Netanyahu Holds Talks with Likud Rebels to Shore up Coalition Before Swearing-in

By Times of Israel Staff— Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seemingly continued to face resistance as he met with lawmakers on Saturday evening in a bid to finish doling out ministerial posts ahead of the new government’s swearing-in, ostensibly scheduled for Sunday afternoon. As the clock struck midnight, only two positions had apparently been accepted, as…

Coronavirus Has Not Changed the Middle East

By Prof. Efraim Inbar, Israel Hayom— The coronavirus pandemic does not respect borders. Middle Eastern countries have reacted differently and at different times. Eventually, however, they adopted plans of action similar to those of other countries. They restricted international air travel and movement within each country tightened border controls and adopted social distancing. As reliable…

Don’t Bail Out Tehran’s Precision Guided Munitions Project

By Jonathan Schanzer and Bradley Bowman, Real Clear Defense— Iran, amidst the Coronavirus pandemic, is demanding sanctions relief. Lebanon, too, is looking for a financial bailout after defaulting on a Eurobond. Neither should get the financial aid they are requesting. Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and its terrorist proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon are undertaking…

UNRWA’s COVID-19 Disconnect

By Simon Waldman and Asaf Romirowsky, The Brussels Times— No-one in UNRWA, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, appears to understand that the troubled UN agency needs to adapt in light of the devastation wrought by COVID-19. UNRWA lost no time making a flash appeal for US$14…