The recent thaw in Israeli-Saudi relations must be understood in the context of the lengthy Saudi Arabia-Iran cold war, and, more generally, the larger conflict between Sunnis and Shi’ites.
Is Mahmoud Abbas about to step down, perhaps even undo the entire Oslo process, and hand over the Palestinian Authority's functions – the proverbial "car keys" - back to Israel?
Even for a nation quite used to dramatic news, what happened within the span of four days – from Shabbat morning to Tuesday evening – came as a shock to Israelis.
The consortia owning Israel's two productive gas fields in the Eastern Mediterranean—Tamar and Leviathan (with a U.S. company, Noble Energy, an important but not a majority partner in both)—have signed a huge gas deal with an Egyptian company, estimated at 15 billion dollars over 10 years.
Aiman Saif has a dream. He envisions a day in the not-so-distant future when the needs of Israel’s Arab minority are fully reflected in the government budget, signifying that they are considered as much a part of the Israeli population as the Jewish majority.