The March 3, 2021 decision of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court to open a full investigation of the “Situation in Palestine” has prompted responses advising the Israeli government to take a more cooperative approach toward the Court. Yet there are a number of strong strategic, diplomatic, and legal arguments for not cooperating. This study analyzes the considerations that must be weighed carefully by Israeli policy makers before deciding next steps.
Mideast Security and Policy Studies
Mideast Security and Policy Studies serve as a forum for publication or re-publication of research conducted by BESA Center research associates.
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The BESA Center’s recent detailed study on Unexplained Aerial Phenomena (UAP) described the post-quantum revolution in military affairs unfolding as a result of studying UAP “observables” and assessed the strategic implications in terms of potential threats emanating from UAP or adversaries. This paper delves further into “beyond next generation” technologies. It is based on recent comments by Luis Elizondo, former director of the Pentagon´s Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, as well as analyses by scientists and former DoD insiders. The questions to be addressed are: What are the capabilities of these technologies, what decisive advantages would they provide, and how likely are they to be developed and deployed?
It may be time to take a step back to consider the implications of the new state of affairs ushered in by the Abraham Accords, which changed Israel’s strategic landscape. The Trump era has passed, and subsequent developments encourage such reflection.
The Caspian basin is inextricably linked to the greater Middle East’s myriad conflicts and the fluid and fragile nature of regional alliances, partnerships, and animosities across the Eurasian landmass.
The world’s Muslim powerhouses are engaged in a deepening religious soft power struggle for geopolitical influence and dominance. This battle for the soul of Islam pits rival Middle Eastern and Asian powers against one another: Turkey, seat of the Islamic world’s last true caliphate; Saudi Arabia, home to the faith’s holy cities; the United Arab Emirates (UAE), propagator of a militantly statist interpretation of Islam; Qatar, with its less strict version of Wahhabism and penchant for political Islam; Indonesia, promoting a humanitarian, pluralistic notion of Islam that reaches out to other faiths as well as non-Muslim center-right forces across the globe; Morocco, which uses religion as a way to position itself as the face of moderate Islam; and Shiite Iran, with its derailed revolution.
It was recently revealed that the Iranian regime was planning to assassinate the US ambassador to South Africa. Tehran denied any such plans, but a brief look at the Islamic regime’s history shows that Iran not only has the will but also the means to conduct assassinations on foreign soil.
The recently concluded six-week-long Second Nagorno-Karabakh War fought by Armenia and Azerbaijan was a milestone in military affairs, as it was the first conflict in which unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) won a war from the air.
In June 2020, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence unveiled the Unidentified Aerial Phenomena Task Force (UAPTF) at the Office of Naval Intelligence—a successor to the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program (AATIP). This paper dives down the rabbit hole with Defense Department insiders, scientists, and declassified material to find answers to a host of questions: Are mystery craft near-peer adversary platforms or exotic US platforms? What is the technology behind them? What kind of threat do they pose? What are the geostrategic implications? And what are we not being told?
This paper presents a new perspective on the reasons for the outbreak of the Second Lebanon War against Hezbollah in 2006.
Supportive public opinion has been a key factor in the formation and development of the US-Israel “special relationship.” This monograph presents and analyzes long-term trends in American attitudes toward Israel since 2000. The analysis is based on the collection, integration, and analysis of data from numerous national public opinion surveys conducted in the US by the most reliable and reputable polling agencies.