Commentary

Despite its small size, Qatar has historically played an outsize role in negotiating with organizations or countries that the U.S. doesn’t have relations with.

Thousands of Palestinians have been killed, and aid has been blocked. Countries are calling for a cease-fire and the US is calling for a humanitarian pause.

Karen DeYoung, Bobby Ghosh, and Giles Whittell join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.

"Because US support for Ukraine is now squarely associated with Biden as his signature foreign policy achievement to date, it makes it a partisan issue," Paul Poast explains.

Germans used to think Israel was more responsible for the conflict in the Middle East. Now they are more likely to blame Palestinians.

The U.S. and Israel have what has historically been called a “special relationship,” and the U.S. has given more money to Israel than any other country since 1946.

The U.S. is among the top donors to a United Nations agency that runs Palestinian refugee camps.  

Yasmeen Abutaleb, Stefan Kornelius, and Peter Spiegel join Ivo Daalder to discuss the week's top news stories.

"Fury on the Arab streets has now made the prospect of escalation more likely," writes Ivo Daalder.

"A military solution alone will, at best, postpone the next outbreak of violence," says Elizabeth Shackelford.