The situation in Syria remains complex and fluid, yet the path forward from Bashar al-Assad's oppressive regime is becoming clearer. The opposition forces that liberated Syria from the dictator who built brutal prisons have emerged from radical Islamic movements, including former ISIS affiliates from Iraq.

Nevertheless, their leader, Ahmed al-Shara, previously known as Abu Muhammad al-Julani, strikes a different tone. His statements have resonated positively across Syria's diverse spectrum of ethnic groups, religious denominations, and communities.

Al-Shara, a devout Muslim and former ISIS member who founded Jabhat al-Nusra (now Hayat Tahrir al-Sham), appears to have evolved. Those who have met with him recently describe a pragmatic leader working to adapt to the new reality he helped create in Syria.

Regarding Israel, al-Shara sees no conflict and has declared he will not allow attacks against Israel from Syrian territory. He emphasized that he and the new leadership are committed to the 1974 Disengagement Agreement on the Golan Heights. His government has even requested the UN to extend UNDOF's mandate in Golan.

Sources close to al-Shara say regional states should support the Syrian people and make clear to the new leader that without including all segments of society in building the new Syria, he cannot be a regional partner. These sources explain that while he seeks rapprochement with the West and Israel, he lacks experience in regional politics and power struggles. He has an understanding with Turkey, but serious disagreements remain over issues like northeastern Syria's integrity.

Those familiar with Syria understand that Assad's fall surprised not only Israel, Turkey, and the entire Iranian axis, but also the opposition forces involved and their leader himself.

Given the opposition leadership's inexperience, regional and Western pressure is needed to prevent the Islamization of Syria simply because of its diverse religious groups and denominations. This requires establishing leadership representing various factions and streams, while maintaining Sunni predominance across both religious and secular groups.

Al-Shara looks to Israel first before making decisions regarding the Golan. He does not condemn or complain about Israeli strikes on former regime bases; rather, this helps him build a new army with Western weapons and end Russian dependence following Iran's complete withdrawal from Syria.

Conversely, he hopes Israel will evaluate him and his actions. His circle says the groundwork exists for good, productive neighborly relations. They emphasize that al-Shara could potentially sign a peace agreement with Israel and resolve the Golan issue with all its implications.

A close associate stresses that Israel is not an enemy and its actions will determine future relations. The new Damascus anticipates and desires an end to hostility, building new relationships benefiting both peoples and the entire region.

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While some in Israel are eyeing a continuation of the war after the ceasefire is over, in Saudi Arabia and other countries, there are already discussions underway over what the post-war reality will look like.

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Senior Saudi officials say that everyone agrees that Hamas will not stay in the Gaza Strip and that this murderous regime will not return to the Gazan arena or to the West Bank.

Saudi Arabia is working on measures that would see a protracted diplomatic process involving all Gulf states along with Egypt and Jordan. Turkey will also participate in the process after Qatar enlisted its help in assisting Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, who has embarked on shuttle diplomacy worldwide to reach broad agreements that include China and Russia alongside the United States.

The emerging solution is based on the two-state solution as stipulated in the Arab Initiative from 2002,  with a demilitarized Palestinian state under international and Arab supervision.

The reconstruction of Gaza will be led by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, alongside other countries, and in the three years following the war, there will be an international and Arab mandate over Gaza.  A senior Saudi official involved in the developing plan said the international forces will be deployed in Palestinian Authority territories to assist in managing the day-to-day affairs, alongside security coordination with Israel until the completion of the delineation of the Palestinian state's map alongside Israel.

The proposed plan could become a reality if there is a new leadership running Israel that is neither extreme nor messianic. The Saudis believe that there will be a different government in Israel that will view the situation and the future through different lenses.

"The Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, has already blocked the phone numbers of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and all his aides and envoys," sources close to the palace say, emphasizing that he is aware that he needs to seek new partners in Israel to achieve normalization after resolving the Palestinian issue and establishing a demilitarized Palestinian state alongside the State of Israel. The sources also mentioned that the recent statements by the Egyptian president, in which he floated the idea of a Palestinian state, are designed to gauge the seriousness of the current Israeli government. They noted that the rejection of this proposal by Israel did not surprise anyone.

Nevertheless, alongside the military effort that Israel is conducting against Hamas, it must also look towards the day after and acknowledge that the Palestinian neighbor will remain in place and not disappear and that Arab Israelis will continue to demand civil equality. Therefore, Saudi sources say, measured and courageous steps must be taken towards a solution that ensures the future for everyone in this region. They promise that they will ensure this new reality will exist and address incitement and all related issues pertaining to an atmosphere of reconciliation and laying the groundwork for a tolerant and accepting environment based on true Islam, without distortions from Hamas and Iran.

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Israel is again trying to ignore the clear statements and hints from the Saudis during discussions with the Americans about normalization with Israel. The Saudis have made it clear to the Americans that there won't be normalization with Israel without resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, but Israel has preferred to ignore this and says that normalization with Saudi Arabia will happen without a solution or concessions on the Palestinian issue. During talks, the Israelis have even said that the Saudis don't really intend to solve the Palestinian question, and all their statements and declarations – even the reaffirming of the Arab Peace Initiative at the Arab League's Jeddah Summit – was lip service to Arab and Islamic public opinion.

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Israel, like the United States, is misreading the Saudi declarations, and doen't really think that the Saudis mean everything they say. When Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman and told the American interviewer on Fox News that a solution to the Palestinian question is a basic condition for normalization, Israel preferred to look for other statements and noted that bin Salman didn't say explicitly "the establishment of a Palestinian state" but "easing the life of Palestinians."

Some of the American officials told Israel that their impression is that the Saudis aren't insisting on the Palestinian issue, but President Joe Biden emphasized to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu the importance to the Saudis of a solution to the Palestinian question. From their perspective, this is a basic condition for moving toward peace. At the start of his meeting with Netanyahu in New York, Biden even declared that there is progress towards the two-state solution. Again in Israel, they decided to ignore it and continued to tell the country's citizens, like everyone else in the world, that according to diplomatic and security figures, they are extremely close to normalization. While Netanyahu and Biden are trying to sketch a map towards normalization, a solution to the Palestinian question, and the end of the conflict, the Saudis are distributing their official updated map in which "Palestine" is written instead of "Israel." This map was presented and approved in recent weeks by the Saudi General Authority for Survey and Geospatial Information. By the way, the map includes the two islands Tiran and Sanafir that Egypt transferred to Saudi Arabia around three years ago with Israeli approval.

Something else that Israel is trying to ignore is the fact that there is a king in Saudi Arabia called Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, and it's extremely difficult to see all his heritage being expressed through normalization with Israel. King Salman is one of the fathers of the Arab Peace Initiative, and there's no way this will be dropped from the Saudi agenda as long as he's still alive.

Another Saudi (and no less problematic) obstacle that has been placed in front of the Israeli prime minister on his way to normalization is the enrichment of uranium on Saudi soil. Regarding this problem, it's extremely difficult to imagine Israel agreeing to it without American guarantees and involvement, and what's more, bin Salman declared that if Iran had a nuclear bomb, then he would also try to get one, and it's not like it would be a big problem to acquire a nuclear bomb, since the Pakistani nuclear program is funded by the Saudis.

If Netanyahu had listened to what the Saudis told him 10 years ago and would have carried out the required steps – and, in terms of the composition of the Knesset and the government, it was much easier during his time than today – and he knows exactly to what I'm referring to – he would be proud today of the most significant achievement by an Israeli leader since Menachem Begin and Yitzhak Rabin and even both of them together, and, as noted by bin Salman in his interview with Fox News, this would really have been seen as a major historical achievement.

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There has been a flurry of reports from US officials on the possible normalization deal between Saudi Arabia and Israel under American auspices. Such reports dovetail with similar claims about a year ago that turned out to be divorced from reality. The US probably wants to create a new dialogue with Riyadh, and as a result, normalization with Israel has come up. 

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The Saudis have been listening and responding with questions and demands of their own. Most of the requests that have come out of Mohammed bin Salman's office deal with the US rather than with Israel. 

The Americans have tried to convince the Saudis that Israel's government is not ready for concrete steps and for resuming negotiations with the Palestinians; instead, they offered that Jerusalem make preliminary gestures such as announcing a settlement moratorium in Judea and Samaria (including east Jerusalem) and other measures to make life easier for Palestinians.

The Saudis, on the other hand, have not been impressed by the US offers, and insist that Israel take meaningful steps and enter into a real peace process with the Palestinians regardless of the makeup of the government. 

The Saudi palace knows full well that neither Benny Gantz nor Yair Lapid would be willing to sit in the government with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu or allow him to bask in the sunlight of having made peace with the kingdom. The Saudis also don't want to give Joe Biden's administration a present in the midst of the presidential campaign, in part because of the bad blood stemming from his attacks on bin Salman over the killing of Jamal Khashoggi. 

Senior officials in Saudi Arabia have also said that they have recently conducted polls among the public, from which it appears that an overwhelming majority of Saudis support peace with Israel – but only after the Palestinian issue is resolved. 

MBS is unlikely to modify his terms for a deal with Israel at this point. What's more, it appears that when it comes to handling the "Israeli" portfolio vis-a-vis the Americans, it is King Salman who is calling the shots, leaving MBS to deal with the requests made from Washington. The senior officials have also noted that Saudi Arabia's requests include sophisticated weapon systems (among them F-35s), creating nuclear power capabilities, a defense alliance, setting oil prices, preserving Saudi Arabia's status as the leader of the Arab-Muslim worlds, and a whole host of agreements on energy and trade. 

Saudi Arabia today is at a much more optimal place than it was a decade ago: It is courted by practically every world power – from China and rich southeast Asian powers to Russia and the EU, as well as by the UK, which has been trying to become an influential global country once again. 

The current Biden administration is of little interest to the royal palace, sources in Riyadh say, adding that the kingdom will wait until the outcome of the 2024 election is clear before potentially deciding on what's next. Until then, Netanyahu must rethink the current makeup of the Coalition and the way he has conducted himself vis-a-vis the Palestinians, a senior source in Saudi Arabia says. 

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The Qatar World Cup 2022 is an extremely rich source of colorful and interesting material for a variety of interests. Diverse studies on this specific World Cup will doubtlessly be filled with anthropological, sociological, and behavioral research, including a return to Middle Eastern studies and what we know about the Islamic culture that abounds in our neighboring states, and indeed within our own society.

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I am not seeking to revisit the issue of how Qatar was awarded the honor of hosting the tournament, who paid whom and how much – all that is already ancient history.

The Qatar World Cup has brought Israel face to face with an unpleasant truth and harsh reality that is extremely painful for Israelis, as for the first time all those Israelis who to date have been so enthusiastic about the Arab or Persian Gulf, have now had their first bitter taste of the rejection, disregard, and refusal to accept Israelis in an Arab Muslim state.

All those who claim that the inhabitants of the Gulf states harbor no ill will toward the State of Israel, have now seen their theory shot to pieces and have woken up to an entirely different reality. The news correspondents of the various Israeli media channels who so eagerly traveled to Qatar, placed their cameras in position waiting for the tens of thousands of fans from the Gulf and other Arab states to arrive and begin singing the praise of Israel and the Chosen People, but it didn't take that long before they found themselves the subject of contempt, ridicule and disdain, from those selfsame Arabs who have nothing against Israel, not to mention those who boldly declared that there is no such thing as Israel, as there is only Palestine.

As an Israeli journalist who has and still does visit Muslim and Arab states, I was far from surprised by the loud "no" resonating from the large majority of Arab fans who refused to be interviewed by any of the Israeli television channels.

Only someone who doesn't have the faintest idea of the current mindset in the Arab world, particularly that of the man on the street, would rush to position a camera and beg any passing Arab to take part in a vox pop interview for an Israeli media channel. It was most embarrassing to see an Israeli journalist beg, plead and even hug an interviewee during a live broadcast for being so gracious as to say a kind word about Israel, only to find out that he was referring to the Palestinians and not the Israelis at all.

This is a stinging slap in the face for anyone thinking that peace is just around the corner and that normalization with the Arab states is merely a question of time. This behavior of the average Arab citizen towards Israel is indicative of a depth of hostility that goes back more than 70 years, clearly underscoring the fact that the roots of the problem are still alive and kicking, if not indeed delivering a big, fat slap.

Whoever doesn't want to see things as they are is cordially invited to close their eyes, but the bitter and harsh (and for some the painful) reality is that if the Palestinian issue is not resolved in any shape or form that is acceptable to all parties, then we will not be welcome visitors in Arab states, even those with whom we have peace accords and normalization. We only have to go back to the era of signing the peace accords with Egypt to understand just how little progress we have made with the Egyptian people who are so hostile to Israel, and we have remained with the same mistaken paradigm of agreements between leaders alone.

The Qatar World Cup will surely continue to provide us with quality soccer, but it will also give us a direct glimpse into the fascinating world of the Muslim, Arab and other peoples of the region.

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Al-Jazeera reporter Shireen Abu Akleh was at the wrong place at the wrong time, but that in and of itself does not absolve those who caused her death of responsibility.

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The nature of a journalist's work is to be on the scene of various events, including clashes and exchanges of gunfire. As someone who has seen their fair share of such scenes, I can testify to the difficulty and risk posed to journalists doing their job professionally in such circumstances. I met Shireen and other colleagues from around the world under similar circumstances on more than one occasion. In those instances, we were fortunate to make it out alive. This time, Shireen was not as lucky.

Shireen's death is without question a tragic event for the Arab and international journalist community that covers the Palestinian conflict. Those responsible for her death, whoever they may be, must pay the price. But in the war of conflicting versions, it will be difficult to determine who was responsible for her killing and who exactly pulled the trigger.

As soon as Shireen's death was announced, the war over the public consciousness began. The Palestinian narrative is winning as usual, finding an attentive ear and understanding in the Arab world as well as large portions of the West.

I will not say Israel is responsible for her death before the circumstances have been clarified and all the necessary steps have been taken to discover the truth. But it is my experience in such cases that even if it turns out to be fictitious, the Palestinian version will emerge victorious. See, for example, the case of 12-year-old Muhammed al-Dura, who was killed under very similar circumstances in the Gaza Strip in 2000.

With an organized military, Israel is seen as the stronger side, while the Palestinians are seen as weak and occupied by Israel. The world tends to forget Palestinians' mistakes and support them even when they fire weapons without discretion and use journalists as human shields.

The death of an Al-Jazeera reporter once again brings the issue of purity of arms to the forefront of internal Israeli discourse, and there will be those who take advantage of the incident to emphasize their opinion either for or against a resolution to the conflict. The Israel Defense Forces will once again be at the center of controversy, and questions regarding the purity of arms of a military operating in occupied territories will once again be raised.

To my mind, it makes no difference how much effort Israel makes to explain its version of events. One difficult image or Palestinian death is enough to embarrass the entire State of Israel and its public diplomacy system.

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