France has announced it will recognize the state of Palestine, a move that could shift discussions about the Middle East’s future.

The Trump administration has expressed frustration with Israeli actions in recent days.

Tensions remain heightened between Israel and Gaza as Iran has vowed not to abandoned their nuclear enrichment program in the wake of the U.S. bombing mission last month.

President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff, was heading to the Middle East as the U.S. tries once again to reach a ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas, a breakthrough that has eluded the administration for months as conditions worsen in Gaza.

He specializes in Middle East security issues. Research Fellow, Zineb Riboua is a research fellow with Hudson Institute’s Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East.

Moscow’s failures will resound beyond the Middle East. Whether the result of Putin’s conscious decision not to intervene or of the Kremlin’s inability to do so, Russia’s abandonment of partners in the region should be a sobering lesson for Xi Jinping and the Chinese Communist Party: that in times of crisis, Russia will not be a reliable ally.

Spread across Syria, Lebanon and Israel, the secretive religious minority has long balanced integration and independence. Now, members are at the heart of the region’s shifting power struggles.

Israel’s markets have been lifted by significant foreign investment and more recently by renewed investor confidence following its 12-day conflict with Iran.