Azra Hoosen | ah@radioislam.co.za
25 April 2025 | 13:00 CAT
2 min read

In this week’s Middle East Report on Radio Islam International, Dr James Dorsey, award-winning scholar, journalist, and senior fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore, unpacked several critical developments shaping the region, from growing discontent in Gaza to Saudi Arabia’s strategic recalibration ahead of US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit.

Dorsey addressed the unprecedented anti-Hamas protests in Gaza, where demonstrators are demanding an end to the war. “We have a situation where you essentially have Hamas fighting against Israel, Israel fighting against Hamas. Neither of the populations, at least to some degree, wants to see this war continue. Gazans are tired,” he said.

While the protests have drawn international attention, Dorsey cautioned against oversimplifying the message. “These demonstrations, they’re anti-US, they’re anti-Israel and anti-international community. Gazans feel totally abandoned,” he said.

Polls reveal a sharp decline in Hamas’s popularity. “Hamas’s popularity is in the single digits. It’s 6%. Five point three percent of Gazans, if elections were held today, would vote for Hamas,” Dorsey highlighted. Despite this, many Gazans still support armed struggle. “That is to say, the largest majority of Gazans, if one looks at the polls, want a negotiated solution. Still, 40% do not denounce an armed struggle, and the two do not need to be mutually exclusive,” he added.

Dorsey stressed that one must be very careful when interpreting anti-Hamas protests—or, for that matter, anti-Netanyahu protests—because the picture on both sides is essentially a mirror image.

Beitar Movement supports US crackdown on pro-Palestinian speech

Turning to the United States, Dorsey discussed how the Israeli far-right youth movement Beitar, affiliated with Prime Minister Netanyahu’s Likud party, is supporting the Trump administration’s suppression of pro-Palestinian speech. “It doesn’t just seem like that. That is what’s happening,” Dorsey said.

Beitar, he explained, is cooperating with American Jewish far-right organisations. “It’s the one that’s often supplying the names of Palestinian students who are arrested and picked up. Mohsen Mahdawi, Usmeir Ozturk, and Mahmoud Khalil, all of these people,” he said.

According to Dorsey, this collaboration is causing unease within mainstream American Jewish communities. They feel that they are being set up, ultimately to be blamed for this crackdown on education, which is going to cost the United States dearly. They’ve now begun to speak out, saying that this has gone too far, that, whatever one considers pro-Palestinian speech to be, even if one does consider that to be anti-Semitic or racist, which obviously it is not. But nonetheless, that still is not a crime under US law,” he explained.

Iran’s strategy: Appealing to Trump’s instincts

Dorsey noted that Iran is reshaping its nuclear negotiations to align with Trump’s political and business sensibilities. “Iran has said in advance of the next round of negotiations that it wants to build 19 nuclear reactors… and that American companies would be welcome to participate in those projects. That is trying to appeal to Trump’s business sense,” he said.

Iran is also signalling openness to a broader agreement than the 2015 nuclear deal. “They want an agreement that goes beyond that,” Dorsey said, while warning that differing expectations could complicate talks.

Saudi Arabia reassesses priorities ahead of Trump Visit

Trump’s upcoming visit is pushing Saudi Arabia to re-evaluate its strategic agenda. “The establishment of diplomatic relations [with Israel] remains on the table,” Dorsey noted. However, the Gaza war has hardened Saudi conditions: “It now wants an irretrieval commitment to a Palestinian state which is going to be hard to obtain,” he added.

Other pressing issues include a potential defence pact with the US and nuclear technology agreements. “So far, Saudi Arabia has rejected that because it has uranium and wants to do its own enrichment,” he explained.

Economically, Gulf states are grappling with challenges spurred by Trump’s tariff policies and falling oil prices. “They’re going to have to cut back on expenditure. They’re going to have to cut back on mega projects.”

Nevertheless, the promise of substantial Saudi and Emirati investment in the US remains enticing. “There’s a promise of up to $2.4 trillion in Saudi and Emirati investment in the United States. That is not something that Trump wants to lose and may make him more amenable in these discussions,” he said.

As tensions and diplomacy collide across the region, Dorsey’s analysis highlights a volatile but pivotal moment for the Middle East.

LISTEN to the full interview with Ml Sulaimaan Ravat and Dr James M. Dorsey, here. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Dr. James M. Dorsey is an award-winning journalist, scholar, and Senior Fellow at the National University of Singapore’s Middle East Institute. He is the author of ‘The Turbulent World of Middle East Soccer’.