AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

Hopes rise over fresh talks for Iran nuclear deal

02 Mar 2025

While the Trump administration has stepped up its “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran by adding to existing sanctions, Tehran has called for fresh negotiations over a “deal” to curb...

The clenched fist

27 Feb 2025

As soon as he returned to the White House, Donald Trump suspended funding for all foreign assistance, creating confusion in the US Agency for International Development (USAID) and consternation...

Removing of financial sanctions on Syria is important

23 Feb 2025

Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani has been touring Arab and European capitals pleading for an end to sanctions which are obstructing the country’s reconstruction and recovery after years of...

Valuable sources

20 Feb 2025

Bookshops are a way of life. They provide readers with means to know themselves and discover their role in an uncertain world. For peoples struggling towards nationhood books are...

Improving lives of Gazans is top priority

16 Feb 2025

Last week Hamas bested Israel in a brief skirmish over its refusal to meet commitments in the first phase of the Gaza ceasefire deal. Hamas announced the release of...

Musk-tering power

13 Feb 2025

South African multi-billionaire Elon Musk is the most influential civilian in the entourage of Donald Trump who seems unable to say no to his interventions in US foreign and...

Freed Palestinian prisoners are greeted by a crowd as they arrive in the Gaza Strip after being released from an Israeli prison. Associated Press

Gaza was once a thriving touristy, culture hub

09 Feb 2025

Donald Trump’s plan to turn Gaza into a tourist destination is nothing new. In the nineties, Palestinians began to attract visitors to Gaza by opening an airport in the...

Crucial lifeline

06 Feb 2025

Twenty-five international staff employed by UNRWA, the UN agency caring for Palestinian refugees, left East Jerusalem, the West Bank and Gaza last week after Israel imposed a ban on...

A displaced Palestinian family ride in a vehicle loaded with their belongings as they prepare to flee Rafah following a Israeli strike nearby. File/Reuters

Egypt, Jordan resist Trump proposal on Palestinians

02 Feb 2025

Donald Trump has continued to insist that Amman and Cairo will accept 1.5 million Palestinians from Gaza although both Jordan’s King Abdullah and Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi have...

Dramatic steps

31 Jan 2025

Since 1933 US presidents and other world leaders have launched their administrations by proclaiming policies for their first 100 days in office. This reversed the initial use of the...

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.