Our Middle East: An Insider's View

Is the United States losing its influence in the Middle East? A new regional defense pact and growing questions about American resolve are sending shockwaves across the region. As Washington relies on sanctions and diplomacy, many in the Middle East are asking a simple question: Who is the "strong horse" now? Dan Diker is joined by veteran Palestinian affairs journalist Khaled Abu Toameh for an in-depth discussion on the changing balance of power in the region. Together, they examine why perception matters as much as military strength, what the new Saudi-Turkey-Pakistan defense pact could mean for the future and whether America's current strategy is strengthening or weakening its position in the Middle East.

As the ceasefire crumbles, Gaza’s war moves underground...literally. Hamas terrorists are trapped in their own tunnel networks, abandoned by leadership and starving beneath the rubble. But surrender is not an option in the world of jihad. Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh expose the stunning reversals of fortune, the regional power plays from Qatar and Turkey and how Hamas is losing its grip both in the tunnels and on the streets of Gaza. Is this the beginning of Hamas’s collapse or the ignition point of a Palestinian civil war?

Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh argue that the UN-driven, internationally managed “Trump 20-point plan” is constraining Israel while Hamas exploits the ceasefire to rearm, regroup and entrench control in Gaza. They warn that vague terms like “demilitarization” and “decommissioning” (without explicit disarmament) enable loopholes, drawing lessons from Hezbollah in Lebanon. They caution against rebranding Hamas through new “security forces,” urge clan-based regime change backed by the West, oppose granting safe passage to wanted militants, and connect Western political trends, like New York’s mayoral race, to a wider jihadist information war. The episode closes with a call to replace Hamas entirely and build genuine Arab-Jewish bridges through clear-eyed policy, not wishful thinking.

In today's episode we discuss the Trump Peace plan in Gaza and why it can get more complicated than people think.

'Son of Hamas,' Mosab Hassan Yousef, joins Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, to discuss the disturbing legacy of jihad from September 11, 2001 to Oct. 7, 2023, revealing how Islamic extremism has not only survived but mutated into even more dangerous global forms.

In this episode of Our Middle East, Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, Senior Fellow at the JCFA and the Gatestone Institute, explore one of the most critical turning points in the Middle East in decades. They analyze Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the unprecedented support it is receiving from the United States, and proposals for a trusteeship that could reshape the territory’s future. The conversation examines Hamas’s strategy of prolonging the conflict, the ongoing hostage crisis, and the mounting international pressure on Israel from the United Nations, France, Saudi Arabia, and the European Union. The hosts also discuss the reluctance of Arab powers such as Qatar and Egypt to take meaningful steps to pressure Hamas, and the consequences this has for Palestinians and the wider region. Diker and Abu Toameh consider the broader implications for Lebanon and Syria, where Hezbollah and other Iranian-backed groups are watching Israel’s moves closely. They emphasize that this conflict is not only political or territorial but also an ideological battle against radical jihadist movements seeking to undermine Israel’s very existence. Our Middle East offers timely and authoritative analysis, raising the question of whether this moment could lead to the emergence of a truly new Middle East shaped by Israel, the United States, and moderate Arab states, or whether radical forces will continue to dominate the region.

Is a quiet revolution brewing in the West Bank? Several Hebron Sheikhs have just made an unprecedented offer: peace with Israel without the Palestinian Authority. Could this be the next chapter of the Abraham Accords or is it nothing but bluster? Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, renowned Arab affairs journalist and Senior Fellow at JCFA and Gatestone Institute, unpack a groundbreaking development: influential Hebron clan leaders, without the Palestinian Authority, have proposed a peace initiative directly with Israel. In a move reported by the Wall Street Journal, Sheikh Adiyah Al-Jabari and other prominent clan figures from Hebron have publicly endorsed coexistence and commerce with Israel, bypassing the corruption-plagued Palestinian Authority. Diker and Abu Toameh analyze whether this “Hebron model” could mark the beginning of a post-PA, bottom-up peace structure based on traditional clan governance and economic cooperation.