Dr. Yossi Mansharof: Trump wants Tehran to negotiate seeks to bring Iran to a point where the regime understands that the nuclear program not only fails to advance its goals but actually endangers it and Iran’s national security.

That being said Trump has made it clear that if Iran does not respond to his offer to negotiate, the U.S. itself will attack Iran.

I believes Trump wants to make Iran understand that continuing the current course—progress in the nuclear program, regional entrenchment, sponsoring Iran’s proxy network and developing the missile program—will harm the regime, and therefore, it would be in Iran’s own interest to reach an agreement with the U.S. in these three areas.

Published in JNS, April 04, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: While the goal of the corridors might appear to be simply to divide Gaza into three areas, the move is part of a wider strategy that prepares Israel for the full occupation of Gaza in the event that Hamas does not agree to its terms for ending the war.

Israel is preparing for a full occupation of the Gaza Strip. This is the only way forward if negotiations fail to dismantle Hamas’s sovereignty in Gaza.

Published in The National, April  03, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: The control of the civilian population according to the principles of international law in time of war must be the control of the military commander.

The current hybrid structure involving the Coordinator for Government Activities in the Territories Unit, which belongs to the Israeli Ministry of Defense but is staffed by soldiers, remains untenable.

This entire entity called COGAT has to undergo a process of [becoming] a civilian entity, and subordination to the Ministry of Defense. It should not be part of the army.

During wartime, there must be a clear distinction between an IDF military government and the Civil Administration [a part of COGAT]. In our writings and comments, when we discuss the need for a military government as a need, it is as an organizational expression of the third aspect of military doctrine: control [over territory].

Published in JNS, April  03, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: The fact that dozens, sometimes hundreds of people, are going into the streets and demonstrating against Hamas with their faces uncovered indicates a crack in the barrier of fear vis a vis Hamas. If the demonstrations expand to the point where we see tens of thousands of people in the streets, this will be a tipping point. Then, the demonstrators will go for a lynching, they will slaughter Hamas.

The Gazan people share the ideology of Hamas. I am speaking collectively, there are many individuals who are not like this, but the collective psychological infrastructure is exactly Hamas’s psychological infrastructure, which means that they are very brutal and very violent, and they will do to Hamas what Hamas did to the Jews on Oct. 7.

Published in Washington Free Beacon, April 01, 2025.

Meir Ben-Shabbat: one of the goals of the war, as determined by the political echelon, is the destruction of Hamas’s governing capabilities. This goal cannot be achieved without targeting the functionaries who run Hamas’s administration in Gaza. This is a necessary step.

The achievements in recent days are impressive, but the pace must be increased and the blow to Hamas intensified.

After we have seen that this aid is being used by Hamas both to rearm for continued war and to bolster its governance over the population/

Published in JNS, March 27, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: It is pretty clear and understood that the objective of the current military operation is to pressure Hamas to accept Witkoff’s proposal, not to come back to the negotiation table.

If Hamas continues to refuse the proposal, I believe Israeli forces would increase the military pressure, with the possibility of Israel looking to occupy the Gaza Strip at least with a “temporary military administration” that would aim to dismantle Hamas.

Published in NBC NEWS, March 24, 2025.

Prof. Kobi Michael: Hamas is still on its feet. Hamas still governs the territory and the population and Hamas does its utmost to reconstitute itself militarily.

Published in Reuters, March 21, 2025.

Arsen Ostrovsky: “sadly, this is not surprising nor is it an isolated incident. The UN was created in the wake of the Holocaust and upon the ashes of the 6 millions Jews murdered. Yet today, it has become the world’s foremost purveyor of antisemitism, seeking to carry out the indistinguishable agenda of Hamas and Hitler.”

Published in JNS, March 20, 2025.

Arsen Ostrovsky: Hamas left Israel with no alternative but to resume military operations in Gaza, after they rejected repeated ceasefire proposals. It cannot be such that there is quiet in Gaza, but no hostages are coming out. This can all end tomorrow, if Hamas just agrees to Witkoff proposal and release the hostages, it’s that simple!

The interview took place on NDTV (India) on March 18, 2025.

Ruth Wasserman Lande: There are two missing links in the Egyptian proposal. First, no one is willing to put up the money if Hamas is not removed. Second, it is absolutely impossible to remove Hamas from the civilian population.

Anyone who says otherwise either does not understand the situation or does not want to understand it. Hamas is embedded in the population—that is its modus vivendi, its modus operandi. It is embedded in the social welfare structures, in the professional syndicates, and in all of the NGOs that have worked or continue to work in the Gaza Strip. They are, of course, present in all the religious institutions, and they control everything.

In other words, it is impossible and completely unrealistic to separate them. Therefore, not removing, at least temporarily, the civilian population will not allow for the proper rebuilding and rehabilitation of the Gaza Strip.

Additionally, I don’t see Egypt or Jordan as the right places for these Gazans to be temporarily moved in order to rebuild the Strip. As I’ve said before, they should be moved to Qatar.

Published in I24, March 17, 2025.