Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA)

Strategic Alliances for a Secure, Connected, and Prosperous Region

Menu

“The Army of the Nation” – Another Al-Qaeda Affiliate in the Gaza Strip

August 7, 2007 | Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi

Hamas is trying to improve its image in the eyes of the West, arguing that it is succeeding in restoring public order in Gaza. In the West - and even in Israel - there are voices calling for a dialogue with Hamas. Providing legitimacy to Hamas as an acceptable political partner - without any preconditions regarding its renunciation of terrorism - is essentially a "green light" to Hamas to continue to provide sanctuary for al-Qaeda affiliates in Gaza.

Iran’s Renewed Threats to Take Over the Arab Gulf States

July 20, 2007 | Lt. Col. (ret.) Jonathan D. Halevi

Recent Iranian implied threats to “liberate” some of the Gulf states, and an Iranian editorial calling Bahrain a district of Iran, have caused great consternation in the Gulf states. In Iran's view, every region of the Gulf is essentially Persian and not Arab; moreover, a large Shiite population lives in the Gulf. In the eyes of the Arab states, the threat to wipe the Sunni world from the map is graver than the Iranian promise to annihilate Israel.

A Conversation between Ambassador Dore Gold and Barak M. Seener

July 11, 2007 | Amb. Dore Gold

The Mecca Agreement served the function of not renouncing violence along with the generic demands of the international community. It also created a fusion between the alleged moderate branch of the Palestinian Authority headed by Fatah leader Abbas, and Hamas that maintains links with the Muslim Brotherhood. • It was precisely whilst the US was actively engaged in conflict management between Israel and the Palestinians that al-Qaeda was planning terrorist attacks. • Islamist organizations, like al-Qaeda, may raise specific political grievances at times from the Balkans, Chechnya, or Kashmir, but what empirically has really helped these organizations surge in strength is their sense of victory from the battles in any of these clashes. Withdrawal in the face of radical Islam only strengthens the present worldwide militant wave and empowers its adherents. • Recent apocalyptic Sunni and Shiite literature perceives the recovery of Jerusalem as a trigger to a new wave of global jihad. This doctrine predicts an imminent clash between the Mahdi – a Muslim saviour – and the Islamic antichrist, known as the Dajjal in the Holy City. Thus begins a new stage of worldwide violence extending to Rome and the entire West.

Iran’s Regional Ambitions: Implications for Israel, Iraq, and the Gulf States

July 10, 2007 | Amir Taheri

Halting Iran’s Nuclear Weapons Program: Iranian Vulnerabilities and Western Policy Options

July 8, 2007 | Brig.-Gen. (res.) Yossi Kuperwasser

Economic and Diplomatic Strategies for Isolating Ahmadinejad and the Iranian Regime

July 1, 2007 | Benjamin Netanyahu

Components of Domestic Security in the Age of Global Jihadism

May 31, 2007 | Avi Dichter

The Strategic Challenge of Gaza

April 19, 2007 | Yoav Galant

The Implications of a Nuclear Iran

March 25, 2007 | Dr. Ephraim Sneh

Russia’s New Middle Eastern Policy: Back to Bismarck?

March 20, 2007 | Ariel Cohen

Iran Is Building “Hamastan” in Gaza

March 11, 2007 | Brig. Gen. (res.) Shalom Harari

President Bush and the Qods Force Controversy: Lessons Learned

March 6, 2007 | Dr. Dan Diker

Brothers in Arms: Fatah and Palestinian Islamic Jihad

March 1, 2007 | Pinhas Inbari

Israel’s Deterrence after the Second Lebanon War

February 13, 2007 | Maj. Gen. (res.) Uzi Dayan

Ahmadinejad, Iran, and Holocaust Manipulation: Methods, Aims, and Reactions

February 1, 2007 | Dr. Manfred Gerstenfeld