"The Iranians don't want to escalate this further than they need to, as in they don't want to get the US involved in an all out, long lasting, protracted conflict...They want to keep this within certain boundaries...after all, the number one priority is regime security and regime survival."

"You have two lobbies now in Washington when it comes to the Middle East, the Gulf and the Israel lobby. For MAGA, the Gulf is a net contributor to US power adding bandwidth, while Israel is a net consumer of US power taking up bandwidth"

"The Trump visit signals a significant shift in the regional order as the centre of gravity moves to the Gulf, where interdependence and interconnectivity are key, where Iran and the Gulf move closer together and Netanyahu's Israel is ostracized."

"Hamas is based on the idea of resistance. It is an insurgency movement. Engaging this idea only militarily will allow you to maybe win battles or skirmishes. But you cannot win the war...

More from this documentary "العبور" on AJ 360

youtu.be/9hQAh9yCxRA

"The IDF is engaging in a policy of territory for hostages. It is compartmentalizing Gaza territory undermining freedom of movement and then moving in. For the IDF it's about desperately going after a newly populated target list and for Netanyahu it is a war to cement his political survival"

#UAE ambassador supports #Trump's plan for ethnically cleaning #Gaza stating there is 'no alternative'

Easy for the UAE to suck up to Trump and supporters on this, as they can rely on Saudi, Qatar, Egypt, Jordan and others fighting the proposal

Netanyahu suggests to his base that if Saudi Arabia insists on a Palestinian state as a prerequisite for normalisation, Saudi should create a Palestinian state on its own territory

US suggestions that a breakthrough in normalisation was imminent appear premature

Palestinians will not leave Gaza - this is a red line

But in absence of an Arab/Gulf-led solution to governance in Gaza, the US becoming the protector of the territory might be a solution to eventual Palestinian self-governance

Journalist asking whether Qatar is part of the problem or part of the solution in Gaza:

"Qatar, they are absolutely trying to help...they are doing everything they can, a very tough situation, but they are absolutely trying to help"

🎙️Listen to me speak to the Guns for Hire Podcast about outsourcing stabilization in #Gaza to private military contractors

It's a novel approach to get a force that might be more restrained than the IDF and more palatable to the Israelis than UN peacekeepers

podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/g...