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@ecfrmena.bsky.social
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Middle East and North Africa Programme @ecfr.eu ecfr.eu/privacy/#social-media-profi…

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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 6h
🗞️ Most Zionists are committed to a Jewish state with a Jewish majority & few support a binational or egalitarian state. The divide is over how far that national project is constrained by liberal-democratic norms, argues @boppenheim.bsky.social in "Ideas of Israel"👉️https://buff.ly/DZS6qmE
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ECFR @ecfr.eu · 06/10/2026
This is not the “old Israel” and Europeans need to reckon with that reality. Its liberal forces have weakened while its ultra-nationalist ones are ascendant. These shifts will endure far beyond Netanyahu. @ecfrmena.bsky.social Check it out: ecfr.eu/special/the-ideas-of-israel
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🎙️"The weakening of these “liberal forces” and the strengthening of these ethno-national ideas has led to a mainstreaming of ideas that were once at the fringe", says @ecfr.eu's @boppenheim.bsky.social on ideas shaping Israel's national identity and politics👇️https://buff.ly/j6u6ZPn
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The Ideas of Israel – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Beth Oppenheim, Ariel David and Neri Zilber to discuss the battle of ideas for Israel’s future and what it means for Europe
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
🗞️ "Israel’s illiberal & ethno-nationalist forces are reshaping the country...a structural transformation that runs deeper than October’s election" - new @ECFR.eu project by @boppenheim.bsky.social maps the battle of ideas for Israel's future & what it means for Europe 👇️ buff.ly/DZS6qmE
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The ideas of Israel – European Council on Foreign Relations
Israel’s illiberal and ethno-nationalist forces are reshaping the country in their image. This is a structural transformation that runs deeper than October’s el
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ECFR European Power @ecfrpower.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
The UAE has built outsized influence through a strategy of connectivity, turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power, writes @cinziabianco.bsky.social buff.ly/GDCU22X
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Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a ret
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
🗞️Israel & Palestine are creeping towards a one-state reality. All mainstream Jewish parties support the settlement enterprise in some form and oppose a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines-except the Democrats, argues @boppenheim.bsky.social in "Ideas of Israel"👉️https://buff.ly/DZS6qmE
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ECFR @ecfr.eu · 02/10/2026
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a rethink in Abu Dhabi. ecfr.eu/publication/little-venice-l…
ecfr.eu
Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a ret
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ECFR @ecfr.eu · 02/10/2026
🎧 What are the big ideas defining national identity and politics in Israel? What is Israel's vision for the Middle East? And how do Israel's ascendant camps see Europe? @ecfrmena.bsky.social ecfr.eu/podcasts/episode/the-ideas-…
ecfr.eu
The Ideas of Israel – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Beth Oppenheim, Ariel David and Neri Zilber to discuss the battle of ideas for Israel's future and what it means for Europe
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
🎙️NEW @ecfr.eu podcast: @markhleonard.bsky.social welcomes @boppenheim.bsky.social, Ariel David & @nerizilber.bsky.social to discuss the battle of ideas for Israel’s future and what it means for Europe. Listen to it here 👇️https://buff.ly/j6u6ZPn
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The Ideas of Israel – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Beth Oppenheim, Ariel David and Neri Zilber to discuss the battle of ideas for Israel’s future and what it means for Europe
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ECFR @ecfr.eu · 01/10/2026
ECFR’s web special maps the battle of ideas for the country’s future and what a new Israel could mean for Europe. @ecfrmena.bsky.social @boppenheim.bsky.social 🧵 👇 ecfr.eu/special/the-ideas-of-israel
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Julien Barnes-Dacey @jbdacey.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Launching our new project: The Ideas of Israel. My colleague Beth Oppenheim maps the battle of ideas reshaping the country as hardline nationalist & religious ideas go mainstream - with important implications for European policy @ecfr.eu ecfr.eu/special/the-...
ecfr.eu
The ideas of Israel – European Council on Foreign Relations
Israel’s illiberal and ethno-nationalist forces are reshaping the country in their image. This is a structural transformation that runs deeper than October’s el
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Read the full project here👇️https://ecfr.eu/special/the-ideas-of-israel/
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Europeans need to present Israel a clear choice: either support political progress with the Palestinians to implement a two-state solution & advance regional diplomacy, or continued conflict, leading to international isolation and political & economic costs from Europe.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🔶 Israel risks turning from an ally to an adversary of liberal Europe, which its ascendant camps now see as a civilisation in decline – “woke and weak”, both militarily and morally.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🔶 The Nationalists are working to build a “hexagon of alliances” - a security, energy and technology nexus – in the hope of making the country indispensable to partners and circumventing the Palestinians.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🔶 The two-state solution has all but vanished from Jewish Israeli politics. Ideas once considered fringe – like the expulsion (or “transfer”) of Palestinians – have been mainstreamed.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
🔶 The Religious Nationalists are capturing Israel’s institutions to remake the state in their image. Smotrich, Ben-Gvir and the settler right have embedded themselves in the media, security establishment and civil society - and all but absorbed Likud.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
The project maps four Jewish ideological camps: the Liberal Zionists, Nationalists, Ultra-Orthodox and Religious Nationalists. A few key findings below:
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
⏳️NEW @ecfr.eu web special, the "Ideas of Israel". As Israelis prepare to vote on 27th October, @boppenheim.bsky.social traces the battle of ideas remaking the country - and finds that, whatever the result, the election won't reverse Israel's illiberal turn. ecfr.eu/special/the-... 🧵
ecfr.eu
The ideas of Israel – European Council on Foreign Relations
Israel’s illiberal and ethno-nationalist forces are reshaping the country in their image. This is a structural transformation that runs deeper than October’s el
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
🗞️ Emirati-Israeli security cooperation intensified during the Iran war & Iran no longer sees Emirati ports, air links and data centres as neutral infrastructure, but as platforms through which Israel and America can project power, argues @cinziabianco.bsky.social👇️ buff.ly/GDCU22X
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Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a ret
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
France to send soldiers, radars and defense systems to secure energy infrastructure in Saudi Arabia. Read @ecfr.eu's latest proposal for how Europe should respond to the Yemen conflict by bolstering Saudi defences but also pushing for diplomatic end to the US-Iran conflict👇️https://buff.ly/vSl0IOu
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The strait and narrow: Yemen, the Red Sea and Europe’s path forward – European Council on Foreign Relations
Houthi advances now threaten Saudi Arabia’s most viable oil-export route. Europeans should strengthen Riyadh's maritime and air defences, and mobilise a wider d
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
🗞️Abu Dhabi learned from the US-Iran war, that chokepoint diversification and redundancy are necessary & that military deterrence cannot substitute for a regional political arrangement that limits direct attacks on commercial assets, writes @cinziabianco.bsky.social👇️https://buff.ly/GDCU22X
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Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a ret
012
ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
📰NEW @ecfr.eu policy alert by @cinziabianco.bsky.social, Ellie Geranmayeh & @jbdacey.bsky.social: Houthi advances threaten Saudi Arabia’s viable oil-export route. Europeans should strengthen Riyadh, and mobilise a diplomatic coalition to end the US-Iran war driving the escalation. buff.ly/vSl0IOu
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The strait and narrow: Yemen, the Red Sea and Europe’s path forward – European Council on Foreign Relations
Houthi advances now threaten Saudi Arabia’s most viable oil-export route. Europeans should strengthen Riyadh's maritime and air defences, and mobilise a wider d
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
🗞️"The Red Sea is one of the key areas where Emirati ambitions collide with regional rivals, including increasingly Saudi Arabia", writes @cinziabianco.bsky.social in her @ecfr.eu policy brief on UAE's strategic shift after the Iran war. Read the policy brief here 👉️ buff.ly/GDCU22X
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
5/ Read the policy brief here👇️ buff.ly/GDCU22X
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Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a ret
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
4/ Europeans can influence this new UAE's strategy. Europe is the endpoint of Emirati supply chains and a regulator which can affect Emirati ambitions. Crucially Europeans are security partners, with an interest in protecting connectivity infrastructure.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
3/ Now the war is pushing Abu Dhabi towards a shift in strategy: “fortified connectivity”. This means keeping its role as a global hub while building spare capacity, alternative routes and sovereign defence production.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
2/ The paper describes how the UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once, but the war with Iran has tested this strategy and showed that entanglement does not guarantee protection.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
📖 NEW @ecfr.eu policy brief by @cinziabianco.bsky.social: Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran🧵 buff.ly/GDCU22X
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Little Venice, little Sparta: The UAE’s statecraft meets the war on Iran – European Council on Foreign Relations
The UAE built its power by turning itself into a hub that binds it to every great power at once. The war with Iran has tested this strategy and is forcing a ret
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Ellie Geranmayeh comments that the US is gambling in the US-Iran war. It's hard to predict if they're going to achieve regime change or regime collapse, nor are there indications that Iran is yielding to American demands. Listen to @ecfr.eu's podcast 👇️ buff.ly/nBSaW0N
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Maximum pressure on Iran, round two – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Ellie Geranmayeh to discuss the latest phase of the US-Iran conflict, the escalating economic pressure campaign against Tehran and the ris
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
A settlement trade ban should mark the beginning of a consequential UK policy towards Israeli settlements. Having recognised Palestine in principle, the UK must use its economic weight & diplomatic leadership to preserve it in practice, says @hlovatt.bsky.social 👇https://buff.ly/oxeohwR
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 10/09/2026
🗞️"Continued progress in Syria will depend on direct external support, of which Europe’s contributions remain undervalued, but also key structural reform-an area where Europeans are uniquely placed to contribute"- @jbdacey.bsky.social chapter on EU-Syrian ties euromesco buff.ly/4O6tgV7
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The Return of Syria to the Euro-Mediterranean Cooperation Arena : EuroMeSCo – Euro-Mediterranean Research, Dialogue, Advocacy
EuroMeSCo
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
🗞️As the clock starts ticking for US mid-terms, the viewpoint in Tehran is: Why would we relieve any pressure on Trump to make concessions? Let’s make him feel pain at the polls, Ellie Geranmayeh tells @wsj.com on a possible Iranian compromise on the Strait of Hormuz. www.wsj.com/world/middle...
wsj.com
Time Is No Longer on Iran’s Side in the Battle of the Blockades
The U.S. is helping Gulf states move significant amounts of oil out of the region while thwarting Tehran’s shipments.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 09/09/2026
"ECFR’s polling shows a clear public mandate for the UK to take a leadership role in strengthening international efforts against Israel’s settlement project and to defend the viability of a two-state solution", argues @hlovatt.bsky.social in his @ecfr.eu commentary👇️ buff.ly/oxeohwR
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
🗞️ The U.S. campaign will have an effect on the average Iranian household. But in terms of Iran capitulating at the negotiating table? I have a lot of doubts, tells Ellie Geranmayeh @wsj.com as the U.S. naval blockade is shrinking Iran's oil export revenues www.wsj.com/world/middle...
wsj.com
Iran’s Oil Dollars Are Drying Up—and Plunging It Deeper Into Crisis
The U.S. blockade and dwindling supplies already on the water are squeezing Tehran’s most important export earner.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
📰 Britain’s political & economic weight could play a role in catalysing measures against Israel’s settlement project and in coalescing Western partners around joint action to defend whatever is left of the two-state solution, argues @hlovatt.bsky.social in @nytimes.com buff.ly/N3hddp3
nytimes.com
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/09/07/world/middleeast/britain-sanctions-israeli-settlers.html?unlocked_article_code=1._VA.iHDI.KSnQupiCx1N0&smid=url-share
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
📰 NEW @ecfr.eu commentary by @hlovatt.bsky.social: New polling published by ECFR shows that Britons across the political divide favour banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements. Read the piece here 👇️ buff.ly/oxeohwR
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Britons back ban on trade with Israeli settlements by more than two to one – European Council on Foreign Relations
New polling published by ECFR shows that Britons across the political divide favour banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Tehran doubts that Trump can deliver the deal and if he delivers one like the MOU, that it unravels within a week. They are therefore unwilling to give major irreversible concessions to the US, tells Ellie Geranmayeh @markhleonard.bsky.social 👇️https://buff.ly/nBSaW0N
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Maximum pressure on Iran, round two – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Ellie Geranmayeh to discuss the latest phase of the US-Iran conflict, the escalating economic pressure campaign against Tehran and the ris
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
"The environment-focused social movements should remind European policymakers that working only with governments isn't enough to ensure progress on economic and social rights" argues @anthonydworkin.bsky.social on the changing face of social movements in North Africa buff.ly/xfjvi5g
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Climate of concern: The changing face of social movements in North Africa – European Council on Foreign Relations
Social movements in North Africa increasingly focus on environmental concerns and the impact of climate change. Europeans must ensure their cooperation with gov
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
🎙️NEW @ecfr.eu podcast: @markhleonard.bsky.social & Ellie Geranmayeh discuss the latest phase of the US-Iran conflict, the escalating economic pressure campaign against Tehran and the risks of a prolonged war without a clear exit strategy. Listen to it here👇️ buff.ly/nBSaW0N
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Maximum pressure on Iran, round two – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Ellie Geranmayeh to discuss the latest phase of the US-Iran conflict, the escalating economic pressure campaign against Tehran and the ris
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
"They have been the same for the last five years, namely to consolidate power and remove potential checks on and critics of his rule", @anthonydworkin.bsky.social tells @deutschewelle.dw.com about Tunisian president Saied's unchanged goals. Read the piece here 👇️ buff.ly/DpvnYha
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Tunisia's activists decry civil society crackdown
Five years into Tunisian President Kais Saied’s increasingly authoritarian rule, rights groups warn that the country’s once vibrant civil society is being silenced.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 03/09/2026
For a ceasefire agreement in Gaza to be implemented in its entirety it will require a political pathway towards a two-state solution. There can’t be one if if the Westbank is consumed by conflict & settlement construction is unchecked, says @hlovatt.bsky.social 👇️https://buff.ly/L50sx9i
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Can a ceasefire survive Israel’s election? – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Hugh Lovatt to discuss the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire, escalating settler violence in the West Bank and how Israel’s upcoming general
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
"The shift to more issue-based activism reflects North Africans’ disappointment in past attempts at political reform as well as long-simmering social tensions", concludes @anthonydworkin.bsky.social on the change of social movements in North Africa. Read it here👇️https://buff.ly/xfjvi5g
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Climate of concern: The changing face of social movements in North Africa – European Council on Foreign Relations
Social movements in North Africa increasingly focus on environmental concerns and the impact of climate change. Europeans must ensure their cooperation with gov
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 01/09/2026
🎙️ “What we need is ultimately a political pathway that can not just sustain and implement the ceasefire deal in full but that can also open up a political pathway to a two-state solution”, comments @hlovatt.bsky.social on Gaza's political future.Listen to it here👇️https://buff.ly/L50sx9i
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Can a ceasefire survive Israel’s election? – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Hugh Lovatt to discuss the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire, escalating settler violence in the West Bank and how Israel’s upcoming general
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
📰 NEW @ecfr.eu commentary by @anthonydworkin.bsky.social: Social movements in North Africa increasingly focus on environmental concerns and climate change. Europeans must ensure their cooperation with governments in the region doesn't end up adding to activists’ grievances 👇️ buff.ly/xfjvi5g
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Climate of concern: The changing face of social movements in North Africa – European Council on Foreign Relations
Social movements in North Africa increasingly focus on environmental concerns and the impact of climate change. Europeans must ensure their cooperation with gov
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 31/08/2026
🗞️ After six months of US-Iran war @ecfr.eu's Ellie Geranmayeh tells @nytimes.com that “it’s a dangerous moment, with both Tehran and D.C. concluding that no deal is possible with the other.” 👇️ www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/w...
nytimes.com
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/28/world/europe/iran-regime-war-us.html
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
🗞️ In her oped for @tagesspiegel.de @ecfr.eu's Nele Anders argues that Germany's debate over how to deal with far-right ministers in Netanyahu’s government obscures the fact that Germany is blocking measures at the EU level that would be more effective 👇️ www.tagesspiegel.de/internationa...
tagesspiegel.de
Deutschlands Israel-Kurs lähmt die EU: Sanktionen gegen Ben Gvir sind überfällig, aber nicht entscheidend
Die Berliner Debatte über den Umgang mit rechtsextremen Ministern der Regierung Netanjahu verstellt den Blick darauf, dass Deutschland auf EU-Ebene Maßnahmen verhindert, die wirkungsvoller wären.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 28/08/2026
🎙️ NEW @ecfr.eu podcast: @markhleonard.bsky.social & @hlovatt.bsky.social discuss the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire, escalating settler violence in the West Bank and how Israel’s upcoming general election could shape the future of the conflict. Listen to it here 👇 ecfr.eu/podcasts/epi...
ecfr.eu
Can a ceasefire survive Israel’s election? – European Council on Foreign Relations
Mark Leonard welcomes Hugh Lovatt to discuss the prospects for a Gaza ceasefire, escalating settler violence in the West Bank and how Israel’s upcoming general
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 24/08/2026
🗞️After six months of war with Iran, Trump “seems shackled by the sunk-cost fallacy that, because America has expended heavy resources, ammunition, and reputation in this war, it cannot pull back before a decisive win” - Ellie Geranmayeh tells @newyorker.com buff.ly/UiudQB3
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After Six Months of War, Trump Is Still Losing to Iran
Trump cannot “Gulf of America” his way out of the disaster that is war with Iran.
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ECFR MENA @ecfrmena.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
In his latest op-ed for the @nytimes.com, @muhammadshehada.bsky.social argues that decommissioning can only be successful if coupled with a genuine political process leading to lasting peace and a credible path towards Palestinian self-determination and statehood. buff.ly/u1R87os
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