Prof. International Relations & Gulf Studies / former Dean, Georgetown University Qatar. Tweets do not represent views of employers.
Joined May 2014
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Gerd Nonneman retweeted
Prof. Zunes coauthored the definitive peer-reviewed book on Morocco’s illegal occupation of Western Sahara.
Many people in the MENA region & beyond—& arguably most Moroccans—criticise Israel’s occupation of Palestine without admitting the illegality of Morocco’s occupation.
The U.S. has drafted a resolution to be placed before the UN Security Council next week that would effectively impose Morocco’s autonomy plan on the people of Western Sahara, essentially endorsing Morocco’s illegal annexation of that occupied nation it invaded with U.S. support in 1975. This is one of the most serious attempts to undermine international law since the founding of the United Nations.
It removes the longstanding mandate of MINURSO, the UN peacekeeping force, to oversee a referendum by the people of the territory to choose between independence and incorporation into Morocco, thereby negating the right of self-determination that has long been the basis of decolonization under international law. It will be a gift to Netanyahu, Putin, and any other leader seeking to expand territory by force.
It praises “President Trump’s leadership on conflict resolution in Western Sahara” despite his being the first world leader to recognize Morocco’s illegal annexation of Western Sahara. It also misleadingly refers to “the recognition by a growing number of Member States of Moroccan sovereignty over Western Sahara” when, in fact, only two additional states—the far-right governments of Israel and Colombia—have done so.
It refers to “genuine autonomy” when the Moroccan proposal falls well short of the international legal definition of autonomy.
It also seeks to bypass the Polisario, the internationally recognized representatives of the people of Western Sahara, and focus on what it calls “a broad range of Sahrawi constituencies and interlocutors, including those outside the negotiating parties,” presumably meaning collaborationists chosen by the Moroccan government.
Furthermore, the clause insisting that funding refugee services should no longer go through UN agencies or the Polisario, which has done a generally admirable job of administering the hundreds of thousands of refugees in their Algerian-based camps for fifty years, and instead go to “individual, voluntary” solutions will likely result in a humanitarian crisis.
Despite the legal fiction that there has been an ongoing process towards a referendum or a ceasefire to monitor, most nations see MINURSO’s continuation as important to underscore that the conflict remains unresolved.
There will certainly be objections from Pakistan, China, Russia, and perhaps some other countries which could result in changes in the language before it is put to a formal vote. However, with Washington’s history of running roughshod over international legal precedent and the failure of even democratic nations to consistently stand up to Trump’s bullying (particularly on what are considered less-consequential issues), it is hard to predict. Even if the full text isn’t accepted, the Trump administration may succeed in its primary goal is to make the Morocco’s autonomy proposal, which falls way short of the international definition of autonomy and would rule out the option of independence which is required for real decolonization, recognized by the United Nations as the only basis of future negotiations.
Goede repliek op de pro-Putin "vredesretoriek' van Tom Sauer. Er is, m.a.w., een goede reden waarom hij in zijn betoog geisoleerd geraakt is... demorgen.be/ts-bc59e410/
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
One of the highlights of my time in Jordan was visiting UNWRA archives and examining the index cards and other records of the 750,000 Palestinians kicked off their land at the Nakba in 1948. They used to be kept in Gaza and were airlifted out at the beginning of the genocide- Israel has destroyed all the archives that remained. They form the best evidence for some form of reparations in the future and are now being scanned and digitalised
غزة ومنعطف التاريخ: الشرق الأوسط قبل وبعد النهضة (أرض) تنظّم زيارة للمؤرخ ويليام دالريمبل إلى أرشيف الأونروا وحواراً رفيع المستوى حول فلسطين
Gaza and the Turning of History: The Middle East Before and After ARDD Organizes William Dalrymple’s Visit to UNRWA Archives and High-Level Dialogue on Palestine
نظّمت منظمة النهضة العربية للديمقراطية والتنمية (أرض)، من خلال مركز النهضة الاستراتيجي، وتحت عنوان «غزة ومنعطف التاريخ: الشرق الأوسط قبل وبعد»، زيارة إلى أرشيف الصور والأفلام التابع لوكالة الأمم المتحدة لإغاثة وتشغيل اللاجئين الفلسطينيين (الأونروا)، بمشاركة المؤرخ والكاتب البريطاني البارز ويليام دالريمبل، إلى جانب لقاء عمل حواري رفيع المستوى جمع دبلوماسيين وأكاديميين وصنّاع سياسات وخبراء إقليميين، لمناقشة التطورات في غزة وفلسطين ضمن التحولات التاريخية والسياسية الأوسع التي يشهدها الشرق الأوسط.
وخلال الزيارة إلى أرشيف الأونروا، التي نُظّمت بالتعاون مع الوكالة، اطّلع دالريمبل على سجلات ووثائق تاريخية توثّق تهجير الفلسطينيين وتجارب اللاجئين وذاكرتهم الجماعية منذ عام 1948. ويُعدّ هذا الأرشيف، المدرج ضمن برنامج ذاكرة العالم التابع لليونسكو، مرجعاً تاريخياً مهماً يبرز ضرورة الحفاظ على التاريخ الفلسطيني والهوية الوطنية وتجارب أجيال متعاقبة من اللاجئين. للمزيد: ardd-jo.org/news/%d8%ba%d8%b…
The Arab Renaissance for Democracy and Development (ARDD), through its Renaissance Strategic Center (RSC), organised, under the theme “Gaza and the Turning of History: The Middle East Before and After,” a visit to the UNRWA Photo and Film Archives with renowned British historian and author William Dalrymple, alongside a high-level working lunch bringing together diplomats, academics, policymakers, and regional experts to reflect on Gaza and Palestine within the broader historical and political transformations shaping the Middle East.
During the visit to the UNRWA Archives, facilitated in cooperation with UNRWA, Dalrymple explored historical records documenting Palestinian displacement, refugee experiences, and collective memory since 1948. Recognized by UNESCO’s Memory of the World Programme, the archives underscore the importance of preserving Palestinian history, identity, and the experiences of generations of refugees.
for more: renaissancestrategiccenter.c…
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
Significant even brave intervention by Oman foreign minister @badralbusaidi at Cambridge calling for the Gulf States to form a non-aggression pact with Iran and Iraq. Says US should no longer be primary provider of security in region, adding external partners have imposed the most damaging of the priorities - "the requirement that Iran be excluded. Not just excluded. Worse. Positioned as the threat against which regional security had to be organised."
He argues "What holds us back is that issues which ought to be handled at a regional level by the states of the Gulf themselves, are made more complex, more intractable and sometimes simply impossible to resolve because the region's security arrangements are insufficiently developed.
"And they are insufficiently developed because they have relied for too long on the involvement of external powers.
"The complications which stand in the way of successful resolutions to both the Iranian nuclear issue and the question of free navigation through the Strait of Hormuz are simply the latest effects of an unstable combination of power projection and dependency in the Gulf.
"In other words, the nuclear issue and the Hormuz issue are both impossible to resolve because external powers continue to define the terms of engagement, while regional powers are unable to take collective responsibility for making their own security arrangements and reach a consensus on them".
Says Iran "has for nearly half a century been systematically excluded from playing any meaningful role in the security arrangements of the region.
"An exclusion with profoundly negative consequences, not just for Iran, but for the region as a whole".
He says "Instead of a genuine security structure designed to maintain stable relations between the eight states of the Gulf, an unstable regional system has been constructed on the entirely false perception that there is a fundamental regional antagonism between Iran and the Arab states of the Gulf.
"There is no such fundamental antagonism. There are problems, yes, of course. But the plain fact is that Arabs and Persians have lived in peace around the Gulf for centuries. It’s not a matter of whether you’re friendly or hostile to Iran.
"Today, Persia is a fact, 93 million people and three thousand years of history. Roughly half of the Gulf littoral.
"Any Gulf security architecture that doesn’t include them is inherently unstable. It’s structurally unsound. And recent events expose the terrible cost of allowing the false perception of antagonism and exclusion."
"It is us, in the Gulf, who ultimately bear the responsibility for devising, developing and implementing a new regional security structure.
The time has come when it no longer makes sense just to blame everyone else.
We need to begin a new regional dialogue on Gulf security, and we need to do so before other solutions are imposed on the region which would effectively consolidate the pattern of dependency and exclusion for which we urgently need to find an alternative.
What is needed, instead, is a new and inclusive framework, involving all eight Gulf littoral states".
Significant indeed, for all the reasons given here 👇🏻
A highly significant development with implications that go well beyond the meetings in Tehran.
For #Tehran, the Mecca Agreement was an important development in its own right. It reflected a growing recognition among regional states that they need to diversify their security partnerships rather than rely exclusively on the United States. This is part of a broader effort to develop a more independent regional security architecture.
The decision to engage directly with Tehran is equally significant. It reflects not only recognition of the Iranian regime but also an understanding that Iran remains a central regional player whose influence cannot simply be ignored. This is particularly relevant to Iran's relationships with the members of the so called "axis of Resistance", especially the Houthis, even though Tehran's actual control over Houthi decision-making is considerably more limited than many assume.
Against the backdrop of a possible resumption of hostilities between Iran and the United States, these meetings are especially important. Gulf states understand that they could pay a devastating price for another war, particularly through attacks on energy infrastructure, ports, and maritime trade. They therefore have a clear interest in encouraging Tehran to moderate its demands while reassuring the Iranian leadership that the Mecca Agreement is not directed against Iran or its interests.
There is no contradiction between strengthening regional security cooperation and engaging diplomatically with Iran. In fact, these are two sides of the same strategy: building greater security independence and deterrence while simultaneously reducing the likelihood of confrontation through dialogue.
The meetings also highlight an important reality that Washington and Jerusalem should not overlook: even countries deeply concerned about Iran's regional ambitions do not necessarily support another military campaign against it. They understand the limitations of military force and recognize that another war, regardless of its intensity, is unlikely to eliminate the Iranian challenge. It could, however, inflict enormous damage on their economies and regional stability.
There is also a broader message for Washington. America's regional partners are increasingly pursuing their own interests, developing independent security arrangements, and maintaining channels of communication with Tehran. Their priorities do not necessarily align with those of Washington, and certainly not with those of the Israeli government.
None of this means that the profound differences between Iran and its neighbors have disappeared, or that these diplomatic efforts will necessarily succeed. But it does reflect an important strategic reality: regional governments increasingly recognize that Iran cannot be bombed out of the Middle East, and that any sustainable regional security architecture will eventually have to take its interests and influence into account.
The bottom line is that key regional players are increasingly looking for ways to prevent another war and establish a more sustainable security framework. That is a significant strategic development
#IranWar
#Iran
#KSA
#Pakistan
#Turkey
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
In Tulkarm and Jenin, we can see the scale of Israel’s destruction of refugee camps. A year on, the camps remain sealed off, their population dispersed, demoralised and destitute. crisisgroup.org/ojs/middle-e…
Inderdaad!
Belangrijk interview in @demorgen
@TomSimoens137: “Wat Rusland probeert lijkt op het bewust uitwissen van de Oekraïense identiteit. De Oekraïense taal, orthodoxe kerk, munt... het wordt verboden. Gevluchte Oekraïners worden door etnische Russen vervangen."demorgen.be/ts-b1f93885/
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
Tocqueville’s paradox: it is in the most equal societies that people find inequalities most intolerable.
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
An Introduction to Zionism: Your Sunday reading list:
1. Walid Khalidi, “Introduction”, in: From Haven to Conquest (1971), yplus.ps/wp-content/uploads/…
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
💥Gadi Eisenkot responds to Bibi's atom bomb: "Netanyahu: since you failed against Iran you've become hysterical."
💥Netanyahu just posted a picture of an atom bomb over Tel Aviv. "The State of Israel is in real and present existential danger. If the Iranians acquire nuclear weapons, nothing will ever be the same again. Everything is so trivial compared to the existential threat of Iran and the Shiite axis.
The staged and fabricated storms [his advisers on the Qatari payroll] that crop up every so often are designed to divert attention from the one thing that matters most: completing the work in Iran.
This touches on the physical existence of every single person here.
We have another two years of Trump to finish the work in Iran, and there's no telling what will come after that—whether it's Kamala Harris or some other mediocre figure.
This is the window of time we have left to complete the necessary work to ensure our physical existence for the coming years. All the required resources of the state must be invested in this mission."
Qatar, Haredim, Urik, conscription, alerts.
It's all one giant smokescreen to hide the single issue that towers above everything else by a wide margin.
If two atomic bombs fall in the center of the country, who will care about all these fake storms?
Future generations will not forgive us if we miss the historic window of opportunity that allows us to try and complete the most critical mission facing our generation.
This won't happen with a prime minister who is held by the throat by the Muslim Brotherhood and terror enablers.
This won't happen with a prime minister who can't pick up the phone and have a continuous, intimate conversation with Trump.
This won't happen with a prime minister who can't withstand the pressure of a TV interview.
The hatred for Netanyahu, as all-consuming as it is for an entire camp, won't help against the Iranian nuclear threat.
Anyone who cares about their own physical existence, that of their family, and their loved ones should have a trembling hand before voting for someone who won't be able to complete the mission, thereby condemning themselves and their family to the danger of a second Holocaust, because of their political hatred or some foolish, insignificant blood libel storm."
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
Protecting submarine communication cables that pass through strategic straits is a fundamental pillar of maritime security.
These cables constitute critical infrastructure that supports the internet, telecommunications, and data flows, while contributing to the growth of the digital economy and sustainable development.
In the Strait of #Hormuz, these cables connect Gulf countries to international networks, underscoring the importance of ensuring their protection and the reliability of their services as a shared interest.
The accompanying infographic illustrates the submarine communication cables that pass through the strait.
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
A young blonde woman with an American accent in Israel says that all the Arabs must be kicked out of Gaza because it is "our land" since "God commanded us to take it."
The Palestinians should be kicked out to any other Arab state, she continues, except Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria, "because they are ours."
"Or we will kill them," she adds
Can we stop pretending that this is a marginal view in Israel? That these are the comments of a fringe minority?
They are not. Israel has been on this path for quite some time.
Western governments know it fully - yet they continue to fund and enable Israel's genocidal policies.
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
Wait, but I was told the Russian invasion of Ukraine was prompted by NATO expansion…
Russian President Vladimir Putin cited genetics to declare that Russians and Ukrainians are “one people” and reiterated his claim to Ukrainian territory, saying: “I think that it is not their territory but the historical territory of Russia.” wapo.st/48aZaZF
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
As expected, talks on ending Russia's war against Ukraine have shifted to talks on a new division of Europe.
In his statement on 22 October, Putin said that future negotiations should determine guarantees for Russia as well as the broader rules of European security. According to him, it was Witkoff who proposed widening the agenda.
Europeans are not yet being invited to the conversation about European security. Peskov specified that representatives of Ukraine, Russia and the US will meet in Abu Dhabi. He acknowledged that European countries cannot be left out going forward, but tied their participation to the position they take (whether they behave themselves).
Some Russian experts have a quite concrete picture of what the coming talks should cover. Valdai Club expert Stanislav Tkachenko speaks openly of a return to the demands of December 2021: limiting NATO's military presence to pre-enlargement levels, removing new bases and military facilities from the Baltic states and Eastern Europe, and halting further enlargement. To this he adds recognition of territorial seizures, the lifting of sanctions and the return of frozen assets. His reasoning is that Moscow regards the European Union as a losing party as well, and therefore expects concessions from it too. Tkachenko even suggests new claims on Odesa, Mykolaiv and Kharkiv, arguing that Putin's references to "historical territories" leave room for them.
At the same time, it is possible to negotiate and continue the war.
Dmitri Trenin, president of the Russian International Affairs Council, believes that freezing hostilities along the current front line does not suit Russia. Talking to the US is nevertheless worthwhile, since it is already producing some results. He notes that Moscow has agreed to discuss, first and foremost, the future post-war security system. The fighting itself, he predicts, may continue into 2027. He links the concrete terms of any agreement to the situation on the battlefield: talks can happen now, while decisions will depend on military outcomes.
Explanations for the case that negotiations once again lead nowhere are also already being prepared. Fyodor Lukyanov interprets the new Ukrainian proposals as Zelensky's attempt to ease pressure from Trump. He suggests that Kyiv may walk away from agreements already reached, with the Europeans backing it. For that reason, in his view, Witkoff's arrival with new ideas does not yet mean anything.
Meanwhile, Moscow is finding reasons to celebrate even before any deal. Duma deputy Oleg Matveychev considers it a success in itself that the US talks to Russia as an equal and discusses a wide range of global issues with it. A concrete outcome of the meeting is not even necessary for this assessment. He takes the comparison of a possible Putin–Trump–Xi meeting with "Yalta-2" as recognition of Russia's special status: it is once again among the states that shape the future order.
Practical gains are added to the symbolic success. Duma deputy Leonid Slutsky calls the meeting with Witkoff a diplomatic "master class" by Putin and points to sanctions relief and the diesel deal with the US. For him, this is already evidence of a successful restoration of relations with Washington. He envisions further negotiations taking Russia's interests fully into account.
Trump is also seen as a partner for exerting influence on Ukraine and Europe. Political commentator Gevorg Mirzayan suggests that Moscow and Washington are discussing a coordinated policy towards them. In his view, Trump wants to show voters a foreign-policy success, bring the Europeans back into greater obedience, and establish energy cooperation with Russia.
The rush ahead of the US elections is also viewed as an opportunity for Russia. Boris Mezhuev openly calls Trump an ally on the question of a settlement. He believes the US president needs a peace plan he can present to voters, even if it has not yet been signed. Russia can help him secure such a political result while advancing its own demands.
And yet there are still some in Moscow who remain dissatisfied, such as Dugin, Malofeev and Karaganov, united by a shared mental disorder: a passion for using nuclear weapons. In their latest interviews and publications, they openly call on Putin to use nuclear weapons against Ukraine and Europe.
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
"I realized at the end of the day that Israel really didn't want peace, but they wanted dominance. And I walked away from it." Intense interview with Netanyahu's former friend/confidant. Hopefully this manages to impact those who are far from being left. haaretz.com/israel-news/elec…
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
The GRU hacked into Jared Kushner's iPhone. Dutch military intelligence (MIVD) then recruited a GRU spy who gave them access to the hacked phone. What MIVD discovered was that Kushner had access to two bank accounts --one Azerbaijani, the other Israeli --where Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and Emirati ruler Mohammed bin Zayed deposited money. It sounds like a slightly far-fetched episode of "Slow Horses," but it's real. And it proves just how eye-poppingly corrupt this administration was and continues to be as its "special envoy" decides the fate of tens of millions in Europe in the Middle East. Simply incredible reporting by Matthew Cole, drawn from his new book on Kushner. vanityfair.com/story/jared-k…
Gerd Nonneman retweeted
Palestinians are required to file for a permit from the IDF in order to harvest their own olives in their own olive groves.
The same IDF turns a blind eye, and at times is complicit, with settler terrorists who burn down those groves. They have a permanent permit from the IDF.
Earlier today, a number of harvesters, accompanied by dozens of individuals, arrived to conduct an uncoordinated olive harvest in an area near Beitar Illit. Harvesting in this area requires a request to be submitted to the relevant authorities in advance of the start of the olive harvest season. This coordination is necessary to ensure the security of the area and maintain public order.
Due to the security risk posed by conducting an uncoordinated harvest near an Israeli community, IDF soldiers, Border Police forces in Judea and Samaria, and officers from the Judea and Samaria District Police arrived at the scene and detained those present.
The landowner was informed that he must coordinate the olive harvest on his plot of land and was provided with the relevant contact information to arrange a harvest at a later date.
It should be emphasized that authorized olive harvests have taken place and continue to take place. To date, approximately 100 coordinated harvests have been conducted across Judea and Samaria, yielding many dozens of tons of produce, with security provided and coordination by the security forces, without any unusual incidents.
In areas designated for coordinated harvesting, only harvesters will be permitted to enter, solely for the purpose of harvesting.
As in previous years, security forces are working to facilitate a safe and orderly olive harvest season, with a firm commitment to enabling harvesting without unusual incidents or interruptions, alongside their ongoing defensive and counterterrorism missions.
US-sanctioned ICC wins top EU human rights award
aljazeera.com#flips-6407242936112
