Amine Ayoub

Amine Ayoub is a policy analyst and writer based in Morocco. His media contributions appeared in The Jerusalem Post, Yedioth Ahronoth , Arutz Sheva ,The Times of Israel and many others. His writings focus on Islamism, jihad, Israel and MENA politics. He tweets at @amineayoubx.

Articles by this Author
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi is shown in a 2015 file photo.
Middle East Forum Online
The Fragile Keystone: Egypt’s Mismanagement, Israel’s Security, and the Post-Election Middle East
The Root of Cairo’s Vulnerability Is Fundamentally Economic
October 22, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
The East-West pipeline to Yanbu allows Saudi Arabia to avoid loading all its crude at Gulf terminals exposed to disruption around Hormuz. It is a meaningful hedge, not an escape from geography.
Middle East Forum Online
Saudi Oil Pipelines and Egypt’s Energy Links Protect Regimes, Not Just Trade
Their Push for Secure Trade Also Protects Centralized Power, Leaving Citizens to Bear the Costs with Little Accountability
October 20, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, born on November 15, 1935, won the Palestinian presidential election in January 2005 for a four-year term that expired in January 2009. No subsequent presidential election has renewed his electoral mandate. Image: Abbas speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on September 21, 2023.
Middle East Forum Online
Abbas Delays Palestinian Elections Until 2027; Who Will Control the West Bank After Him?
Future Financial Assistance Must Be Tied Directly to Clear Budgeting, Independent Audits, and Strict Safeguards Against Political Misuse
October 15, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Israel’s first official defense pavilion at the Marrakech Air Show highlights growing military ties with Morocco, as the fruits of the Abraham Accords move beyond diplomatic meetings to factories. Image: Royal Moroccan Air Force Moroccan F-16 fighter jet at the 2016 Marrakech Air Show.
Middle East Forum Online
Morocco Turns Israeli Weapons Technology Into Defense Industry as Algeria Watches
Rabat Moves Toward Local Production of Israeli-Designed Weapons Systems and Potential Exports to NATO Markets
October 13, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
The danger is that the political system built around Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (above) produces a succession crisis in which the next Egyptian leadership inherits the military capability, public anger, and strategic geography of today's Egypt, but not necessarily today's relationship with Israel.
Middle East Forum Online
October 7 Taught Israel a Brutal Lesson; Egypt Is the Next Test
Israel Must Prepare for Risks from Egypt’s Military Power and Political Uncertainty
October 9, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
President Donald Trump addresses the U.N. General Assembly, September 22, 2026.
Middle East Forum Online
Trump Gave Morocco the Sahara, but Can He Actually End the Conflict?
The Harder Question Is Whether Washington Can Turn That Recognition Into a Settlement That Morocco Can Accept, Algeria Can Live With, Polisario Can Enter, and the U.N. Can Endorse
October 8, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
While the IDF dismantle terror infrastructure across the Gaza Strip, an internal election has taken place inside the underground leadership of Hamas. During a recent vote to select the head of Hamas's Gaza political bureau, the initial round failed to yield a winner because a significant portion of voting delegates submitted blank ballots.
Middle East Forum Online
Hamas’s Underground Elections Show What Israel Has Yet to Destroy
The Elections Show the Terror Group Is Still Working to Preserve Its Political and Governing Structure
October 2, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
On September 16, Israel and Morocco announced plans to elevate their diplomatic missions to embassies, appoint ambassadors, expand flights and advance investment and trade agreements. The Abraham Accords’ durability depends on making cooperation normal, practical, and useful. Morocco can maintain its regional positions while pursuing cooperation with Israel where interests overlap.
Middle East Forum Online
The Iron Wall in Rabat: Why Morocco’s Political Shift Won’t Touch the Abraham Accords
As Fatima Ezzahra El Mansouri Takes the Helm as Morocco’s First Female Prime Minister, Israel’s Most Resilient North African Alliance Remains Bulletproof
October 1, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
While Western navies expend high-cost interceptors to defend commercial shipping, China is positioning itself as an increasingly permanent security actor across African and Middle Eastern waters. This strategy rests on a clear three-part foundation: intelligence infrastructure, operational military exercises coupled with high-level diplomacy, and expanding regional defense ties.
Middle East Forum Online
China Is Turning the Red Sea Into a New Security Front
Beijing Is Transforming Its Commercial Footprint Into a Consequential Intelligence and Military Architecture
September 27, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
When a regime in Tehran begins treating French verbs as a national security threat, it is sending an unmistakable message about its readiness for confrontation.
Middle East Forum Online
Why Is Tehran Terrified of French Verbs?
Iranian Judicial Authorities Ordered the Closure of the Centre de Langue Française in Tehran, a Language Institute Affiliated with the French Embassy
September 23, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Middle East Forum Online
Erdoğan’s Quiet Squeeze: Turkey Just Closed a Key Iranian Financial Channel
Bank Mellat’s Istanbul Closure Exposes the Limits of Ankara’s Defiance of U.S. Sanctions.
September 22, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
On September 14, 2026, the United States Treasury Department sanctioned Russia's financial giant VTB, explicitly targeting its role in helping sanctioned Iranian banks maintain international correspondent-banking relationships. Meanwhile, official analysis from the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission highlighted how Chinese commercial networks continue to sustain Tehran's access to vital oil revenue and critical dual-use technology.
Middle East Forum Online
Israel Destroyed Iran’s Weapons Sites. Can Russia and China Rebuild Them?
Russian Banking Channels and Chinese Oil Revenue and Dual-Use Technology Could Help Tehran Rebuild Its Military Capabilities over Time
September 22, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Israel and the Kingdom of Morocco formally agreed to upgrade their respective diplomatic liaison offices to full embassies and appoint official ambassadors. Accompanied by mutually agreed steps to expand direct commercial aviation routes and finalize key bilateral agreements on investment protection and double-taxation prevention by the end of 2026, the decision represented a further step in the evolution of their 2020 normalization framework.
Middle East Forum Online
Israel and Morocco Are Redrawing the Strategic Map of North Africa
Behind the Formal Diplomatic Language Lies a Vastly Broader, Far More Complex, and Highly Consequential Regional Narrative
September 18, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
The rupture is not a bilateral spat. It exposes a widening realignment in which Morocco, the United Arab Emirates, and Israel occupy overlapping strategic space while Algeria’s traditional model of influence faces mounting pressure.
Middle East Forum Online
Algeria Just Severed Ties with the United Arab Emirates; Israel Is the Quiet Winner
September 15, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
While international bodies and foreign governments continue to recognize a single Sudanese state on paper, the territorial reality increasingly reflects two rival centers of authority, surrounded by contested zones and smaller armed administrations.
Middle East Forum Online
Sudan Is Dividing Quietly: Is the War Creating Two States?
Sudan Is Developing a de Facto Territorial and Administrative Partition, Without a Formal Division of Sovereignty
September 15, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
When tens of thousands of unauthorized migrants crossed into the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in late July 2026, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez (above) faced a catastrophic breakdown of border control and European confidence.
Middle East Forum Online
Sánchez’s Scapegoat: How Spain Uses Israel to Mask Its Border Crisis
The Spanish Leader Claimed That Digital Networks Linked to Israel and Russia Spread Online Hoaxes That Exacerbated the Post-Crisis Fallout
September 13, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
American policy has remained tethered for too long to an obsolete “One Somalia” framework that penalizes success and rewards incompetence. By contrast, the emerging alignment between Ethiopia and Somaliland offers a functional, self-sustaining security framework.
Middle East Forum Online
Cairo’s Pivot, Ethiopia’s Alignment: Horn of Africa’s Security Shift
To Secure Freedom of Navigation and Counter Adversary Influence, Washington Must Realign Its Strategy and Actively Back Somaliland
September 12, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stood on the summit of Mount Hermon (above) inside Syrian territory on September 9, 2026, flanked by Defense Minister Israel Katz and senior IDF commanders, and delivered a clear strategic message. He declared that Israel now exercises control from the peak of Hermon to the Yarmouk River and westward toward the Mediterranean, an operational dominance the country had never previously held.
Middle East Forum Online
Israel Holds the High Ground, Iranian Axis Severely Weakened
September 10, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
The kinetic actions off Kharg Island generate an elevated risk environment for Israel's offshore natural gas infrastructure, specifically the Leviathan, Tamar and Karish production fields. Image: the Leviathan natural gas field off the coast of Israel.
Middle East Forum Online
The Kharg Trap: How U.S. Strikes in Hormuz Put Israel’s Mediterranean Gas Infrastructure at Risk
Iran Favors Asymmetric Target Substitution, Shifting the Burden Toward High-Value, Vulnerable Western-Aligned Strategic Assets
September 10, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
this national election is also the first legislative vote conducted in the aftermath of the October 7, 2023 assault and the prolonged multi-front conflict that subsequently expanded across Gaza, the West Bank, Lebanon, and Iran
Middle East Forum Online
Middle East Is Watching Israel’s Election to See If It Still Has the Strength to Deter Iran
If Israeli Voters Elect a Government Committed to Unyielding National Resolve and Military Capability, Israel’s Strategic Value Across the Middle East Will Remain Intact
September 8, 2026
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Amine Ayoub