Gallia Lindenstrauss

Syria’s Kurds reap benefits of Erdogan’s 'terror free Turkey' as Ankara halts attacks Turkey’s softened stance signals a strategic shift in its approach to Syria’s Kurds and the PKK.

Here I explain how Erdogan wants to leverage detente with Syria’s Kurds for electoral support from Turkey’s Kurds. www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

Former hostage Arbel Yehoud says captors threatened to kill her if IDF approached Released captive says Israel 'currently fighting to attack, didn't fight to defend' on Oct. 7; some details she won't share even with her parents: 'Better they don't know'

“Former hostage Arbel Yehoud, who was returned to Israel in January as part of a Gaza ceasefire agreement, says her Palestinian Islamic Jihad captors made it clear to her that they would kill her if the IDF discovered their location and came to rescue her” www.timesofisrael.com/former-hosta...

In Turkey's Kurdish heartland, distrust erodes peace process hopes Turkey's crackdown on President Tayyip Erdogan's main rival and silence on what reforms might follow the end of a 40-year conflict with Kurdish militants are stoking distrust among Kurds anxious to see what a fragile peace process may bring.

The Turkey-PKK peace process: no peace so far, and a very confused process.

Daren Butler, @reuters.com:

www.reuters.com/world/middle...

Opinion | A Fragile Peace for Turkey and the Kurds Ankara wants a success story without Western oversight.

A Fragile Peace for Turkey and the Kurds by @asliaydintasbas buff.ly/2RJLNUZ

PKK: 15 Şubat Kürt Soykırım Gününü gerçek Özgürlük Günü haline getirelim PKK Yürütme Komitesi, Önder Apo’ya yönelik 15 Şubat Uluslararası Komplosunun yıldönümü vesilesiyle yazılı bir mesaj yayımladı. Başta kadınlar ve gençler olmak üzere tüm Kürt halkını, Türkiye’nin de...

PKK made a statement yesterday, in which it refers to a reorganisation/restructuring process that Öcalan will start.

I read that as an indirect confirmation that Öcalan will make an announcement of sorts.
firatnews.com/guncel/pkk-1...

Really sorry to see this happening. Reported, but must be infuriating.

Three hostages released by Hamas reunited with mothers after ceasefire deal Emily Damari, Romi Gonen and Doron Steinbrecher return to Israel after 15 months in captivity * Israel-Gaza war – live updates Three women held hostage by Hamas in tunnels beneath Gaza during 15 months of devastating conflict, including the joint…

Three hostages released by Hamas reunited with mothers after ceasefire deal

U.S. welcomes Abdi-Barzani key meeting - North press agency QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – The U.S. Department of State welcomed a recent meeting between General Mazloum Abdi, Commander-in-Chief of the Syrian

U.S. welcomes Abdi-Barzani key meeting npasyria.com/en/121148/

"Diplomatic and military negotiators from the United States, Turkey, Syria and the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) are showing more flexibility and patience than their public statements suggest,

Will Turkey and Israel go to war over Syria? Turkey expert Gallia Lindenstrauss, who is a senior fellow at Israel's National Institute of Security Studies, says Israel is concerned about Turkey's expanding influence in Syria with the rise to pow...

🇮🇱🇹🇷Believe half of what you read/hear about Israel and Turkey. But this interview with @glindenstrauss.bsky.social and @amberinzaman.bsky.social is the best you'll find on the subject to date: www.al-monitor.com/podcasts/wil...
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2025 Predictions aka "Turkey precap"

2025 Predictions for Turkey’s Israel / Palestine Policy

With contributions by:
@selinnasi.bsky.social
@glindenstrauss.bsky.social
@istanbultelaviv.bsky.social

www.turkeyrecap.com/i/153969325/...

It's 2025 and we kicked off the year with a super-sized predictions issue.

🧵Scroll down for the full list of contributors and topics:

Aid for displaced people from #Afrin and Shahba arrive in Northeast Syria, sent from Şengal (Sinjar) Ira, a region predominantly home to Yezidi Kurds.

The developments in the Kurdish-dominated autonomous administration in northeastern Syria create dilemmas for Israel, first among which is what will happen if the United States decides to withdraw its forces. My new piece www.inss.org.il/publication/...

Extraordinary pace of changes today.
For years, Ankara promised to "clean up Tel Rifaat and Manbij" (RTE in 2022.) Now, HTS are doing the work.

Watch this space.

"Both Trump and Erdogan have demonstrated a tremendous capacity for compartmentalization. Nonetheless, the Israel-Palestine crisis is likely to remain a sore point between the two allies going forward. And depending on domestic political considerations on both sides, it could become a serious issue"

Ryan Gingeras hits the nail on the head for @warontherocks.bsky.social Greece and Turkey are ripe for a deal, but both doubt whether US can broker one warontherocks.com/2024/11/turk...

BBC World Service - The Global Jigsaw, Culture wars: Turkey’s anti-LGBT drive What’s behind the evolution of the Turkish president's anti-LGBT narrative?

Nice to see this episode of BBC Monitoring’s Global Jigsaw podcast, which I contributed to, published.

Touches on the history of sexuality in Ottoman Empire and puts Turkey’s recent anti-LGBT panic in the context of a wider global right-wing backlash.

👇👇

www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/w...

Herzog responds to Erdogan: Israel has never had any plans against Turkey * * *

President Herzog: “ Israel has never had any plans against Turkey...we have great respect to the people of Turkey...We have longstanding relations between the peoples, and the peoples will prevail over all voices that are adverse to friendship and coexistence.”
www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_ent...

Bahceli's handshake spectacle is part of a triple play of co-opt&discipline&divide aimed at the Kurdish movt&its various actors. It is about domestic concerns but not limited to it. Since April, Ankara's assumptions about power balance at the global&regional levels are shaken.

Some good, more skeptic pieces about Turkey and the membership application to BRICS

www.al-monitor.com/originals/20...

www.mei.edu/blog/weekly-...

Turkey Wants to Build a Spacecraft Launchpad in Somalia Turkey has held talks with Somalia about setting up a site to test-fire missiles and space rockets from the Horn of Africa country, according to people familiar with the matter.

As if we don't have enough missiles and concerns in the Middle East...

www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Even after sharp rise in Turkish-Palestinian trade (which can be explained by products being resold to Israel), Turkish-Israeli trade still received a severe blow after May's decision of a complete trade ban on direct exports (+imports) from Turkey to Israel