1) At WINEP, Assaf Orion explains how UN forces in Lebanon are ‘Losing Ground in a Fast-Deteriorating Security Situation’.
“Last month, the UN issued assessments of Lebanon that seem starkly detached from reality, at least in terms of fully appreciating the dangers threatening to erupt along the country’s southern border. When the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL) briefed the Security Council on July 21, these dangers were barely mentioned. In addition, the secretary-general submitted his most recent report on implementation of Security Council Resolution 1701, adopted in 2006 to monitor the cessation of hostilities between Hezbollah and Israel after their last war. Yet despite itemizing many of the troubling new developments unfolding on the ground, his report offers recommendations that are as irrelevant to the broader security situation as UNSCOL’s.”
2) A ’Long War Journal’ podcast discusses ‘What just happened in Gaza?’.
“Bill is joined again by Jonathan Schanzer, senior vice president for research at FDD, and by Joe Truzman, research analyst at FDD’s Long War Journal, to discuss the latest round of violence that emanated from the Gaza Strip this weekend and eventually resulted in an Egyptian-brokered ceasefire. They also unpack details about the terrorist group behind the escalation, Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) — including where they get their weapons, training, and funding (spoiler alert: it’s Iran).”
3) At the JCPA Alan Baker explains the roots of the ‘status quo’ on Temple Mount.
“The current issues beleaguering any hope of achieving tranquility in Jerusalem are based on an age-old Ottoman “status quo” governing custodianship, worship, and visits to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount. This status quo was first established in 1757 and formalized by Ottoman imperial decrees (firmans) issued by Sultan Abdul Mejid in 1852 and 1856, freezing claims by religious communities in Jerusalem and Bethlehem to Christian holy places and forbidding any construction or alterations to their existing status.”
4) At the INSS, Haggay Etkes and Wifag Adnan analyse ‘Gazan Workers in Israel‘.
“In October 2021, as the COVID-19 pandemic ebbed, the Israeli government decided to resume Gazan employment in Israel. Currently, about 11,000 Gazan workers have entry permits and are employed informally. In March 2022 the government decided to regulate Gazan employment in Israel and allocate 20,000 work permits to Gazans, 12,000 for the construction industry and 8,000 for agriculture. The permits are given to married Gazans aged 25 and up who have passed a security check. The policy of the Hamas Ministry of Labor is to allow employment in Israel of married Gazans aged 27-60, who are not employed in the public sector and do not have an academic degree, and are not entitled to public stipends. Likewise, Hamas prefers to allocate work permits in Israel to unemployed Gazan men with large families whose wives do not work.”
