Dan Steinbock

Until recently, the West has pledged in the name of a two-state model in the partitioned Israel/Palestine. But it has been replaced by a unitary state that is decreasingly secular and democratic. In retrospect, the two-state solution died in Jerusalem on September 17, 1948. After World War II, the UN Partition Plan and Israel’s unilateral … Continue reading “The Demise of the Two-State Solution”

After the Hamas-led offensive of October 7, 2023, it was portrayed as “Israel’s 9/11,” which came out of the blue. Yet, this assumption is not supported by verified facts, including ignored intelligence, abandoned hostages and neglected Israeli communities around Gaza. A day after October 7, Eurasia Group’s Ian Bremmer said that the “massive attacks by … Continue reading “Was October 7 Avoidable?”

In early 2023, the most far-right cabinet in Israel’s history launched its war for “judicial reforms” to replace democracy with autocracy. In fall 2023, it began an obliteration war against Gaza. Now it is readying to decimate the last human rights defenders in Israel. In view of the Israeli Prime Minister, amid his own corruption … Continue reading “B’Tselem in the Crosshairs”

In a press conference with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “finish the job” against Iran with the support of President Trump. Ever since his rise to power in the late 1990s, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has worked toward a war with Iran, presumably to demolish Tehran’s … Continue reading “Netanyahu’s Quest To Attack Iran With the ‘Mother of all Bombs’”

By trying to weaponize the U.S. tariffs on America’s big trade partners against China, President Trump is basing bad economics on worse geopolitics. It could prove a costly prelude to a global downturn. On February 1, President Trump imposed 25% tariffs and 10% duties on energy products on Canada and Mexico, and 10% tariffs on … Continue reading “Trump’s Sphere-of-Influence Tariffs”

During a press conference with PM Netanyahu on Tuesday evening, President Trump said the United States “will take over” the Gaza Strip. Around the world, observers were shocked. But the statement didn’t come out of the blue. “The US will take over the Gaza Strip and we will do a job with it too,” Trump … Continue reading “Ethnic Cleansing for ‘Gaza’s Riviera’?”

In my new book, The Fall of Israel (2025), I examine the activities of all US postwar administrations regarding the Israelis and Palestinians. The first Trump administration did not just differ from its precursors. It turned upside down five decades of US policies regarding Palestinians. In the next four years, The Trump White House will … Continue reading “Trump 2.0 and Palestinians: From Reversal to Repression and Deportations”

Early in the year, State Department officials briefed Joel Rayburn from the Trump transition team there could be a humanitarian “catastrophe” in Gaza when a new Israeli law barring contact with the UN refugee agency for Palestinians takes effect at the end of the month. The UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) is the primary … Continue reading “The Fatal Effort To Dismantle UNRWA”

In just two years, China has facilitated a breakthrough deal between Saudi Arabia and Iran; and Fatah and Hamas. Over time, that could pave the way to peace in the Middle East, after decades of unwarranted violence – including the assassination of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh. On July 23, 14 Palestinian factions including rivals Hamas … Continue reading “The Beijing Declaration: Quest for Middle East Peace After the Haniyeh Assassination”

In the Philippines, the proponents of the trilateral alliance frame it as a response to the “threat of assertive China.” In reality, the unwarranted trilateral alliance seems to be the result of a longstanding US maritime counter-insurgency (COIN) campaign, resting on the work of the US Navy Department and other US interests. The purpose of … Continue reading “Trilateral Militarization: From Missiles to Nukes”