On the surface, the Reopening of the Nassib Border Crossing, connecting Syria and Jordan, which has been closed since 2015 might give the impression that the situation in Syria has stabilized and that Bashar al Assad, the President of Syria, has restored his sovereignty and control over the country. However, zooming in and zooming out helps you understand that that…

Click here for a PDF of this Intelligence Report    On July 16, 2017 I wrote an Intelligence Bulletin – The Attack on The Temple Mount Compound: Regional Reactions. This is an extended Intelligence Report on the issue.   *** Intelligence Report *** August 8, 2017  July 2017 Crisis over Temple Mt. Compound: Regional Perspectives   Information: On Friday July 14,…

Click Here For PDF of this post – “What Is Militant Sunni Islam?”   What is Militant Sunni Islam?   Contemporary Sunni militant Islam is rooted in the two main representatives of political Islam – the Muslim Brotherhood Movement and the ultra-conservative Salafi ideology. Since its early days, the Muslim Brotherhood had – in addition to its educational, social and…

Avi Melamed on I24 News with Calev Ben David discussing Temple Mount, Jerusalem, Palestinians, Jordan, etc. on The Rundown  

Immediate Intelligence Bulletin   July 16th, 2017 Terror attack at the Temple Mount Compound: Regional Reactions (** This is an immediate Bulletin. I will publish a more detailed Intelligence Report over the next few days **) Information: On Friday July 14, 2017, three Israeli-Arabs opened fire on Israeli Border Patrol Police securing the Temple Mount Compound in Jerusalem, called Al-Haram…

Click Here for PDF of this Report June 27, 2017 Intelligence Report The Concept of Greater Jordan and the Creation of a Safe-Zone in South Syria  Information: Reportedly in June 2017 the United States, Russia and Jordan signed a memorandum establishing a “Safe-Zone” in southern Syria – a 30-kilometer-wide strip in Syria running parallel to the Jordanian border. The exact…

June 17th, 2017 Tasting the Bitter Pill of Reality: Hamas’ New Political Pact Information In August 2014 I published an article entitled “Operation Protective Edge: Exiting to a New Space” in which  I analyzed the ramifications of the summer of 2014 war between Hamas and Israel. In that piece I wrote ”…As a result, Hamas enters a long process where…

August 23rd, 2016 Jabhat Al-Nusrah Disembarking from Al-Qaeda by Avi Melamed Background: Jabhat al-Nusrah li-Ahl al-Sham (The Front for the Support of the People of Sham) is Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria. Like Al-Qaeda, Jabhat Al-Nusrah is a Sunni Salafi-Jihadist organization. The word “Salaf” means the past of something, its origin, its roots, its primal source. The origins of Salafi thought are deep in the sands of…

  July 24th, 2016 Intelligence Bulletin Do the Syrian Rebels in the Golan Heights have Surface-to-Surface Missiles? Background: Similar to other areas in Syria, the Syrian District of Quneitra, which borders the Israeli part of the Golan Heights is a stage for ongoing clashes, of varying levels of intensity and frequency, between different Syrian Rebel groups on the one side,…

Here is an article I had published in Forbes…. A generation has passed since the signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestinians. The Oslo Accords were guided by the concept that the two-state solution would finally resolve the conflict—but two decades later, Israelis and Palestinians remain caught in a sad, frustrating and vicious cycle that must be…

Published in The Cipherbrief,  February 2016 by Avi Melamed   The collapse or weakening of state authority in different parts of the Middle East and Africa, together with growing inner challenges and chronic instability in large parts of the region and the widening and escalating Iranian-Arab power struggle, creates a chaotic environment militant Islamic groups exploit to expand their activities…

December 6, 2014 by Avi Melamed The Middle East continues to constantly provide dramatic events in different areas – in Syria, Yemen, Egypt, Iraq and other places. However, I would like to divert your attention for a while from the dramatic events in those arenas and take a pause to explore some very interesting processes taking place for a significant player in the region – The Muslim Brotherhood movement. Following the outbreak of events in the Arab world known as the Arab Awakening, the Muslim Brotherhood has succeeded in attaining their primary political goal in two Arab countries. In the elections held in Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood won by an overwhelming majority in the Egyptian parliament, and its candidate Mohamed…

******* Intelligence Bulletin Information Date:                October 26, 2013 Event Date:                            October 25, 2013 Information Item:                 Leader of Jabhat Al- Nusrah killed in Syria? Information Platform:         Varied Source:                                    Vary Source Reliability:                 Unknown Spring:                                     Syrian National TV Network Spring Reliability:                  Unknown Information Validity:            Unconfirmed Relevant Information:         The Syrian TV News network (SANA) associated with the Assad regime, reported that Abu Muhammad Al-Joulani, the leader of the Jabhat Al-Nusra organization, which is affiliated with Al-Qaeda in Syria, was killed on October 25, 2013. Jabhat Al-Nusra rushed to deny the report, announcing that Al-Joulani, as well as Abu Anas Al-Sahabh, another senior leader of the organization, were safe and sound. It should be mentioned that the news item was removed from SANA’s website shortly after it was published. It also…

Ask A Senior Analyst – Mr. Avi Melamed   Mr. Avi Melamed Editor’s Note: Wikistrat’s Facebook followers recently engaged in a 24-hour exclusive Q&A drill with one of Wikistrat’s Senior Analysts – Mr. Avi Melamed. Mr. Avi Melamed, former Israeli Senior Official on Arab Affairs and is an independent Middle East Strategic Intelligence Analyst and lecturer specialized in the current affairs of the Arab and Muslim world, as well as their impact on Israel and the region more widely. Mr. Melamed provides intelligence analysis, briefings and tours to diplomats, Israeli and foreign policy makers, international media outlets and a wide variety of organizations as well as private clients on a range of Israeli and Middle Eastern affairs. Miguel Nunes Silva: …