Opinion Archives - Page 4 of 39

‘Creeping Colonization’ – An Israeli Blueprint

CrossFireArabia
February 3, 2026

The Israeli government has initiated a significant expansion of settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem , and while 2025 was a year of settlement expansion, 2026 is intended to be a year of “action on the ground” focusing on accelerating construction, retroactively legalizing outposts, and deepening control in strategically sensitive areas.

New construction projects, such as bypass roads and barriers, are actively slicing through the West Bank, creating disconnected “islands” of Palestinian areas and facilitating the expansion of settlements.

This strategy, heavily driven by Israeli far-right coalition members, aims to establish, legalize, and expand numerous settlements and outposts, effectively creating “de facto annexation”.

On his part, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich announced a plan to allocate 2.7 billion shekels in the 2026 state budget to establish 17 new colonies in the West Bank over the next five years.

Plans for 22 new settlements in the West Bank were approved in early 2026, building upon a record number of approvals in 2025, which totaled 41 new settlements.

Israel has moved to start construction on the contentious E1 project, with a tender for 3,401 homes posted in late 2025/ early 2026.

This project aims to connect Maale Adumim settlement with East Jerusalem, which analysts warn will divide the West Bank in two and block the contiguity of a future Palestinian state.

Plans are also advancing for a major new 9,000-unit settlement project in East Jerusalem, at the site of the former Atarot/ Qalandiya airport.

Besides, a new settlement named Mishmar Yehuda (or Givat Adumim) was recently approved, located near Kedar and Ma’ale Adumim.

Reports from May 2025 and January 2026 indicate a surge in the legalization of previously unauthorized settler outposts, transforming them into permanent, legal settlements under Israeli law.

Following the repeal of the 2005 Disengagement Law, plans are underway to rebuild and expand settlements in the northern West Bank, such as Homesh and Sa-Nur.

Settlement activity is heavily concentrated in the East Jerusalem area, the northern West Bank, and the Jordan Valley to sever Palestinian territorial continuity.

Settlement expansion has been accompanied by increased settler violence and attacks, with over 1,800 incidents documented in 2025, according to the UN.

Settlers have been involved in the killings of Palestinians, including children, and have caused thousands of injuries through physical assaults, shootings, and arson.

In the first weeks of 2026, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) recorded at least 55 settler attacks causing injury or property damage and injuring 30 Palestinians. These attacks, often targeted water systems and schools, have directly led to the displacement of over 100 Palestinian Bedouin and herding households.

In the Jericho area community of Ras ‘Ein al ‘Auja, at least 77 households began dismantling their homes following intensified nighttime settler attacks and threats.

Settler attacks have completely displaced 29 Palestinian communities since October 2023, more than one a month on average, UN data showed.

Attacks frequently target Palestinian property, including the burning of homes, destruction of vehicles , poisoning water sources , steeling livestock , devastating agricultural livelihoods and uprooting or chain sawing of olive trees.

Settler violence is a key driver of forced displacement, creating a coercive environment that has forced dozens of Palestinian communities to leave their homes.

Since October 7, 2023, thousands of Palestinians have been displaced due to settler attacks.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and various UN bodies have reported that the distinction between settler violence and state violence has become increasingly blurred, with settlers wearing uniforms and acting alongside or as part of the Israeli security forces.

The line between settler and state violence has blurred “to a vanishing point,” according to a 2025 UN report.

This is attributed to the involvement of settlers in official “settlement defense squads” and “regional defense battalions,” which are part of the Israeli army’s structure.

The UN has noted a high level of impunity for perpetrators, with very few investigations into settler attacks resulting in convictions.

The European Union, various international bodies, various nations, including the UK, Canada, and Germany, have urged Israel to halt these activities, citing that the settlements are obstacles to peace , illegal under international law and undermine the possibility of a two-state solution.

The UN human rights office has repeatedly called on Israeli authorities to protect Palestinians from these attacks, end the cycle of violence, and hold perpetrators accountable.

However as of January 2026, reports indicate that Israel is disregarding all condemnations and warnings and accelerating its actions in the occupied West Bank, shifting from a “slow creep” of control to a rapid expansion of settlements and infrastructure, which observers characterize as de facto annexation.

This, combined with increased settler violence and military actions, is profoundly altering the landscape of the West Bank.

This ongoing process, which was often referred to as “creeping annexation’’, and now some analysts call it “running annexation’’ aims to permanently incorporate the West Bank into Israel by creating irreversible, on-the-ground facts.

Najla M Shahwan contributed this article to the Jordan Times

Opinion

Israel’s ‘New Battle’ With Hamas

CrossFireArabia
January 31, 2026

CROSSFIREARABIA – Now the remains of Ran Gvili, the last Israeli hostage in Gaza recovered, many thought Israel would move to open the borders and quickly allow for the rebuilding of the enclave.

But not so. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu now says before that can happen Hamas must disarm and dismantle itself. He says if the Islamic movement doesn’t give up its arms voluntarily it will be forced to, no less by Israel and its army.

But this is laughable. Netanyahu has been consistently saying throughout this genocide that his army is moving towards destroying the movement and its army of fighters and operatives. Instead, Israel destroyed the whole of Gaza, turning the strip into a huge rubble and debris site.

The only thing that Israeli couldn’t do was to destroy the Palestinian resistance, Hamas and the other different factions. Hamas and its fighting forces is said to be alive and kicking according to different estimates including the Americans but Israeli intelligence currently put the Hamas fighters at 20,000.

This must be depressing for Netanyahu who spent over $66 billion on trying to defeat Hamas. All he did however is massively destroy the enclave creating around 60 million tons of debris and wreckage according to UN estimates and killing 71,000 civilians while 10,000 remaining buried underground.

For all his bombast about slowly destroying Hamas, Netanyahu did nothing of the sort. While he may have killed some of its top leaders like Ismael Haniyah and Yehiya Sinwar who died in direct battlefield combat and not in an underground bunker away from his men as the Israelis like to claim, fighters are being replenished from human mass in Gaza whose population is estimated at around 2 million people.

Based on commentary from Israel’s Channel 13 Netanyahu has provided US President Donald Trump with Israeli military intelligence to say that Hamas still has 60,000 kalashnikovs inside the Gaza Strip. These are yet to be destroyed.

While Netanyahu may have provided the figures for political reasons, it maybe travesty on his part because it shows that despite the mass Israeli massacres in two years of war against the Gaza Strip, Tel Aviv is not able to get rid of Hamas nor of the other Palestinian resistance groups.

Kalashnikovs are not the only weapons. While intelligence estimation suggests that long and short-missiles may have been heavily reduced, Hamas still has thousands of rockets in its stockpiles and is still an effective fighting force despite the fact that Israel, in its “yellow line” still controls more than 53 percent of the Gaza Strip.

Now under Stage II of Trump’s peace accord on Gaza, Hamas is supposed to give its weapons to the Palestinian Authority, but Israel is fearful this may not happen and are on military alert and are still trigger-happy having killed 490 people since the ceasefire was killed on 10 October, 2025.

But these weapons frequently fall into the hands of the resistance as it is estimated that 15 percent of the weapons, missiles, bombs and mortar fired onto the different parts of Gaza don’t go off. What tended to happen in the past two years is that these would fall into the hands of the Hamas fighters, “repackaged” and fired back at Israeli soldiers and cities. Some may off course stay in the Hamas stockpiles.

What this means is the fight between Israel and Hamas will continue despite the Trump peace machinations. A bit of good news maybe coming out of that as Israel, under pressure from the White House, has promised to open the crucial southern Rafah Crossing between Gaza and Eygpt. While Israel has been resisting this, it has finally agreed to open the border both ways so that people can go in and out of Gaza. The short-coming of that is that Israel is refusing to allow the entry of aid trucks for the starved enclave.

Opinion

Trump’s Authortarianism

CrossFireArabia
January 29, 2026

By Michael Jansen

Amnesty International-USA has issued an unprecedented 46-page report on the state of that country’s domestic affairs a year after Donald Trump began his second term on January 20th. The report, “Ringing Alarm Bells,” has traced how the Trump administration’s adoption of authoritarianism is violating human rights in the US and abroad and blocking accountability. The administration’s practices increase “the risk for journalists and people who speak out or dissent, including protestors, lawyers, students, and human rights defenders,” Amnesty said.

The report describes 12 areas in which the Trump administration is undermining the “pillars” supporting the US edifice. Trump is curbing “freedom of the press and access to information, freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, civil society organisations and universities, political opponents and critics, judges, lawyers, and the legal system,” and due process. The report “documents attacks on refugee and migrant rights, the scapegoating of [entire] communities and the rollback of non-discrimination protections, the use of the military for domestic purposes…[and] the expansion of surveillance without meaningful oversight.” The adoption of such practices domestically extends to external affairs where international laws meant to protect human rights are being undermined.

Amnesty gave examples of abuses, several are included below. “Students are arrested and detained for protesting on college campuses” and communities are invaded and terrorized” by masked federal agents who are not held accountable. Such activities are “being normalised” across the country. Palestinians who are legal US residents and take part in anti-Israeli protests over Gaza have been targeted, arrested, detained and threatened with deportation.

To exact vengeance against critics, Trump has used the levers of power to “retaliate against, threaten, and coerce elected officials, federal employees and prosecutors, and universities and media outlets.” Trump has used job dismissal, suspension, investigations, withdrawal of security clearances, and denial of federal funding and contracts to attain his objectives in this campaign.

Trump has used state and federal military forces to police protests and support unlawful immigration enforcement. Black and brown demonstrations and restive localities have been disproportionately targeted. After trying to leave the area where there was an anti-deportation protest, Renee Good was shot to death in her car by a federal agent in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem called her a “domestic terrorist” before any investigation had begun. The local authorities waited for a federal investigation to take over the probe into this incident which has been widely publicised and politicised.

Trump has threatened to invoke the 19th Insurrection Act, a law authorising military deployment to quell Minneapolis protests against his aggressive campaign to identify and deport “illegal” migrants although US citizens have been mistakenly swept up and detained in this effort.

Trump’s Justice Department opened a criminal probe into Minnesota state Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, both Democrats, accusing them of impeding federal immigration operations. Walz charged the Republican administration of “weaponizing the justice system against your opponents.”

Meanwhile, on the international level, Trump has demanded that Denmark hand over to the US Greenland, an integral part of the Danish Kingdom, and threatened European countries backing Denmark with 10-25 per cent tariff punishments. Greenland is not only a strategic island, but it has deposits of precious metals. Denmark and 85 per cent of Greenlanders and 75 per cent of US citizens reject Trump’s bid although he has continued to voice his demand and issue threats against opponents and critics.

He has called for Canada to become the 51t US state despite rejection by the government and citizens. Trump argues that the US must re-acquire the Panama Canal, a choke point in the East-West trade route which connects the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. The canal was built by US engineers between 1903-1914 and was held by the US until handed over to Panama on December 31st, 1999. He falsely claims Russia and China menace both Greenland and the Panama Canal. Trump uses imagined threats to forge new global realities. However, other leaders, countries and populations prefer not to undermine and fracture the status quo which has maintained peace over and in Greenland and Panama as well as between global actors.

The writer is a columnist for the Jordan Times

Opinion

Trump, Maduro and Diminished Values

CrossFireArabia
January 6, 2026

By Dr Khairi Janbek

The late British historian Eric Hobsbawm had an interesting theory that of long centuries and short centuries. In the first, no big transformations happens, consequently these centuries are counted them in terms of numerics, like 100 years, for instance.

In the second case however, so many big transformations occur, and so these centuries are counted not numerically, but by their effect on human life, progress and development.

To this one wishes to add, that throughout history, people moved habitually into the new century with old ideas passing through and tipping over. Consequently, the grasping of the new developments is always difficult, and our current situation in the 21st century is, in fact, no different.

We have entered this century with the values inherited from the past 100 years with examples being the truth, legality, international law, human rights, sovereignty, and many other norms. Now, this is not to say in any way the values of the past century were ideal, but at least there were norms that could be appealed to not necessarily punish transgressors, but to embarrass them.

However today, and with the latest debacles, we have now entered an age in which you can easily add the word “post-” to all the aforementioned values. In fact we are in the age of post human values, in which the logic of pure force, and the law of the jungle prevails and used with no compunction.

With the latest action on Venezuela, the US administration is providing a new paradigm to the world: That of the policy of the backyard to illustrate the point and as used by British prime minister Neville Chamberlain prior to World War II and in which he wrote after the annexation of Czechoslovakia by Adolf Hitler, as being the dictator’s new backyard.

What he meant of course is that any entity with enough strength is permitted to go into countries which it considers to be its own backyard. Flipping back, today this is how America sees its new role, acting to prevent harm to US interests but also is willing to negotiate on other issues important for the interests of America.

As the situation stands, Washington through the Trump administration, is clearly moving to revive the Monroe Doctrine and use it unashamedly and in accordance with the backyard theory.

And as for the international outlook, the current US strategy is to push for extreme right-wing governments to run Europe, seeing the continent as an economically powerful block but without military swing and/or political clout and willing to negotiate to end the war in Ukraine to Russia’s advantage.

Meanwhile, Washington wants also to push the Abraham Accords in the Middle East and get Arab governments, especially the Saudis, to negotiate with Israel to liquidate the Palestinian problem once and for all. In this paradigm, the fate of Taiwan remains to be seen, whether it becomes the sacrificial lamb for US-China Accords or not. This is how one sees the balance.

However having said all that, and in this formula, the allies of the US can be hurt in as much way as the detractors of America.

Dr Janbek is a Jordanian historian living in Paris.

Opinion

Israel Versus Turkey in Africa

CrossFireArabia
December 29, 2025

By Prof. Dr. Yahya Amir Hagi Ibrahim

The strategic waters of the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden have once again become a flashpoint, with recent actions suggesting a dangerous escalation that threatens to unravel fragile stability and deliberately target international investments. Israel has shifted toward a posture that uses access to the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden as part of its broader regional strategy. At the same time, Türkiye is deepening its footprint in Somalia with long-term development projects spanning energy, infrastructure, and space technology. After Israel’s decision to recognize Somalia’s breakaway region, Somaliland, Somalian President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud pays a critical visit to Türkiye.

Houthis and Bab al-Mandab Strait

In response to Israel’s genocide on Gaza, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched drones, missiles, and maritime attacks targeting Israel and commercial shipping (toward Israel or flying the flag of Israel-supporting countries) in the Red Sea, Gulf of Aden and nearby waters. In response, Israel has conducted multiple airstrikes in Yemen.

More recently, Israel’s recognition of Somalia’s breakaway region, Somaliland, as an independent state in December 2025 marked a dramatic diplomatic shift. Israel became the first UN member state to formally recognize the breakaway region (situated near the strategic Bab al-Mandab Strait), drawing strong objections from Somalia, Türkiye, Egypt, and others who view the move as a threat to regional stability.

Alarmingly, these actions appear to deliberately focus on areas where Türkiye has made significant investments in stability and capacity-building, signaling steps aimed not just at military objectives but at broader stabilization. This calculated targeting strikes at the heart of a pivotal and transformative partnership between Türkiye and Somalia. Over recent years, this alliance has moved far beyond diplomacy into tangible, nation-building projects designed to foster economic growth and regional security. To see them threatened is to see a blueprint for progress put at risk.

Over the past decade, Türkiye has built a deep, multi-layered partnership with Somalia, positioning itself as a key security and economic partner. Ankara’s long-term involvement began in earnest with high-level visits in 2011 and expanded through defense, economic, and development agreements.

Central to this is hydrocarbon exploration: under agreements granting rights across some 15,000 square kilometers of Somali offshore blocks, the Turkish Petroleum Corporation (TPAO) has conducted seismic surveys and plans to begin oil drilling by 2026, potentially harnessing significant reserves.

Beyond energy, Türkiye desires to include cutting-edge technological infrastructure. Ankara is planning a space launch facility in Somalia, leveraging the country’s equatorial advantage for satellite launches and potentially missile testing. The project (part of broader cooperation agreements signed in 2024) is expected to strengthen Türkiye’s aerospace capabilities and deepen strategic ties.

Turkish capacity-building

Türkiye’s footprint also extends to security and capacity-building. The Turkish military operates Camp TURKSOM, its largest overseas base, which trains Somali forces and enhances naval and coastguard capabilities. Joint agreements signed in recent years include maritime security cooperation to patrol Somali waters for a decade, protecting both regional stability and economic activities. Additionally, Turkish infrastructure investments include modernization of airports, hospitals, fishery programs, and diplomatic compounds.

Türkiye’s strategy is structural, aimed at building Somali capabilities and mutual economic stakes. Whether through oil, space technology, or infrastructure, Ankara’s footprint in the Horn of Africa is designed for sustained impact.

The author who has contributed this piece to Anadolu, is the deputy chairman of RAAD Peace Research Institute, a Somaville University Mogadishu board member and lecturer on economic development.