Commentary

In Israel and the Palestinian territories – and other parts of the world suffering from conflict – the holy month has often correlated with heightened tensions and violence.

"Time and again, European nations have tried to forge a unified military identity, and time and again they have failed," Paul Poast writes.

The Palestinian Authority has limited governance over the occupied territory of the West Bank. The PA is part of discussions about a two-state solution with Israel.

Anton La Guardia, Catherine Philp, and Yaroslav Trofimov join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.

The United Nations has been grappling with two global conflicts that it has so far been unable to deescalate – the war in Ukraine and the Israel-Hamas war.

"Even using the most optimistic evidence from existing research, alliances are still found to fail a quarter of the time," Paul Poast writes.

"Washington’s denial—or revisionism—about US policies that helped to fuel current or potential crises only makes them more intractable," Paul Heer argues.

The United Nations General Assembly has asked the organization’s court to give advice on what legal consequences Israel should face for its decades-long occupation of the Palestinian territories.

"It is no surprise that Zelenskyy is trying all he can to change the war’s dynamics and avoid this outcome," Paul Poast writes.

NATO members "should take the idea that a Donald Trump-led United States will not be a reliable ally very seriously," Ivo Daalder says.