Our Middle East: An Insider's View

Why do groups like Hamas, Hezbollah and the IRGC keep claiming victory even when they've suffered devastating losses? In this episode, you'll learn how Islamist groups, Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and their supporters interpret political divisions, public disagreements,and policy hesitation in Washington and the West. Veteran Middle East analysts Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh explore why perception m...

What if the real revolution in the Middle East isn’t happening on the battlefield but in the battle for narrative and identity? This fascinating conversation reveals a powerful lesson: that Israel’s greatest opportunity right now may not be military, but cultural. Viewers will discover how decades of misinformation and ideological manipulation, especially driven by Iran, have distorted reality, an...

This episode flips everything you think you know about “ceasefires” on its head, revealing why what the West calls peace is, in reality, just a strategic pause in a Middle Eastern long game. You’ll learn how Iran and its proxies weaponize temporary calm (hudna) to regroup, rearm and psychologically claim victory, even when they’ve taken heavy losses. The discussion exposes a chilling mindset where...

Learn why the Iran conflict is exposing deep fractures inside the Arab world, how jihadist ideology shapes the battlefield far beyond missiles and diplomacy and why “total victory” means far more than another temporary ceasefire. If you want to understand what the headlines keep missing: who’s afraid, who’s bluffing, who’s shifting alliances and why this moment could redefine the region for years,...

While the world focuses on Iran and the Strait of Hormuz, Gaza has quietly disappeared from the headlines. This episode explains how Hamas may be regrouping and reasserting control, while Iran’s broader strategy uses multiple fronts, from Gaza to Hezbollah, to wage a long war of attrition against Israel and the West. The discussion explores why ignoring Gaza now could lead to serious consequences...

Stage Two of the Gaza peace plan is being sold as a fresh start, but Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh argue it may be the most dangerous mirage yet. In this episode of Our Middle East, they walk you through what actually happens when the Rafah crossing reopens, “technocrats” arrive, and the Donald Trump-era “Board of Peace” raises global expectations...while Hamas remains the de facto power on the...

Iran isn’t just facing chaos in the streets, it’s being used as cover for a second war you’re probably underestimating: “wokeism warfare,” now metastasizing from the radical left into the MAGA right. In this episode, Karis Rhea breaks down how censorship-era paranoia supercharged conspiracy thinking online, why anti-Israel narratives have become the “acceptable” gateway to broader anti-Western ide...

Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh discuss a big Middle East tremor: Iran’s regime wobbling, and Gaza sitting in a deceptively calm “quiet before the storm.” They dissect why talk of a “technocratic government” and Gaza reconstruction could become a strategic trap, effectively laundering Hamas’s control while letting it regroup, rearm and outsource civilian responsibility, Hezbollah-style. The episod...

In this episode, peace activist Rawan Osman examines the dramatic shifts reshaping the region with a focus on Iran’s weakening grip and the changing balance of power. Drawing on personal and regional insight, she explains how Israel’s actions, the collapse of long-standing regimes, and the rise of new Islamist forces could redefine the Middle East. The conversation explores what these changes mean...

Dan Dyker sits down with the one and only Mosab Hassan Yousef, the son of a Hamas founder turned fearless whistleblower, to break down what could be the most dangerous turning point in Middle East history. From a surprise President Trump-PM Netanyahu summit to Iran’s nuclear ambitions, Hamas deception and the West’s ideological blind spots, nothing is off-limits. Yousef pulls back the curtain on t...

While the world was in holiday mode, President Trump and Prime Minister Netanyahu dropped a geopolitical bombshell: a surprise emergency summit between Christmas and New Year’s. But this wasn’t just about diplomacy, it was a veiled strategic realignment. From Gaza to Syria, Somalia to the Red Sea, and even Ilhan Omar’s family history, this video connects the dots of a brewing showdown against Iran...

As the ceasefire crumbles, Gaza’s war moves underground...literally. Hamas terrorists are trapped in their own tunnel networks, abandoned by leadership and starving beneath the rubble. But surrender is not an option in the world of jihad. Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh expose the stunning reversals of fortune, the regional power plays from Qatar and Turkey and how Hamas is losing its grip both in...

Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh expose Hamas’s strategic manipulation of the Trump ceasefire plan. While appearing to comply with phase one, Hamas is stalling, refusing to release hostages and exploiting negotiations to regroup, rearm and reassert control over Gaza. The conversation reveals Hamas's true intent: to maintain power, avoid disarmament and ultimately destroy Israel using diplomatic dec...

Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh argue that the UN-driven, internationally managed “Trump 20-point plan” is constraining Israel while Hamas exploits the ceasefire to rearm, regroup and entrench control in Gaza. They warn that vague terms like “demilitarization” and “decommissioning” (without explicit disarmament) enable loopholes, drawing lessons from Hezbollah in Lebanon. They caution against rebr...

In today's episode we discuss the Trump Peace plan in Gaza and why it can get more complicated than people think.

Western powers like the U.K., France, Australia and Canada are all rewarding jihad and encouraging further violence by embracing a Palestinian state that lacks borders, governance or unity. Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs President Dan Diker and Senior Fellow at the JCFA and Gatestone Institute Khaled Abu Toameh deliver an acute analysis of the international community’s recent pu...

'Son of Hamas,' Mosab Hassan Yousef, joins Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, to discuss the disturbing legacy of jihad from September 11, 2001 to Oct. 7, 2023, revealing how Islamic extremism has not only survived but mutated into even more dangerous global forms.

The Middle East is entering one of the most critical turning points the region has faced in decades. Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, Senior Fellow at the JCFA and the Gatestone Institute, sit down to discuss this historic juncture. The discussion opens with Israel’s military operation in Gaza and the unprecedented backing it has...

In this episode of Our Middle East, Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, Senior Fellow at the JCFA and the Gatestone Institute, explore one of the most critical turning points in the Middle East in decades. They analyze Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, the unprecedented support it is receiving from the United States, and proposals...

With Hamas leaders under mounting pressure from Egypt, Qatar, Turkey and the Arab League, hosts Dan Diker and Khaled Abu Toameh explore whether we’re witnessing the beginning of Hamas’s end or the setup for another major confrontation. The discussion examines reports of high-stakes negotiations in Cairo, where an “all-for-all” exchange, freeing all Israeli hostages in return for Hamas prisoners, i...

Is a quiet revolution brewing in the West Bank? Several Hebron Sheikhs have just made an unprecedented offer: peace with Israel without the Palestinian Authority. Could this be the next chapter of the Abraham Accords or is it nothing but bluster? Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, renowned Arab affairs journalist and Senior Fellow...

How does Israel’s lightning strike against Iran’s nuclear infrastructure and its new mastery of Tehran’s skies change the Middle East chessboard? Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Security and Foreign Affairs (JCFA), and Khaled Abu Toameh, Senior Fellow at JCFA and the Gatestone Institute, break down why the Jewish state’s restored deterrence is being quietly cheered from Riyadh to...

In this episode of “Our Middle East,” Dan Diker, President of the Jerusalem Center for Foreign Affairs, and Khaled Abu Toameh, Senior Fellow at JCFA and the Gatestone Institute, unpack why Gaza is no longer a local conflict—it’s a global flashpoint. The hosts warn that failure to decisively defeat Hamas will destabilize not only Israel’s southern front but entire Arab regimes in Jordan and Egypt,...