How did the olive harvest become an international political flashpoint?

Avi Kaner examines how Ottoman-era cultivation rules influence West Bank land claims, how organized activist delegations turn the harvest into a platform for political messaging, and what congressional candidate Brad Lander’s "detention" reveals about the battle for headlines.

A closer look at the property rights, economic stakes, and public relations campaigns behind the images.

Israel heads to the polls on October 27 in its first national election since the October 7 massacre, with major implications for the country's future and the wider Middle East.

In today's Middle East Brief, Avi Kaner examines:

• Benny Gantz's withdrawal and where his voters may go.

• The latest polling, including major discrepancies between Channel 14 and other surveys.

• President Trump's last-minute endorsement of Benjamin Netanyahu.

• Potential kingmakers, including Mansour Abbas and Avigdor Lieberman.

• How President Isaac Herzog selects a candidate to form a government and the timeline for coalition negotiations.

• What the election could mean for Israeli-Saudi normalization and the Abraham Accords.

With neither major political bloc holding a clear majority in most polls, Israel's election may be only the beginning of a complicated process to determine its next government.

On September 17, 2024, thousands of pagers carried by Hezbollah terrorists began exploding across Lebanon. The following day, handheld radios exploded too.

It was the culmination of an extraordinary intelligence operation involving supply chains, shell companies, specially modified communications devices and years of preparation.

In today’s Middle East Brief, Avi Kaner tells the full story of Beepergate: why Hezbollah turned to pagers, how the devices were compromised, what happened during the two waves of explosions, and how the operation exposed the depth of Hezbollah’s security vulnerabilities.

The attacks were followed by a rapidly escalating Israeli campaign against Hezbollah’s leadership and military infrastructure, culminating days later in the killing of Hassan Nasrallah.

Beepergate demonstrated that Hezbollah’s vulnerability extended far beyond the battlefield. The very communications system intended to protect the organization from Israeli intelligence had become a weapon against it.

🎙️ Middle East Brief with Avi Kaner