A two-state solution enjoys broad support in Israel and is in the country’s vital interest, former foreign minister and likely next justice minister Tzipi Livni told the Herzliya Conference on Tuesday. Despite the regional uncertainty created by the Arab revolts and the concomitant rise of Islamists, she said, Israelis must...

Incumbent Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is expected to announce the composition of Israel’s next governing coalition as early as today, ahead of the Saturday deadline imposed on him by Israeli law. The coalition math dictating Netanyahu’s decision-making has been more or less clear for weeks – and added up to 70 out...

President Barack Obama flies to the Middle East next week for his first visit to Israel since becoming president. The Iran nuclear crisis, the collapse of Syria, and Israeli-Palestinian relations are likely to top his agenda. Arriving in Israel on March 20 for two days, in a visit designed to underscore the importance...

Israeli Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Benny Gantz spoke at the annual Herzliya Conference Monday evening, outlining a broad array of threats facing Israel and the region. In between highlighting ongoing efforts by the Iran-backed terror groups Hezbollah and Hamas to penetrate Israel and attack Israeli civilians, Gantz in particular...

King Abdullah II of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan has reappointed incumbent prime minister Abdullah Ensour and asked him to form a new government, the sixth time since the Arab Spring began two years ago that Abdullah has appointed or reappointed a prime minister.  Ensour – who has also played technocratic roles in...

Journalist Michael Totten, evaluating the situation from on the ground in Lebanon, reports that the country is “gearing up to explode” due to sectarian tensions ignited by the Syrian conflict across the border. The Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah has long been operating in Syria on behalf of the Bashar al-Assad...

Seeking to overcome French and German objections reportedly linked to those countries’ fears that Hezbollah will target their interests, the U.S. government is continuing to push the European Union to blacklist the Iran-backed group Hezbollah as a terrorist organization: [Treasury Under Secretary David] Cohen said, “One, the designation of Hezbollah...

The Arab League decided last week to allow its member states to arm the Syrian opposition. Theoretically, until that decision, the League had — at least publicly — limited its members to giving humanitarian aid to the rebels. This week’s decision may not fundamentally change the nature of the Syrian...

All sides are maneuvering in anticipation of President Obama’s upcoming visit to Israel, where he will seek to improve the mood between the White House, Ramallah’s Muqata, and the Prime Minister’s Office in Jerusalem. Expect a lot of symbolic gestures without perhaps too much substance. The Syrian and Iranian portfolios,...

Egyptian Interior Minister Mohammed Ibrahim is admitting that the country’s police forces are straining to contain protests sweeping the country, though he’s insisting that the government of Egypt will not yield ground to Islamist vigilantes and militias: “From the minister to the youngest recruit in the force, we will not accept...