War in the Middle East

Whatever becomes of President Trump’s proposal to take over Gaza and resettle the Palestinians there, the Arab world is not on board. Many consider the plan a form of what the U.N. terms “ethnic cleansing.” Some say it could lead to war.

While President Trump has ridiculed past U.S. military deployments and nation-building efforts, he has consistently been drawn to Mideast diplomacy. But his proposal to “own” and develop the Gaza Strip and displace its population has many questioning how serious he is.

Joyful family reunions that the ceasefire has enabled in Israel are being echoed in the West Bank and Gaza. But few freed Palestinian prisoners, many of whom were jailed for decades, knew much of the Gaza war, or its staggering costs.

The stage-managed spectacle of Israeli hostages being released in Gaza serves political interests on both sides. Hamas’ assertions that it is still in power bolster the argument that Prime Minister Netanyahu still has a job to do.

Palestinian residents of Gaza, the vast majority of them homeless, celebrated when the Israel-Hamas ceasefire was announced. But as they return home, the destruction they are finding is almost too much to comprehend.

As Israelis celebrate the return of hostages held in Gaza, they are also anguished over the long time it took to bring them home. A nagging question for many is whether a social contract of mutual responsibility has been broken.

What resources and time will Donald Trump’s “America First” administration devote to keeping the Israel-Hamas deal on track? The challenges may appear overwhelming, but the idea of a grand deal is enticing.

Over more than 15 months of war and loss, Israeli and Palestinian emotions have been rubbed raw, or suppressed. Now they are being released by an imminent ceasefire, even as questions over its durability persist.

Word of an Israel-Hamas ceasefire and hostage release deal was greeted with relief and some celebrations. But Israelis and Palestinians have been disappointed before; joy over the fragile deal was muted.

Popular support for the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank has been in steady decline. Now, to burnish its credentials, the authority is taking on a militant stronghold in Jenin. The high-risk move is further dividing Palestinian society.

How central is an independent police force to democracy? In Israel, the politicization of the national police is seen as part of the hard-line government’s revived judicial overhaul.

For Palestinian families forced from their homes by 15 months of war, the temporary shelters they have constructed are no match for Gaza’s winter. Infants are especially vulnerable.

For more than a year, Yemen’s Houthi rebels have launched long-distance missile and drone attacks on Israel and Red Sea shipping. After Israel largely subdued its Iran-allied enemies closer at hand, it is struggling to deter the Houthis on its own.

Northern Israel offered residents a relaxed refuge away from the country’s crowded center. Now a ceasefire with Hezbollah, bolstered by the fall of Syria’s government, offers northerners displaced by war hope that they can return home.

Donald Trump has put together a Mideast team charged with building on his first term’s successes. But in a region shaken by the war in Gaza, can the deal-making president achieve a historic peace agreement with a pro-Israel team?