AboutArticles by Michael Jansen

Winning vote

04 Jul 2024

Iranians return to polling stations today to decide whether hardline conservative Saeed Jalili or moderate reformist Masoud Pezeshkian will win more than 50 per cent of the vote and become...

Elderly factor damaged Biden’s attacking approach in debate

30 Jun 2024

When US President Joe Biden lost last Thursday’s televised debate with rival Donald Trump age was touted as the causal factor. Biden is elderly 81 while Trump is a senior...

Decision time

27 Jun 2024

Turn-out could decide the outcome in today’s Iranian presidential election called a year early following the death last month of incumbent Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. The country’s 60...

Tangling with Hizbollah will be different for Israel

23 Jun 2024

Last week, the Israeli army’s top brass approved a plan to invade south Lebanon, drive Hizbollah northwards 40 kilometres from the border, and occupy the area. During his visit to...

Untrue claims

20 Jun 2024

The United States likes to promote itself as the world’s “indispensable nation,” a superpower with a moral compass which promotes the rule of law and human rights. Nothing can be...

Two-state solution needs to be done to avoid more bloodshed

16 Jun 2024

Palestinian support for armed resistance against Israel’s 57-year occupation has risen from 46 to 54 per cent in three months, according to the latest opinion poll conducted by the Ramallah-based...

The Normandy campaign

13 Jun 2024

Many years ago, a friend and I visited the five beaches on France’s Normandy coast where allied forces landed on June 6, 1944, to launch the combined offensive against the...

Gaza could see dreadful levels of hunger, death soon

10 Jun 2024

Uncertain of the outcome, Hizbollah and Israel are sliding down the slippery slope towards full-scale war. This is far more important for Israel as Hizbollah can inflict far greater damage...

Character vs destiny

06 Jun 2024

According to the ancient Greek philosopher Herclitus, “Character is destiny, meaning the inner qualities, or the values, of an individual determines who he or she is. Character is formed by...

Joe Biden’s peace plan on Gaza has backfired

02 Jun 2024

US President Joe Biden’s call for an end to the war was dismissed within 24 hours by Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu. He stated, “Israel’s conditions for ending the war...

Michael Jansen

The author, a well-respected observer of Middle East affairs, has three books on the Arab-Israeli conflict.