The Abraham Accords and Sudan’s Global Counterrevolution
On October 23, 2020, Sudan became the third Arab-majority country to normalize relations with Israel under the Abraham Accords. The deal between Israel and the civilian-military Sudanese Transitional Sovereignty Council (TSC)—formed after the popular revolution ousted President Omar al-Bashir in April 2019—was facilitated by the United Arab Emirates
Israeli Agribusiness and Morocco’s Green Frontier
In March 2023, the Israeli firm Netafim—a global provider of drip irrigation technology—opened its first Moroccan factory in the city of Kenitra. The company framed the move as a step to “strengthen the successful implementation of precision irrigation in the kingdom and reinforce its agricultural sector.”[1] A
Energy, Water and the Cost of Jordan’s Dependence on Israel
On the morning of June 13, 2025, air-raid sirens sounded across Amman and other Jordanian cities warning residents to shelter in place. Hours earlier, Israel had launched an unprecedented attack on Iran, triggering 12 days of retaliatory missile and drone strikes. As Israeli fighter jets and Western air-defense systems used
From Oslo to Offshore—The Rise of Energy Normalization in the Eastern Mediterranean
When US President Donald Trump’s first administration unveiled its “Peace to Prosperity” plan in January 2020, the glossy document promised Palestinians a share in regional growth. Part of its vision was an Eastern Mediterranean Energy Hub anchored in Egypt, designed to coordinate gas development and boost exports from the
Fiber Optics and the Hidden Politics of Connectivity
On February 18, 2024, Houthi forces in Yemen fired two ballistic missiles at the MV Rubymar, a Belize flagged, British owned, bulk carrier cargo ship. The crew dropped anchor and evacuated, but the ship began to drift. Six days later it crossed the path of three intercontinental submarine data cables—
Hardwiring Normalization—Infrastructures, Extraction and Gaza’s Future
In the summer of 2025, a 38-page blueprint circulating inside the Trump administration was leaked to the press: the Gaza Reconstitution, Economic Acceleration and Transformation (GREAT) Trust. At first glance, it resembled countless other speculative development schemes, renderings of luxury resorts, free-trade zones and smart cities. Gaza, the plan insisted,Issue 315/316 (Summer/Fall 2025) Masthead
Middle East Report, “The Material Politics of Normalization,” Summer/Fall 2025, No. 315/316, Vol. 54 No. 2–3 Executive Director James Ryan jamesryan@merip.org Executive Editor Billie Jeanne Brownlee bbrownlee@merip.org Managing Editor Marya Hannun maryahannun@merip.org Senior Staff Editor & Photo Editor Michelle Woodward mwoodward@A Note on the Masthead
Over the summer, MERIP’s executive editor Katie Natanel rotated off the editorial team after three and a half years. Katie joined at the beginning of MERIP’s partnership with Exeter’s Institute for Arab and Islamic Studies, stepping into what was then a new position within the organization. Behind