Sadly, tendentious media reporting from the #Hamas-#Israel war has grown commonplace but I have never seen a story quite like the @washingtonpost piece headlined “Israel’s war with Hamas separates Palestinian babies from their mothers.” 1/14 washingtonpost.com/world/2023/11/… The @washingtonpost, one should recall, labels its news coverage of the conflict “#Israel-#Gaza War,” an editorial decision which implies Israel is at war w/Gaza, rather than the more-accurate “Israel-#Hamas War,” the term used by @nytimes, not famous for being pro-#Israel. 2/14

It is clear #Israel is near an operational decision to proceed w/a ground incursion into #Gaza, as bombing alone cannot succeed in achieving its war aims - nor will the patience of some of #Israel’s friends likely stretch far enough to allow bombing to get close to the goal. 1/14 Indeed, only by the regrettably costly route of ground operations - costly in terms of Israeli soldiers, #Palestinian civilians and perhaps the hostages - can #Israel likely meet the objective of ending #Hamas rule in #Gaza, which is needed to achieve these war aims: 2/14

The resumption of #Saudi-#Iran relations has triggered what I believe to be exaggerated reaction about #China’s emergence as a #MiddleEast powerbroker and a strategic shift of #Riyadh away from its traditional partners. 1/17 Some context: in an October meeting in #Jeddah, a #Saudi leader at the highest level explained his strategy was to defeat #Iran through growth. The fact that KSA is the fastest growing G-20 country, w/trillions invested in everything from tourism to mining, supports this. 2/17

Since my earlier tweet on #IranProtests, I have been asked what the #Biden administration should do that would be constructive and supportive of the protestors, who may have been triggered by food prices but whose anger is much deeper and more profound. Here are 3 ideas: 1/5 1) @WhiteHouse should announce that, in accordance with longstanding policy, US pursuit of a new nuclear deal in no way constricts our right and duty to speak out in support of #Iranians exercising the universal right of free speech and assembly. 2/5

Enough people who know about #Afghanistan are weighing in on the tragic/frightening scenes in #Kabul that there's no need for me to add my 2 cents. I do know something about the #MiddleEast so here are some thoughts about the ripples of the #Taliban victory across the region.1/13 No regional government is thrilled with both the humbling of US power AND the rise of a violent radical Sunni extremist govt in #Kabul allied with al-Qaeda. Some may welcome the former but none want the latter. 2/13

Regrettably, once again, @nytimes issued a high-profile story -- this time, on video -- that is woefully under-sourced, with the effect of being a one-sided attack on #Israel operations in #Gaza last month. 1/7 At the outset, it is important to underscore the human tragedy of what happened in #Gaza. At its core, this is the tragedy of a terrorist organization - #Hamas - using hundreds of thousands of innocent people as pawns and shields in its war against #Israel. 2/7

Five nuggets mined from @POTUS #Israel-#Palestine peace plan that commentators may have missed on a quick reading: 1/6 1) Plan cites 1949 Armistice negotiations as a rationale for Triangle proposal, an #AvigdorLieberman favorite, to transfer 10 #Arab towns/villages from #Israel to #Palestine. Imagine if Palestinian negotiators cited '49 precedent to claim land currently inside #Israel? p. 13 2/6

I have read the entire #Israel-#Palestinian peace plan and my advice to revelers is not to pop the champagne anytime soon -- "peace" is not around the corner. Here's a quick assessment. 1/11 I congratulate the plan's authors for injecting some realism into conventional views of this conflict. It is realistic for the Jordan River to be Israel's security barrier. It is realistic for hundreds of thousands of Israelis in West Bank not to be forced to relocate. 2/11