In April 2024, the PSCR program’s materials covered the conflictual dynamics in and around Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Armenia, and Estonia.
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Morocco, like many other African countries, maintained neutrality regarding arms supplies to Ukraine. The kingdom became the first African state to provide military aid to Kyiv. Once the shipment of all purchased armoured vehicles is completed, Morocco will rank second after Poland in supplying combat tanks since the start of the conflict.
The BESA Center is pleased to announce that Brigadier General (res.) Eran Ortal has joined us as a senior researcher. Gen. Ortal served as commander of the Dado Center and in a variety of positions at IDF General Headquarters in the fields of force deployment and design. His areas of expertise are national security, military thought and military innovation.
In March 2024, the PSCRP program of the BESA Center covered in its materials the regional developments in Central Asia and the South Caucasus, as well as particular problems related to Ukraine and Russia.
The US has embarked on a significant humanitarian initiative in Gaza, planning to establish a temporary maritime pier to facilitate large-scale aid delivery. This strategic move, announced by President Biden, aims to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza by ensuring the steady flow of food, water, medicine, and shelter to the region.
Israel’s ship of state, facing rough seas, is at high risk and requires clearer rules of navigation. During this period of deep complexity, Israel will need to clarify its strategic direction. The terrorists of Hamas are the tip of Iran’s much larger spear. Israel’s current war against jihadist criminality could thus turn into a wider and more damaging war with Iran. Such a war could emerge as a “bolt from the blue” or incrementally. Ultimately, it could involve the United States, Russia, China, Pakistan, and/or North Korea. How might Jerusalem prevent or manage any such derivative conflicts? Israel must consider whether there is a productive role to be played by the “Samson Option.”
The events of October 7 and Hezbollah's subsequent attacks on Israel’s northern border have renewed the question of whether energy considerations can serve as a lever on Hezbollah's policy towards Israel, as was claimed following the signing of a maritime border agreement by Israel and Lebanon in October 2022. During the months of fighting, reports have emerged of internal pressure being exerted by Beirut on Hezbollah not to enter the conflict against Israel as doing so would likely exacerbate Lebanon's state of deep crisis. This crisis includes frequent power outages in Beirut, unprecedented fuel shortages nationwide, and delays in gas exploration in Lebanon's waters. If Lebanon's energy crisis does lead to the “concentration” of Hezbollah within Lebanon's economic and political arena, it is possible that Israel, through US mediation, could exploit this to undermine Hezbollah and restore stability on the northern border.
In February 2024, the materials prepared by the Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program at BESA covered a wide array of countries and sub-regions, including Ukraine, Russia, Moldova, Armenia, and Central Asian states, focusing on both internal and external aspects of political development.
In January 2024, the analysts writing for the Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program at BESA prepared eight materials concentrating on antisemitism, nationalism, and ethnic separatism in Russia, geopolitical alliance-making in the South Caucasus, and minoritarian electoral participation in Latvia.
In December 2023, the BESA Post-Soviet Conflicts Research Program published papers on separatist threats and Church-related antisemitism in Russia, French participation in post-Soviet geopolitical dynamics, the perception of Israel’s war against Hamas in Russia and Ukraine, and the geopolitical (re)orientation of Armenia.