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
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
The operational mechanics of this proxy architecture rely on low-cost, contract-style execution. Handler networks linked to Iranian intelligence recruit local operatives, often disaffected youth or petty criminals, using encrypted messaging channels to conduct low-tech attacks in exchange for financial payments. Plausible deniability is built directly into the operational design.
Middle East Forum Online
The Front Line Is Everywhere: Why Europe Must Dismantle Tehran’s Hybrid Terror Network
Iran-Linked Networks Have Exploited Open Borders, Civil Liberties, and Gaps in Counter-Terrorism Coordination to Establish Cells Across the Continent
September 4, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
On August 30, 2026, political delegates in Tripoli signed a final framework agreement sponsored by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. However, less than 24 hours after the signing ceremony, serious executive infighting exposed how procedural maneuvering among political elites continues to imperil Libya’s path toward stability. Seafront view of Tripoli, Libya, February 11, 2021.
Middle East Forum Online
Internal Cracks in Libya’s Executive Threaten New U.N.-Backed 4+4 Electoral Deal
To Break This Pattern of Elite Stagnation, the United States Must Replace Passive Diplomatic Support with Decisive Leadership
September 3, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Middle East Forum Online
The Commander Who Smashed ISIS Just Surrendered to Syria’s Ex–Al-Qaeda President
Mazloum Abdi’s Surrender Ends the Kurdish Military Experiment and Consolidates Power Under Ahmed al-Sharaa
August 28, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Middle East Forum Online
Jordan’s China Pivot Creates a New Security Risk for Israel
Amman Is Not Abandoning Washington or Jerusalem, but Chinese Digital Infrastructure Near the Jordan Valley Could Create New Intelligence and Cyber Vulnerabilities
August 26, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Middle East Forum Online
Israel Just Redrew the Map in Syria and Lebanon. Containment Is Over and Forward Deterrence Has Begun
A New Israeli Doctrine Takes Shape across the Northern Front
August 24, 2026
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Amine Ayoub
Hamas's willingness to pivot to a political role under current military pressure reflects a rational adaptation to survive, not an ideological shift toward peace. Granting political legitimacy or administrative oversight to a movement whose foundational tenets remain unchanged ensures the eventual regeneration of its military infrastructure.
Middle East Forum Online
A Suit Doesn’t Absolve October 7: Hamas Is Buying Time for the Next War
Diplomatic Fantasies About a ‘Political Hamas’ Ignore Doctrine, History and the Body Count
August 21, 2026
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Amine Ayoub