Middle East Press On: Qatargate, Hamas, Gaza, Gulf, Israel, Washington, Palestinian, New Age Islam's Selection, 25 December 2025
By New Age Islam Edit Desk
25 December 2025
Investigating Qatargate critical to ensuring Israel remains governed by accountability
Hamas's low-quality, 'harmless' manifesto should raise the alarm for all of us on Gaza
The world is pushing for nuclear fusion energy. Israel has the keys to crack it
Gulf turns to Israel for security as Washington pivots inwards
The Palestinian partner: Could this new political party's vision be a path to peace?
Connecting the dots: The deep state is not hidden, it runs Israel
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Investigating Qatargate critical to ensuring Israel remains governed by accountability
By JPOST EDITORIAL
DECEMBER 25, 2025
Authorities are investigating allegations involving Qatar-linked actors and the Prime Minister’s Office – allegations that arrive against a backdrop of Qatar’s long-reported regional activities, including its ties to Islamist movements and its ownership of Al Jazeera. While all claims remain unproven, the gravity of the questions raised makes rigorous examination unavoidable.
That imperative has been sharpened by recent public testimony from Eli Feldstein, the former military spokesman to the prime minister, who gave an extended interview to KAN. In his first public remarks since being accused in connection with the so-called “Qatargate” and “Bild” investigations, Feldstein offered detailed descriptions of internal dynamics inside the Prime Minister’s Office and commented on how responsibility for October 7 was framed internally.
Those statements – now part of the public record – differ in important respects from other accounts and, because they were made in public by someone intimately connected to these events, have intensified calls for clarity.
Qatar’s regional posture itself is not obscure. For years, Israeli and international media have documented Doha’s political and financial backing of Islamist movements across the Middle East, including Muslim Brotherhood-linked networks, as well as its ownership and funding of Al Jazeera. These are not minor details; they form the context against which any alleged contact, coordination, or influence must be examined.
At the same time, Israel has engaged with Qatar in limited and pragmatic contexts, particularly in mediation efforts related to hostages and cease-fire negotiations. That engagement has been framed by officials as tactical rather than strategic, and its utility in narrow cases does not eliminate broader strategic concerns.
This is precisely why the investigations cannot be treated simply as political inconveniences. Police are examining suspected contacts and messaging activities connected to the Prime Minister’s Office.
Due process applies fully, but the existence of multiple strands of investigation, together with conflicting public narratives from inside the Prime Minister’s Office, cannot be waved aside.
The problem is not only what may or may not have happened; it is also how these matters have been handled publicly.
Failure to properly handle the Qatargate scandal
Here, the failure appears to unfold on two planes.
The first concerns the period under investigation itself – the questions raised about judgment, oversight, and safeguards at a time when the country was facing its gravest security crisis in decades. Feldstein’s interview does not resolve those questions; it deepens them. When a former senior aide offers a version of events that diverges from official statements, the only responsible response is to establish facts – not to dismiss publicly aired discrepancies.
The second failure lies in the aftermath. The public has been confronted with contradictory statements, partial denials, and shifting explanations from multiple actors. This pattern has not reassured the public; it has contributed to confusion and eroded confidence at a moment when clarity and coherence are essential.
For a public already grappling with a profound sense of vulnerability, this sequence matters. Israelis experienced a catastrophic breach of security on October 7. They now face a prolonged period in which trust in their institutions is tested anew, not because of untested allegations, but because divergent accounts and inconsistent messaging leave the public unsure whom to believe.
None of this requires prejudging outcomes. It requires insisting that investigations be conducted fully, independently, and without interference. It demands answers to straightforward questions: who communicated with whom, in what capacity, with what authority; what information was shared, if any; what safeguards were in place; and whether they failed.
Qatar’s regional stance is not ambiguous. Israel’s security environment is unforgiving. In such conditions, strategic fog at the top is not a luxury the country can afford. Engagement, where necessary, must be tightly bound and supervised. And when credible questions arise about the Prime Minister’s Office itself – amplified by the public testimony of a former senior aide – the response must be clarity, not confusion.
A thorough investigation is not a threat to leadership; it is the minimum requirement for restoring public confidence and ensuring that, even in the most difficult moments, Israel remains governed by accountability rather than expediency.
In addition, as a society, we need to make it clear that, though some of the acts of Netanyahu’s aides may not be illegal, this cannot be the norm. A senior adviser to the prime minister cannot be running a campaign for another country, especially one that is hostile towards Israel.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-881296
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Hamas's low-quality, 'harmless' manifesto should raise the alarm for all of us on Gaza
By JACOB LAZNIK
DECEMBER 24, 2025
Hamas published "Our Narrative… Al-Aqsa Flood: Two Years of Steadfastness and the Will for Liberation" on Wednesday.
The terror group touted the document as a clear portrayal of "a narrative that stands clear and evident," which is that the people of Gaza and Palestinians as a whole are "a people who cannot be erased, a resistance that cannot be defeated, and a memory that cannot be forgotten."
After reading the entire 42-page document, which, after taking repetitions into account, is only about four slides worth of content, a few notable issues stand out.
Why did they feel the need to produce a document that's 42 pages long when it could've essentially been an email? Why is the production quality so poor, compared to previous Hamas publications that appear to have had a lot of effort put into them? And most importantly, is this document Hamas's way of officially saying it won't disarm?
Let's break down what it says.
The report has a few recurring themes that are ever-so-slightly changed to appear as new text. These include the ideas that October 7 was justified, the massacre was a pivotal moment for the Palestinian people, Israel is globally isolated, Hamas did nothing wrong, and any accusation of human rights violations is just Zionist lies.
This was all but to be expected, so surely after an initial introduction and declaration of victory, the terror group notorious for well-thought-out media production would have ample substance to back these claims, right? Wrong.
Chapters One through Eight of the Hamas manifesto
The first chapter, "The Motivation and Contexts of the Al Aqsa Flood," essentially says how October 7 didn't happen in a vacuum, and how Palestinians have been under occupation and oppression for over a century, and how the UN reneged on its commitment to an independent Palestinian state that the Palestinians were oh so happy to receive with open arms.
History revisions aside, a few things in this chapter stood out. The first was the necessity to repeat the narrative that Hamas and Gazans are unbreakable. Combined with odd spacing errors and weird behaviours in the report revolving percentages and using "<" and ">" arrows instead of quotes, the text began to read as if someone gave AI a prompt that said, "You are a Hamas militant fighter, write a report about how October 7 was justified and a great victory." This occurs throughout the report multiple times, but is abundantly clear from the beginning. At the very least, it was translated from Arabic in a very rushed manner and put out before any kind of editing was done.
The next chapter, "The Al-Aqsa Flood – The Day of Glorious Crossing (October 7, 2023)" contains a brief introduction before immediately going into a 2023 poll showing that Gazans support Hamas and the October 7 invasion despite the heavy toll.
After that, the chapter ends with a quick summation of the events of October 7 without any specifics. The terror group says, "For the first time since the Zionist/Israeli entity was established75 years ago, the resistance was able to execute a field manoeuvre, successfully breaching and controlling all lines of the occupation army surrounding the Gaza Strip, neutralizing hundreds of soldiers, and seizing complete positions in just few hours."
The spacing errors in the direct quotes have been left intact to appreciate the quality of the production.
Hamas also asserted that "That day was a Palestinian crossing into a new equation in the global consciousness. It proved that the resistance is capable of breaking the image of the «invincible» army, and that the will for liberation is stronger than any military arsenal."
So if October 7 was such a monumental and justified victory, why such a short chapter? Why not go into specifics of the resistance's heroism and historic acts? Why start a chapter with a poll stating "Gazans are happy we did this" before even explaining what "this" is? Is there something Hamas is trying to hide or deflect?
Let's see in the next chapter.
Chapter Three (and my personal favourite) - "Investigation into the October 7 Attack – Yes to Uncovering the Truth" essentially answers all of my previous questions.
The chapter starts off by saying, "From the very first moment of the October 7 attack, the Israeli entity attempted to distort the truth. It launched a global disinformation machine, involving Western media and Zionist lobby groups, to transform the legitimate military operation—which targeted the Israeli army’s Gaza Division, a military unit that had perpetuated killing and siege against Gaza—into claims about targeting civilians and children."
Now it has become clear why the end of Chapter Two left so many questions unanswered.
The group then demands from us in Orwellian fashion to reject the evidence of our eyes and ears, saying, "The Israeli entity promoted a series of lies and fallacies about killing children and raping women, paving the way to proceed with an all-out genocide project that was pre-planned and aimed to erase Gaza from existence."
And at this point, if you still had any concerns that Hamas may have committed crimes against humanity, worry no longer because they round off this section with clear assurances.
"However, because the Israeli entity´s leaders continue to brazenly repeat their lies, we affirm the following:• Killing civilians is not part of our religion, morality, or education, and we avoid it whenever we can.• Killing civilians, committing brutal massacres, and ethnic cleansing are original Zionist behaviours since this entity´s establishment, and there are thousands of conclusive pieces of evidence that prove this, leaving no room for doubt or debate."
So there you have it. Don't worry about the horrifying videos across X and Telegram published by Hamas terrorists themselves executing family members one-by-one, so their loved ones' last moments are filled with the ultimate despair. This manifesto clearly outlines that anything of the sort is forbidden, and you must be imagining it.
While the manifesto up until this point sounded borderline comedic, the rest of the report is actually quite alarming.
The next chapter, "The Course of the War on Gaza," is filled with statistics that Hamas notoriously lies about. Not just the Gaza death toll that has no distinction between journalist and civilian, but the claim that more terrorists have been killed in the Gaza war than in World War 1, World War 2, Vietnam, Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, and Ukraine combined.
Clearly taken from an Amnesty UK report that received heavy backlash for omitting the fact that around 1,400 journalists were killed in the Holocaust.
Hamas also produces false statistics on Israeli casualties. The chapter later states, "In February 2025, the new Israeli army chief, Eyal Zamir, admitted to 5,942 soldiers killed, while medical reports indicated approximately 13,000 Israeli fatalities in Gaza, Lebanon, and the West Bank."
Total Israeli casualties since the beginning of the war have always been public, and currently lie around 2,000. Notably, this number isn't just significantly smaller than Hamas's assertions, but it is a total of soldiers and civilians.
Also, the most striking element of this false report is that Zamir took the role of IDF chief of staff on March 6, 2025. and had made no such statement. Neither did his predecessor, Herzi Halevi.
To sum up the next chapter, Hamas just says it was always willing to negotiate a ceasefire and was flexible at every turn. It was the Zionist entity and the enabling of the evil US regime that stalled an agreement for so long.
Chapter Six, "The Most Prominent Achievements of the Al-Aqsa Flood," is the most egregious example of repeating themes for the sake of content, as I flagged earlier.
In this chapter, Hamas takes the themes that Hamas cannot be defeated, Israel is exposed and isolated, and October 7 was justified because it brought the plight of the Palestinians to the forefront of the global stage, and repackaged them into 20 different paragraphs and insisted they were different ideas.
Because if this is the most pivotal victory in Hamas's history, its list of achievements must be monumental, right?
I'm going to skip the next chapter, called "Hamas cannot be isolated," because it essentially repeats the themes of the previous chapter. The only noteworthy text in this section is the last paragraph.
It reads, "Therefore, Hamas´s participation in popular representation and political decision-making is an inherent right that does not accept external trusteeship, and no external alternative can be imposed on the will of the Palestinian people."
This is concerning, especially when tied to the second paragraph of the final chapter, "The Current Stage Priorities."
While this chapter mainly states the need for a complete IDF withdrawal from Gaza and the completion of its reconstruction, and bland repetitions of the previously discussed themes, the second paragraph is essentially the message Hamas was trying to put out to its supporters while burying it in 42 other pages and hoping others wouldn't notice.
It reads, "Administering the Gaza Strip is an exclusively Palestinian affair to be handled by national factions, without excluding any component, and by insisting on our independent Palestinian national decision. Our Palestinian people are among the world´s richest in expertise and competencies, and possess all the means to manage their own affairs.
Attempts to impose political trusteeship on them from any party are rejected and can only be considered a form of occupation. Gaza´s future can only be determined by an independent Palestinian will and the collective participation of all components of our people, free from any trusteeship."
In these two paragraphs, Hamas is stating loud and clear that it is here to stay, and the illusion of agreeing to US President Trump's Gaza plan is a means to an end. While it might join part of this imaginary technocratic government that is yet to be formed, Hamas will remain a political influence. It also has no intention to disarm, as it earlier states that isolating Hamas is depriving the Palestinians of their "right to armed resistance."
So there you have it. A 42-page document that at first glance appears to be a rushed job to get a small PR win before the holidays and the new year. Hamas has repeated these lies time and time again, so why is this such a problem?
The hidden danger and context of Hamas's statements
Israel is at a critical point in the current Gaza ceasefire. The body of one Israeli hostage, Ran Gvili, is still in Gaza. Hamas is still in power and refuses to give up its weapons. Nevertheless, pressure from all third-party mediators, including the United States, is rising to transition to Phase II of the plan, despite Phase I having been completed.
Likud MK Dan Illouz told The Jerusalem Post in a very recent interview that any ceasefire that moves to Phase II without these conditions being met is not the deal that Israel agreed to or supports.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is scheduled to meet Trump at the White House next Wednesday. By publishing this manifesto now, Hamas is making it abundantly clear that it has no intentions of respecting the terms of the deal and disarming before Phase II.
Combining that with the weekly, if not daily, ceasefire violations by Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, it's crucial that Netanyahu drives the following point home to Trump: The pressure to move on to Phase II is misplaced.
Rather than putting joint pressure on Israel to move on to the next phase without all of the hostages returned or without a disarmed Hamas because "99% is good enough, I guess," won't achieve the permanent end to the conflict that Trump touted so proudly in the Knesset just months ago.
If there were doubts that Hamas was not going to respect the terms, publishing this manifesto makes that point clear as day.
The second main danger of this document is the misinformation. As I've stated previously, Hamas lies all the time, so why would this be any different?
To understand this, one must look at what happened when Hamas published its previous manifesto, a 16-page document titled “Our Narrative: Operation Al-Aqsa Flood."
While it contains similar declarations of victory and denials of rape, murder, and other atrocities, its publication had a meaningful impact on public opinion on the war in the US and even pressure on the Biden administration.
The document spread like wildfire online and was even distributed on college campuses, including King's College, in November 2024.
Trump currently feels cornered due to a lot of internal issues in the US - the release of the Epstein files, and the ambiguity revolving military action in Venezuela, to name a few. In instances like these, Trump has a tendency to try to see where he can pull off wins. Moving onto the second phase of the Gaza ceasefire can be sold as a win, while admitting that there's still a long way to go cannot.
If this publication renews a wave of campus protests or even generic support for moving to Phase II before all the conditions are met, Trump would have an incentive to keep up the pressure campaign despite anything Netanyahu tells him.
So, while the manifesto may appear to be mangled AI-generated slop that was published in a rush to have something before the world's attention disappears for Christmas break, Hamas is stating loud and clear that it has no intention of going anywhere.
While we all have high hopes that the new year will bring all of our hostages home and an end to the conflict, Hamas's declaration of victory is really a declaration of continuing to fight.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-881240
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The world is pushing for nuclear fusion energy. Israel has the keys to crack it
By AMIR LIVNE
DECEMBER 24, 2025
Something seismic is happening in the global energy field. The Trump administration fundamentally restructured American energy policy. Offices overseeing renewable energy got sidelined. Nuclear fusion jumped to the top tier of national priorities. At the same time, Trump Media announced a merger with a private fusion company. The United States is openly targeting a grid-connected fusion reactor by the late 2030s.
Washington is not alone. Japan's new prime minister spoke about fusion in her first policy address. The UK wrote a regulatory framework for fusion facilities. The European Union is aligning capital and industrial policy around a future fusion market. China is aggressively expanding state-backed fusion programs.
Why is everyone obsessed with nuclear fusion?
Why the obsession? Fusion could be the energy source that ends the age of fossil fuels while solving the solar-and-wind problem: unreliability. When the sun doesn't shine, and the wind doesn't blow, these sources fail. Fusion doesn't have that weakness. It mimics the process that powers the sun. If you can scale it, you've essentially solved humanity's energy problem for centuries.
The science already proved itself. In 2022, the National Ignition Facility in California achieved what was once thought impossible: a fusion reaction that released more energy than was put into it. That settled the debate about feasibility. Now the challenge is purely industrial. Can you build reactors that run continuously, survive extreme conditions, and make economic sense? That's where things get interesting.
More than 60 private fusion companies are chasing this goal, backed by billions in venture capital. China is moving faster than anyone else. Japan, South Korea, and the UAE are throwing serious money at it. Europe is mobilizing. The Americans are betting that technological leadership means controlling the entire ecosystem: supply chains, materials, manufacturing capacity, software, diagnostics.
Here's where Israel enters the picture. It's holding a few critical keys to help crack this challenge.
The US Department of Energy identified specific bottlenecks that need solving. Israel doesn't just have some of these solutions. It has several of the exact ones Washington flagged as essential.
Take tungsten and ceramic components that need to withstand plasma temperatures inside a fusion reactor. These are among the hardest materials to manufacture with precision. Israeli companies like Tritone and XJet have already cracked 3D-printing high-density tungsten components at the required scale. They're among the few capable globally. The Soreq Nuclear Research Centre has a Fusion Prototypical Neutron Source that, with minimal adaptation, could serve as a critical testing facility.
Then there's artificial intelligence and advanced computing. These are crucial for predicting plasma instabilities and running massive simulations. Israel is a global leader in advanced computing, radiation-hardened electronics, optical diagnostics, high-power lasers, and control systems. The infrastructure already exists.
Israel even has a homegrown company, nT-Tao, developing core fusion reactor technology itself.
This isn't a random collection of strengths. It's a pattern. Israel sits precisely at the technological chokepoints the Americans identified as limiting factors in the fusion race.
Yet Israel is hesitating. The window is narrow. Washington is moving fast. Beijing is moving faster. Europe isn't waiting around. Every month of delay is a month competitors use to strengthen their position.
Energy independence has always been a stated Israeli national interest. Fusion offers that plus a genuine economic opportunity to supply critical technology to the coming fusion era. But opportunity isn't destiny. It requires a national decision: sustained government funding, adaptive regulation that doesn't kill innovation, and real cooperation between academia and industry.
Israel can be a meaningful player in the fusion revolution. But only if it moves now. The world isn't waiting.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-881249
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Gulf turns to Israel for security as Washington pivots inwards
By SALEM ALKETBI
DECEMBER 24, 2025
The 2025 US National Security Strategy points to a deep shift in how Washington thinks about the world. This is more than a routine update. By announcing the revival of the Monroe Doctrine and making the Western Hemisphere its top priority, the US is moving to protect its own sphere first.
Other regions, like the Middle East and the Gulf, are now treated as areas to be managed at the lowest possible cost. They are no longer viewed as theatres for long wars or projects of forced change.
For Gulf nations, this does not mean a break with Washington. But it absolutely means the end of relying on a single regional policeman. The new equation is closer to a burden-sharing partnership.
The US remains a present guarantor for defence systems. But the condition is that allies take on a larger share of the cost for security and stability – politically, economically, and militarily. Put plainly, Washington is no longer willing to run the regional system by itself. However, it has not quit the business of providing security assurances.
This raises a question bigger than the current moment: how is the Gulf’s place within the regional alliance system being redefined? At the heart of this question lies the relationship with Israel. In American calculations, Israel is not just a standard ally. It is an active part of a structure of military and technological superiority. This structure is meant to help control the region without heavy ground forces and at a lower political and human cost.
For Gulf states, a partnership with Israel in missile and air defence, early warning systems, cybersecurity, and countering drones looks like an opportunity.
This moves beyond the logic of calling for help from a distant power. It moves toward weaving a connected defence network with a partner that has its own independent decision-making and strong ability to act. In my view, betting on emotional alliances or temporary alignments in a highly unstable region is like building security on shaky ground.
Multibillion-dollar deal involving Israel and the UAE
Here, I believe, the talk about partnership with Israel moves from political theory to practical reality. According to an investigation published in the Israeli financial paper Calcalist, a major strategic defence deal was finalized. The deal, worth about $2.3 billion, is between Israel’s Elbit Systems and the United Arab Emirates to develop a very advanced, sensitive security system.
The meaning of this deal is not really in the money. It is in its sovereign nature and what it shows: a high level of trust in sharing technology and building long-term security systems.
Countries do not bring short-term partners into the heart of their defence structure. They only bet on this level of cooperation with parties that have proven they can commit and last.
From this view, one cannot see more cooperation and normalization with Israel as just a passing political choice or a temporary tactic. It must be seen as part of a state’s own protection plan in the Gulf.
Relations between countries are not built on rhetoric or historical memory alone. They are built on shared interests and calculations of gain and loss. They are built on the real ability to manage risks in a regional environment full of uncertainty.
In the wider context, the most serious threats to the Gulf in the next phase might not come through direct military conflict. They may come through projects of regional domination. These projects try to use societies as arenas for indirect conflict.
The methods are political incitement, exploiting social divisions, and building cross-border influence networks. Here, we are not talking about a traditional conflict between states only. We are talking about a conflict over the very form of the state itself. It is a conflict over the state’s relationship with its citizens and its place on the geopolitical map.
In summary, the period after 2025 asks not just about the shape of alliances. It asks a deeper question: who guards the state when the priorities of great powers change, and the maps of interest are redrawn?
I believe the state that does not build its own security with its own hands, and does not manage its networks of interest with conscious pragmatism will find itself alone. It will be in an arena whose timing and tools it did not choose.
In a world where conflicts are sometimes managed without armies and sometimes without missiles, awareness becomes the first line of defence. The ability to see the danger while it is still an idea, not only when it becomes real, is the true difference. That is the difference between a state that stands firm and a state that slowly falls apart.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-881200
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The Palestinian partner: Could this new political party's vision be a path to peace?
By GERSHON BASKIN
DECEMBER 24, 2025
Throughout my life in Israel, over the past 47 years, I have looked for and found Palestinian partners who share my values and my worldview, which means that they believe that Israel and Palestine must find the path to peace. That path to peace must be based on the belief that on the land between the river and the sea there are two peoples who are deeply connected to the same land – historically and religiously.
The shared vision must be that both peoples have a right to have self-determination on the land – that means two states for two peoples. The overriding element for me that determines whether or not the partnership is genuine is in the belief that cooperation across borders is what generates peace, and not high walls and strong fences.
I have always had suspicions that those who foster the separation paradigm (us here and them there) are not able to conceptualize the actualization of peace and don’t really believe in it. Politicians, even on the Left, who emphasize separation between Israel and Palestine, who stress separation not solely as political separation, are afraid to present the conceptualization of peace as a reality in which we Israelis and Palestinians will continue to interact and cooperate – because real peace cannot be anything else.
Most Israelis and Palestinians say: I want peace – but they don’t (meaning the majority of people on the other side). Objectively speaking, both Israelis and Palestinians have ample evidence to make the claim that the other side does not want peace. It is often difficult to find those people, especially leaders, on both sides who demonstrate their true commitment to real peace with the other side. They exist, but they are not dominant and they hardly ever talk about real peace.
At the end of April 2026, the Palestinians are scheduled to conduct local elections in cities, towns, and villages all around Palestine. Within a year from the end of the war, Palestinians are supposed to hold national elections for president and parliament. This will be the first test of its kind to see what Palestinian public opinion has become. The last Palestinian elections were held in 2006.
How would Israelis (and Palestinians) react if there was a leading Palestinian political party with the following platform:
The Party is founded on the conviction that the Palestinian people deserve a democratic, just, and modern political system – one that serves citizens rather than factions, safeguards freedoms, and opens a realistic path toward independence, prosperity, and peace.
The Party envisions an independent Palestinian state living side by side with Israel, based on full political, economic, diplomatic, and security cooperation. We believe that sustainable stability and dignity for both peoples can only be achieved through partnership, mutual recognition, and shared responsibility.
Democratic governance and civil freedoms
The Party is committed to building a liberal parliamentary democracy grounded in the separation of powers, the rule of law, and the supremacy of elected institutions. We stand for accountable government, an independent judiciary, and transparent public administration.
The Party defends individual rights and freedoms, including freedom of expression, free and independent media, political pluralism, and the right to peaceful dissent. Public office is a responsibility, not a privilege; opportunity must be based on talent and merit – not loyalty or patronage.
Women and young Palestinians are central to our vision – not as symbols but as equal partners in leadership, representation, and decision-making.
Social justice and development
The Party believes that political freedom must be matched by economic opportunity and social justice. We advocate inclusive economic development, equal access to education and employment, and fair distribution of public resources. A strong Palestinian state must be productive, innovative, and capable of providing dignity and opportunity to all its citizens.
The four pillars of the Palestinian state – The four Ds
The Party believes that a viable and responsible Palestinian state must be established on four essential pillars (the four Ds):
Demilitarized – ensuring security through professional institutions, the rule of law, and regional cooperation, not militias or armed factions.
Deradicalized – rejecting extremism, incitement, and violence, and promoting tolerance, civic education, and peaceful political engagement.
Democratic – governed by elected institutions, accountable leadership, and guaranteed civil rights.
Developed – economically resilient, integrated into regional and global markets, and capable of delivering prosperity to its people.
Political settlement and two-state framework
The Party supports a negotiated two-state solution based on the 1967 borders, with mutually agreed land swaps of approximately 5%. This framework enables:
Territorial contiguity between Gaza and the West Bank, and the incorporation of approximately 80% of Israeli Jewish settlements into Israel, as part of a final-status agreement.
Jerusalem will be the capital of both states: Palestinian neighbourhoods as the capital of the State of Palestine, Jewish neighbourhoods as the capital of the State of Israel.
The Old City of Jerusalem shall have no exclusive sovereignty, and will be administered by a special international committee comprising Palestine, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, ensuring freedom of worship, access, and preservation of holy sites.
Refugees and reconciliation
The Party supports a redefinition of the right of return as the right of Palestinian refugees to return to the State of Palestine, alongside: full compensation, and voluntary integration options in the Palestinian state or, in agreed cases, in third countries. This approach seeks justice, dignity, and realism – without perpetuating conflict.
Regional integration and peace
The Palestinian-Israeli partnership envisioned by the Party is part of a broader regional future: full integration of Israel into the Middle East, with comprehensive diplomatic and economic relations with the Arab and Muslim world, alongside a sovereign and democratic Palestinian state.
The Party categorically rejects violence as a political instrument. We believe that dialogue, persuasion, and diplomacy – not coercion or armed struggle – are the only legitimate means to achieve national goals.
Our moderation is not weakness; it is strategic responsibility. Our vision is not abstract; it is practical, balanced, and achievable.
The Party exists to offer Palestinians a credible political alternative – one that restores trust, renews leadership, and opens a real path toward statehood, peace, and shared regional prosperity.
Amazing and true!
What an amazing platform. It is not imaginary. This is, in fact, the political platform of a new Palestinian political party. It will be participating in local and national elections in Palestine during 2026. Announcements regarding its founding and campaign strategy will be presented in the near future.
This Palestinian political party is a challenge to all that we have known until now. It is a challenge to the existing Palestinian political parties that have dominated Palestinian politics for decades. This new political party is the new vision, the new hope for Palestine, but also for Israel. Let’s see Israeli political parties adopting a parallel political platform. When that happens, we will be much more able to envision the possibility of genuine peace.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-881226
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Connecting the dots: The deep state is not hidden, it runs Israel
By MOSHE DANN
DECEMBER 24, 2025
According to Shimon Nataf, a senior researcher at the Kohelet Policy Forum, regarded by many as Israel’s foremost think tank, the term “deep state” is a misnomer; it’s really quite shallow. It’s not covert or illegal; it’s part of Israel’s bureaucracy, like that of other democratic countries.
In Israel, however, legal advisers are especially powerful and, in fact, control government ministries and institutions. As part of Israel’s legal system and political structure, they are essential to the way the government works. The challenge, however, is to understand how decisions are made and by whom.
The arrest of the military advocate-general and the involvement of the attorney-general have revealed how the deep state works. Employing hundreds of lawyers, they represent a quasi-government/system with no accountability. Legal advisers have absolute power and can’t be challenged or fired (except for misconduct). Moreover, we don’t even know how many there are, who appointed them, or their role in making political, economic, and military/security decisions.
How does Israel's alleged deep state work?
The current investigation of leaders of the Histadrut labour federation for corruption has also exposed its role in the deep state. It’s not only the political and financial power behind leftist groups and parties, such as the Labour Party; it owns and/or controls many corporations, has vast investments, and influences our entire political, economic, and social system. It’s not just an organization of trade unions; it’s an empire.
According to reports, senior Histadrut officials ran “a ‘give-and-take’ system (in which clients) received jobs in local authorities and corporations in exchange for financial benefits.”
An example of how the Histadrut exercises its enormous power occurred during the summer of 2023, when it helped organize protests against efforts by the government to enact judicial reforms. When the protests failed to stop these efforts, the leader of the Histadrut threatened to call a general strike, which would have paralyzed the country. Under this threat, the government ended its attempt to enact judicial reforms.
Judicial reform is a critical issue because many Supreme Court justices and lower court judges are affiliated with a leftist ideology. This has practical consequences.
For example, more than a decade ago, the Supreme Court chief justice, Dorit Beinisch, held that all Arab claims to land ownership in Judea and Samaria that were not state-owned were valid, regardless of any proof of ownership. Although there was no legal basis for her decision, it became de facto law without Knesset approval or legislation. (See my Jerusalem Post op-ed, “Beinisch’s bombshell,” November 1, 2011.)
Legal expert Yonatan Green thoroughly examines the role of the Supreme Court in the deep state in his book, Rogue Justice: The Rise of Judicial Supremacy in Israel (Academica Press, 2025). Green focuses on how former chief justice Aharon Barak created a judicial oligarchy.
According to IDF Lt.-Col. (res.) Gidi Harari, “Thousands of Israeli businesses are being extorted by organized crime in Israel. Primarily in northern and southern Israel, businesses are paying ‘protection money’ to companies of questionable repute. They are succumbing to this extortion because the police and the government are unable to address the problem. While economic and financial interests largely drive the extortion and threats of violence, they present a dramatic national security threat. They can easily morph into an active strategy of terrorism against the Jewish state.”
Although people have written about the deep state in Hebrew, no one (that I know of) has comprehensively and explicitly explained in English how the deep state controls every aspect of our state and its political economy.
At least as important, however, is understanding how Israel’s ethos and identity were shaped by people affiliated with leftist parties and their ideology. That created a false self-delusion, which distorts and still promotes self-destructive, defeatist, and unrealistic policies and uncritical thinking that undermine the integrity of our democratic system and our raison d’etre.
https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-881213
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