Deepening sectarian tensions throughout the Middle East – there are now regular Sunni-Shiite hostilities from Lebanon on the Mediterranean coast through Syria and into Iraq – are behind a wary but measurable realignment that has seen Sunni actors willing to engage Israel to bolster their positions or security. Last week...

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Israel’s political and military echelons are watching the situation unfolding in Egypt closely, and are analyzing the multiple scenario presented by the unrest. A senior Israel security source who spoke to The Tower on condition of anonymity given the diplomatic and military sensitivity of the issue evaluated the chance of...

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A few weeks ago, in a meeting with Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel announced that the U.S. would be providing its Israeli allies with an “unprecedented” military package to cope with instability in the region and with the deepening threat posed by Iranian conventional and...

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A group of top U.S. university presidents are in Israel this week to study Israeli innovation and explore opportunities for bilateral academic exchanges. Among the topics for discussion are the degree to which Israeli has developed two-way channels for the exchange of information between academic institutions and industrial settings. A...

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Egyptian authorities have struggled to protect the country’s gas pipelines from the growing anarchy throughout the country. Disruptions of gas exports to Israel and Jordan began soon after the Egyptian revolution that saw the overthrow of then-President Hosni Mubarak, and have continued since. Though Egypt has moved to compensate at...

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The U.N. today held an Israeli-led “thematic debate” – basically a conference – revolving around how to promote global entrepreneurship. The event stemmed from a resolution passed last December by the U.N. General Assembly. The resolution among other things created a system for creating and nurturing entrepreneurial resources, and sought...

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Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his government are prepared to make “painful” concessions in order to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that Secretary of State John Kerry is in the region to promote, according to Science and Technology Minister Yaakov Peri. “Netanyahu knows there will be a painful evacuation of a number...

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Conflicting reports surrounding the recent resignation of Israeli national security adviser Major-General (res) Yaacov Amidror are calling attention to the complicated economic and geopolitical calculations the country must make in managing its vast newly-found energy reserves. Amidror is one of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s closest advisers. During his term he has...

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The geopolitical dynamics along the Syrian-Israeli border have focused on the degree to which the Syrian conflict has endangered the U.N.’s peacekeeping mission. But the violence has more dramatically impacted – and in far greater numbers – innocent Syrian civilians. Israel has made concentrated efforts to help mitigate the impact of the...

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Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh has again clarified that – contrary to analysis in some corners of the foreign policy community, and despite expressions of optimism by some Western diplomats – his organization will not recognize Israel: Hamas Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh said Tuesday that Palestinians would not recognize Israel,...

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