Arab Summit’s Gaza Plan Is A Step Forward, But The Road Ahead Is Long
By Maya El Jundi
March 5, 2025
The emergency Arab Summit on Gaza reconstruction held in Cairo yesterday was a rare moment of unity in the region. The summit was convened in response to the catastrophic humanitarian crisis in Gaza, in order to answer the question of the “day after” the bombs stop falling on Gaza.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi’s proposal for Gaza’s reconstruction was the centrepiece of the discussions and offered a possibly tangible roadmap for the future. Although the plan represents an important achievement, its success will depend on navigating a minefield of geopolitical challenges, especially Israel’s intransigence and the need for US support.
The plan has already ticked several important boxes, many of which represent defensive victories against dangerous alternatives. It provides a practical and realistic framework that the international community can engage with. Unlike the vague or fragmented visions offered by other actors, including Israel and the United States, this plan actually offers a clear vision for post-war Gaza. It addresses critical issues such as governance, security and reconstruction, and ensures that the Palestinian people remain on their land while rebuilding their lives. This is a major plus, as it directly counters the Trump-Netanyahu agenda of forced displacement and ethnic cleansing, a plan that sought to resettle Palestinians outside Gaza and strip them of their land and legitimate rights.
This position wasn’t just rhetorical; the plan outlines a concrete vision for reconstruction, overseen by a Palestinian committee in collaboration with international actors, particularly Egypt. What does this mean? It ensures that Palestinians retain agency over their future while benefiting from international support. It also sends a clear message to the United States that Gaza can be rebuilt without displacing its population. In addition, the level of Arab unity demonstrated at the summit also strengthens the Arab position in negotiations with the US and Israel.
A very important aspect is that while the plan excludes Hamas from governance and reconstruction efforts, it does not mandate the group’s disarmament. Instead, it links discussions on Hamas’s military status to the broader goal of establishing a Palestinian state which is a pragmatic approach that already aligns with Hamas’s own position.
The plan has also successfully put pressure on the Palestinian Authority to commit to reforms, including holding general and presidential elections and appointing a vice president. These concessions, while broad, reflect the effectiveness of Arab diplomatic leverage and represent a step towards greater Palestinian unity and accountability. It’s a small but significant win in a region where political stagnation has often been the norm.
However, Israel’s stance remains a significant challenge to the Egyptian plan. While the plan accommodates some Israeli demands, such as excluding Hamas from governance, it does not address Israel’s insistence on retaining direct security control over Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government has advocated repeatedly for the displacement of Palestinians from Gaza, and Israel’s rejection of the Arab Summit’s communiqué underscores this. The Israeli Foreign Ministry criticised the summit’s approach, arguing that it fails to reflect the realities on the ground and omits any reference to the Hamas-led 7 October cross-border incursion. The US position will also be decisive. Given its influence over Israel, US endorsement is important, if not a prerequisite, for the plan’s success.
Further, the plan fails to articulate a concrete strategy for pressuring Israel to lift the blockade on Gaza, which has exacerbated humanitarian suffering to unprecedented levels. The current blockade has led to an alarming level of starvation and deprivation, even worse than at the peak of the genocide, as humanitarian aid and essential supplies have been cut off deliberately. Unfortunately, the summit did not address this crisis, nor did it demand that Israel provide compensation for the destruction it has caused.
While Arab leaders reiterated the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, they failed to propose concrete measures to put pressure on Israel, such as economic sanctions or political isolation. We all know that Israel does not respond to appeals and diplomatic rhetoric; it responds to actions that impose real consequences. Without such measures, the plan risks becoming another well-intentioned, but ultimately ineffective initiative.
The Arab states must maintain their unity and leverage their collective influence in international negotiations. They must also address the gaps in their strategy, especially the lack of concrete measures to put pressure on Israel and alleviate Gaza’s humanitarian crisis.
The road ahead is long and challenging, but the Arab Summit has laid a promising foundation. With care, hope, sustained effort, strategic foresight and unwavering resolve, the region may yet find a path towards justice, stability and peace for Gaza and the Palestinian people.
https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20250305-the-arab-summits-gaza-plan-is-a-step-forward-but-the-road-ahead-is-long/
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How Israeli Strikes In Syria Threaten Regional Stability
Hani Hazaimeh
March 05, 2025
Israel’s continued military incursions into Syria have become a defining feature of the region’s security landscape, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu employing a strategy that not only undermines Syria’s sovereignty but also risks a broader regional escalation.
These repeated airstrikes, assassinations and aggressive military operations — justified under the pretext of countering Iranian influence — serve a broader Israeli agenda aimed at ensuring Syria remains weak and fractured. The implications of this policy, however, extend far beyond Syrian borders. Netanyahu’s approach has the potential to ignite a wider conflict, one that could destabilize the entire Middle East and lead to consequences that even Israel may not be prepared to handle.
Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war, Israel has conducted hundreds of airstrikes across the country, primarily targeting Iranian-backed militias such as Hezbollah, Syrian military installations and key arms depots. These operations, rather than mere defensive measures, are part of a deliberate strategy to prevent Syria from regaining full sovereignty and military strength. Netanyahu has framed these attacks as necessary to contain Iran’s influence, but they have also served as a tool to prolong Syria’s instability, ensuring that Damascus remains unable to challenge Israel’s military superiority in the region.
Beyond its military objectives, Netanyahu’s aggressive posture in Syria cannot be separated from Israel’s internal political dynamics. Facing mounting domestic crises — including corruption trials, mass protests and deepening divisions within Israeli society — Netanyahu has long used military aggression as a convenient distraction. By escalating tensions with Syria, he rallies nationalist sentiments at home, positioning himself as Israel’s ultimate defender against external threats. This tactic has been a hallmark of his political career, allowing him to deflect attention from scandals and maintain power by fostering a perpetual state of conflict.
The problem, however, is that this strategy carries enormous risks, not just for Syria but for the entire region. Each Israeli strike brings Syria closer to retaliating in a way that could trigger a much larger confrontation. Iranian-backed forces, already emboldened by years of Israeli aggression, may eventually choose to escalate their responses, leading to a direct military conflict between Israel and Iran. Hezbollah, which has long been entrenched in Syria, may also intensify its operations, opening a new front against Israel from the Syrian border.
Russia’s presence in Syria further complicates the situation. While Moscow has so far tolerated Israeli airstrikes, allowing limited operations to continue without direct retaliation, Netanyahu’s increasing willingness to target strategic locations risks straining this fragile understanding. If Israel’s attacks begin to undermine Russia’s interests in Syria, Moscow may decide to take a firmer stance, which could lead to direct confrontations between Israeli and Russian forces — a scenario that would have unpredictable and potentially catastrophic consequences.
Meanwhile, Syria itself remains in a fragile state, still recovering from more than a decade of war. Israeli strikes have crippled infrastructure, military installations and economic assets, ensuring that any attempts at rebuilding remain stunted. This is not just about Israel’s fight against Iran; it is about keeping Syria weak, divided and unable to pose any future challenge. The cost, of course, is borne by the Syrian people, who continue to suffer under the weight of war, economic collapse and foreign intervention.
Netanyahu’s reckless policies are not only undermining Syria’s sovereignty but also fueling resentment across the region. Anti-Israel sentiment is deepening, not just among governments but among ordinary citizens who see these strikes as yet another example of Israel acting with impunity. This growing hostility will only serve to strengthen resistance movements, from Hezbollah to Palestinian factions, all of whom are increasingly aligning their struggles under a broader anti-Israel front.
Despite these ongoing violations of international law, Israel continues to enjoy unwavering support from the US and its Western allies. Washington has shielded Israel from international condemnation, allowing Netanyahu to act with near-total impunity. However, the global landscape is shifting. China and Russia are asserting greater influence in the Middle East and if Netanyahu continues his unchecked aggression, he may find that Israel is no longer able to act without consequences.
Netanyahu’s military incursions into Syria represent a reckless gamble — one that is destabilizing an already volatile region for the sake of political survival and military dominance. His strategy of perpetual conflict is unsustainable. At some point, Syria, Iran, Hezbollah or even Russia will be forced to push back in a way that Israel may not anticipate. The question is not if this escalation will come, but when. If the international community continues to ignore Israel’s unchecked military aggression, Netanyahu’s dangerous game may ultimately set the entire region on fire.
https://www.arabnews.com/node/2592508
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URL: https://www.newageislam.com/middle-east-press/egyptian-gaza-israel-us-ceasefire-syria/d/134793
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