-
commentary
The Israel-Hamas War Has Upended the Terrorist Threat Matrix
Today's terrorist threat matrix seems more like an abstract expressionist painting. To those accustomed to traditional landscapes, it is difficult to discern what it depicts. The fighting in Gaza may well provoke terrorist repercussions beyond the region, the magnitude and shape of which will depend on the course of the conflict.
-
blog
'Israel's 9/11,' Promoting the 988 Hotline, the Future of Space: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on why the Oct. 7 attack wasn't Israel's 9/11, humanity's future approach to space, the pressing need to ensure more people know about the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, and more.
Nov 17, 2023
-
commentary
The West's Incoherent Critique of Israel's Gaza Strategy
The battlefield geography of Gaza means that any operation there would turn into a bloody, highly destructive ground operation, with a lot of civilians caught in the crossfire. While Israel can mitigate some of these effects, neither Israel nor any other military can prevent them entirely. In this war, there is no happy medium.
Nov 16, 2023
Foreign Policy
-
commentary
Why the Oct. 7 Attack Wasn't Israel's 9/11
There are some basic strategic lessons to be learned from the U.S. response to 9/11 that are applicable to Israel's unfolding operation in Gaza. But in many key ways, the two conflicts couldn't be further apart.
-
blog
Supporting Veterans, Israel-Hamas War, AI and Geopolitics: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on supporting America's veterans, what Israel's ground offensive in Gaza can and cannot accomplish, how AI might affect the rise and fall of nations, and more.
Nov 10, 2023
-
commentary
What Israel's Ground Offensive Can—and Cannot—Accomplish
Weeks after terrorist attacks left 1,400 Israelis dead, Israel has started its much-anticipated ground offensive in Gaza. But what can such an operation hope to achieve, and why launch such a campaign now?
Nov 6, 2023
Fox News Channel
-
commentary
Terror and the Secondary Trauma of Social Media
As graphic images from Israel and Gaza proliferate on social media, it is likely that these images are having significant negative impacts on the mental health and well-being of many. Mitigating their impact on global mental health might require making hard choices and doing the work to forge community bonds that prioritize everyone's well-being.
-
commentary
The History of Hostage Negotiations Tells Us Empathy Isn't Enough
History offers no prescriptions on how to bargain for human life. The circumstances of each case differ, but lessons can be learned.
-
blog
Disinformation Amid the Israel-Hamas War, U.S. Gun Policy, Cannabis: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on how the information war may play out between Israel and Hamas, what the evidence says (and doesn't say) about U.S. gun policy, supply models for recreational cannabis, and more.
Nov 3, 2023
-
commentary
Lies, Misinformation Play Key Role in Israel-Hamas Fight
At the strategic level, the war in Gaza is about perception, telling a story about who is the victim and who is the aggressor. Lies, mistruths, and disinformation will play a key and continuing role in this fight.
Oct 31, 2023
United Press International
-
blog
Israel-Hamas War, AI and Gene Editing, Social Media Regulation: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the Israel-Hamas war, the convergence of machine learning and gene editing, regulating social media while protecting free speech, and more.
Oct 27, 2023
-
commentary
What North Korea Is Learning from the Hamas-Israel War
South Korea and the United States should rein in North Korean nuclear weapon production and prepare to respond to escalated North Korean coercion. While Kim Jong-un probably won't resort to a Hamas-style attack, he certainly shares Hamas' goal of cultivating U.S. reluctance to get involved militarily in the region.
Oct 24, 2023
The National Interest
-
commentary
The Four Questions the U.S. Military Should Be Asking About Operation Swords of Iron
The war in Gaza, much like previous Israeli wars, will likely yield a host of lessons for American military planners. It's not too early to identify the right questions to be asking as the conflict unfolds.
Oct 23, 2023
War on the Rocks
-
commentary
Sparing Civilian Lives in Gaza
How do you protect innocent civilians while conducting effective urban military operations against an enemy who is integrated into the civilian population and entrenched in a location's infrastructure? Despite the ferocity of the Hamas attack and the Israeli response, the moral obligation to reduce civilian harm cannot be ignored.
-
blog
Risks of AI, Israel Faces Hard Choices, China 'Doesn't Get It': RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on the risks of artificial intelligence, tough choices facing the Israeli government, China's blunders on the international stage, and more.
Oct 20, 2023
-
commentary
The Inevitable, Ongoing Failure of Israel's Gaza Strategy
The Hamas attack represented a spectacular failure of Israel's “mowing the grass” strategy in the Gaza Strip. If there's to be any hope of preventing the next war and the one after that, Israel will need to rebuild Gaza into something better than it was.
Oct 19, 2023
Los Angeles Times
-
blog
Israel-Hamas War, Overdose Deaths, Striking Health Care Workers: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on historical context for the Israel-Hamas war, the link between education and fatal overdoses, why U.S. health care workers are striking, and more.
Oct 13, 2023
-
commentary
The Real Tragedy of Israel's Wars in Gaza
Israel's strategy in Gaza of repeatedly cutting back Hamas's military capabilities before it gets strong enough to do Israel any serious harm is known as “mowing the grass.” Unfortunately this approach offers no alternative to continued bloodshed.
Jun 22, 2021
The National Interest
-
Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
blog
COVID-19 and the Economy, America's Blood Supply, 10 Years of the ACA: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on COVID-19 and the economy, strengthening the U.S. blood supply, 10 years of the Affordable Care Act, and more.
Mar 27, 2020
-
commentary
Five Thoughts on Jerusalem, Gaza, and What's in Between
Dozens of people have been killed and over 2,000 injured in protests in the Gaza Strip along the border with Israel. Continued clashes are expected until the fundamental problems of the strip are solved, including the governance vacuum, the Palestinian Authority-Hamas rift, and the conflict with Israel.
-
commentary
Gaza on the Brink
The combined risk of violence and pandemic in Gaza makes this small coastal enclave a ticking time bomb. While neither Israel nor the U.S. has the solutions to all of Gaza's water and health woes, the United States' decision to withhold funding to the U.N. Relief and Works Agency could only make things worse.
Mar 9, 2018
U.S. News & World Report
-
commentary
How Salafism's Rise Threatens Gaza
The rise of hardline Salafism is a worrisome trend in Gaza, where Salafists could surpass Hamas as the most dangerous threat to other Palestinians and the state of Israel. Such a result could signal the sabotage of yet another chance for progress in one of the world's longest-running conflicts.
Oct 11, 2017
Foreign Affairs
-
commentary
Five Lessons from Israel's Wars in Gaza
After a decade of operating against Hamas in Gaza, the Israel Defense Force has learned many lessons about urban warfare against hybrid adversaries. The last confrontation teaches five basic lessons that apply well beyond Gaza.
Aug 3, 2017
War on the Rocks
-
commentary
Hamas's Strategic Rebranding
Hamas has unveiled a revised version of its charter that appears to soften the group's stance toward Israel. Does this represent a shift away from violence and toward a more lasting and peaceful political presence? Or is it a ploy to buy time to rearm?
May 17, 2017
Foreign Affairs
-
commentary
The Upside of Lower Oil Prices
Movement toward sharply lower oil prices should be a prominent component of any strategy directed at disabling many of the world's most disruptive threats: Iran's nuclear development, ISIS, Hamas attacks on Israel, and Russia's threat to Ukraine.
Oct 17, 2014
The Weekly Standard
-
Warfare and Military Operations
commentary
The Gaza Conflict: Tunnel Warfare's Latest Chapter
Despite its long history as an effective combat tool, tunneling rarely garners much attention, perhaps because it is inherently clandestine, tedious, and dirty. However, as the conflict in Gaza indicates, tunneling remains effective, and will likely persist as long as conflict itself.
-
commentary
The Grim Lessons of 'Protective Edge'
For all the attempts to find technological quick fixes or enforce a permanent settlement, Operation Protective Edge has highlighted that a war of attrition, known as a 'long war,' remains the only viable strategy in the current environment.
Sep 3, 2014
The American Interest
Raphael S. Cohen, Gabriel Scheinmann
-
commentary
Gaza and the Nuclear Negotiations
Whether a deal materializes that meets Iranian demands for a civilian nuclear program, but is limited enough to satisfy the United States and its partners remains to be seen. But the longer the Gaza conflict continues, the harder it'll be to insulate the negotiations from broader regional trends, which doesn't bode well for a successful outcome.
Jul 28, 2014
Foreign Affairs
-
q&a
With the Death Toll Rising in Gaza, Is There Any Hope for Peace?
Casualties are rising in the conflict between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip. Are there any realistic expectations for peace in the region? Who could broker a settlement between Hamas and Israel?
Jul 22, 2014
-
commentary
What Does Israel's Election Mean for Israeli-Palestinian Peace?
While the two-state solution may indeed be dead, its death may not necessarily be a bad thing. Rather, it could lead to an opportunity to create a more appropriate formula that can better address the complexities of the current Israeli-Palestinian impasse writes Tova Norlén.
Jan 25, 2013
The RAND Blog
-
blog
Gaza: Hard Fighting Looms Without a Broader Peace Strategy
The United States and Israel should capitalize on Egypt's active role in mediating a cease-fire and thus revisit initiatives like the Arab Peace Initiative, which in the new regional strategic environment may be the best hope of reviving the moribund peace process before it is too late.
Nov 20, 2012
-
commentary
Spending Aid to Palestinians Wisely
Spending Aid to Palestinians Wisely in the International Herald Tribune
Aug 16, 2007
International Herald Tribune
-
commentary
Blair's Project for a New Palestine
Blair's Project for a New Palestine, in Project Syndicate--an associationthat distributes commentaries to 291 newspapers in 115 countries.
Jul 7, 2007
Project Syndicate
-
commentary
Vision for a Successful Palestine
To turn the dream of a Palestinian state into a reality, Palestinians need a practical vision of a successful state that is safe, secure, economically viable, and at peace with Israel and its other neighbors.
Dec 14, 2005
Washington Times
-
commentary
Palestinians Need More Cash
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Jul 7, 2005
International Herald Tribune
-
commentary
A Chance to Clean Up the Palestinian Authority
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Jan 6, 2005
Financial Times
-
commentary
Gaza pullout - a Cynic's Path to 'Peace'
Published commentary by RAND staff.
Apr 29, 2004
Christian Science Monitor