The landmark agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates that was announced unexpectedly last week, a prelude to normalized diplomatic relations, is by any measure a triumph for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. But in the tumultuous, fractious landscape of Israeli politics, Netanyahu’s celebrations have been tempered by bitter recriminations at home, a reminder that in Israel, no win comes without wounds. In the deal, first made public by U.S. President Donald Trump, the United Arab Emirates agreed to establish full diplomatic ties with Israel in exchange for Israel’s suspension of plans to annex parts of the West Bank. The [...]
Following the resignation of Elyes Fakhfakh as prime minister of Tunisia in mid-July, amid corruption allegations and after just five months in office, President Kais Saied designated one of his own advisers, Hichem Mechichi, as the new prime minister. Mechichi has until Aug. 25 to form a government that can win parliamentary approval. Should he fail, Saied has the constitutional right to call for new elections—an arduous task, particularly as Tunisia struggles with a deepening economic crisis and a spike in COVID-19 cases triggered by reopening the country’s borders in late June. Before he even takes office, Mechichi faces several [...]
In the week and a half since the catastrophic explosion at Beirut’s port, Lebanon’s Cabinet announced that it would resign, countries like France and the United States have promised to help rebuild, the Lebanese have seethed—and no one has been held accountable, except for a few port officials. “My government did this,” reads graffiti on a wall near the port, against a backdrop of the destruction. “You literally blew us up,” reads another message, spray-painted on a storefront nearby. At least 171 people were killed in the explosion, and thousands more were wounded. While the full cause of the blast [...]
