N7 Initiative

In the wake of the Abraham Accords signed in September 2020, the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs, in partnership with the Jeffrey M. Talpins Foundation, launched the N7 Initiative to help accelerate and strengthen normalization between Israel and Arab and Muslim countries, and to drive bipartisan support in the US for normalization.

Experts

Past events

Latest analysis

MENASource

May 2, 2019

Israeli-Gulf relations: Will the détente deepen or dry up?

By Daniel J. Samet

On April 25, the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that an Israeli delegation will take part in next year’s World Expo, hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Dubai. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, fresh off his victory in the April 9 elections, tweeted his approval of Israel’s participation, which he called “another expression of Israel’s rising status in the world and the region.”

Israel The Gulf

MENASource

Apr 15, 2019

Netanyahu’s fifth term: The end of the two-state solution

By Grace Wermenbol

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s narrow triumph in Israel’s election this past week constitutes a big win for the right and, with Netanyahu’s last-minute pledge to annex the West Bank, a definitive end to any substantive peace process. Netanyahu’s political survival spells the beginning of a newly-emboldened leader who, with the seemingly unconditional backing of the Trump administration, is likely to implement far-reaching policies that pander to his base.

Israel

New Atlanticist

Apr 10, 2019

Netanyahu on course for a fifth term as prime minister of Israel

By Shalom Lipner

None of this means that the horse-trading stage — during which Netanyahu’s potential partners will all compete for key postings in his administration — will go smoothly.

Elections Israel

New Atlanticist

Apr 8, 2019

Israel’s Latin America push

By Grace Wermenbol

Israel stands to benefit from closer economic ties with Latin America, not least due to its ability to leverage the demand for security and development technology.

Economy & Business Israel

MENASource

Mar 28, 2019

The folly of the Trump administration’s proclamations on Israel

By Frederic C. Hof

ently the White House and the Department of State released statements: one proclaiming American recognition of Israel’s sovereignty over the Golan Heights; and the other commemorating the fortieth anniversary of the Israel-Egypt treaty of peace. Each, in its own way, revealed serious leadership dysfunction.

Israel Syria

New Atlanticist

Mar 24, 2019

Mr. Netanyahu goes to Washington

By Shalom Lipner

Netanyahu’s arrival in the United States comes now — and not coincidentally — at precisely the moment when he needs to seize the agenda and pivot to his strengths.

Israel United States and Canada

New Atlanticist

Mar 21, 2019

Trump’s support for Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights may hurt Israel

By Ashish Kumar Sen

While there is perhaps more than a touch of politics behind the timing of the tweet, an actual shift in US policy on this sensitive issue could have serious consequences.

Israel Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding

SyriaSource

Mar 21, 2019

Annex the Golan, make Assad’s day

By Frederic C. Hof

A new flurry of reports suggesting Israel may formally annex the occupied Golan Heights is music to the ears of Bashar al-Assad, a mass murderer who would welcome a decisive change of subject from his own criminality to what he will characterize as Israel’s theft of Syrian land. Among the delighted will be Iran and Hezbollah, whose resistance pretentions will be gratuitously elevated above their sewer of transnational terror, drug running, and money laundering. As there is nothing substantive to be gained by Israel through formal annexation and much to be potentially lost, one wonders why its proponents are so eager to do it.

Israel Syria

IranSource

Mar 19, 2019

The unsaid threat to Iran during Netanyahu’s navy cadet speech

By Shemuel Meir

The Israeli elections are well underway and the Iranian issue is taking a central part in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s electoral campaign. Putting Iran on the agenda helps the prime minister maintain a never-ending security tension. Thus, the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), has become a […]

Iran Israel

New Atlanticist

Mar 4, 2019

US consulate closure in Jerusalem puts commitment to Middle East peace in question

By James B. Cunningham

Ambassador James Cunningham explains why the Jerusalem consulate was so important for US-Palestinian relations.

Israel Middle East

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