Kim Ghattas on Gaza, the Middle East and the day after

Ever since the events of October 7th 2023, the world can no longer avert its gaze from Gaza and the Westbank. With journalist Kim Ghattas and Clingendael-researcher Erwin van Veen we will discuss what came before the 7th of October and analyse the role of key regional players such as Iran and Saudi Arabia.
‘At its core, the current turmoil in the Middle East is about the longest occupation in modern history, one that leaves the Palestinians dispossessed while Israel quests relentlessly for its security’, says Kim Ghattas. But in understanding the events of last year, Ghattas argues that the regional context is a key component.
Kim Ghattas (The Atlantic, Financial Times) shines a light on the latest dynamics, putting the war in Gaza in regional and historical context. Together with Middle East expert Erwin van Veen Ghattas will discuss the role and goals of regional powers such as Iran, Saudi Arabia, Hamas and Hezbollah. How is the war in Israel and Palestine affecting the wider region? Will we soon see concrete steps towards a Palestinian state? Is there a durable way out of this? Or, is peace less attainable the longer the war goes on?
"While the focus should remain on Israel’s destructive military campaign in Gaza and the Israeli hostages still held by Hamas, the increasingly fraught regional context matters just as much."
- Kim Ghattas
About Kim Ghattas:
Kim Ghattas is an Emmy award winning journalist based in Beirut. With more than 20 years of experience in print and broadcast media, Ghattas is a leading commentator on current affairs in the Middle East. Currently, Kim Ghattas is a writer for The Atlantic magazine and contributing editor to the Financial Times. Guided by her expertise, Ghattas has written books such as The Secretary: A Journey with Hillary Clinton from Beirut to the Heart of American Power and Black Wave: Saudi Arabia, Iran, and the Forty-Year Rivalry That Unraveled Culture, Religion, and Collective Memory in the Middle East.
About Erwin van Veen:
Erwin van Veen is a senior research fellow at Clingendael’s Conflict Research Unit (CRU). His direct area of expertise are the relationships between political order, protest and violence in countries like Iraq, Israel/Palestine, Syria and Turkey. Furthermore, Erwin is a member of the United Nations Security Sector Reform Advisory Network, the advisory group to the NATO mission in Iraq (NMI) and a fellow at the Center for Syria Studies at the University of St. Andrews.

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One way or another, Kim Ghattas brings warmth in my heart. (Saw her ín Buitenhof).