Abstract

Regional Analysis 130 Israel–Palestinian Territories 154 Conflict Summaries Conflict Reports Yemen 164 Egypt 186 Syria 134 Libya 174 Turkey 192 Iraq 144 Regional Outlook 198 People wave Syrian-opposition flags at a rally marking 11 years since the uprising against the Assad regime began, Afrin, northern Syria, 18 March 2022 Overview In the Middle East, the decade that followed the Arab In Focus: De-escalation Trends in the Spring was bloody and violent. The hopes of the Middle East 2011 protests, which led to the departure of three so- called ‘presidents for life’ – Zayn al-Abidin Ben Ali in Current Middle Eastern conflicts can broadly be Tunisia, Hosni Mubarak in Egypt and Ali Abdullah described as stalemates. Domestic and foreign Saleh in Yemen – and eventually Muammar Gadhafi actors alike are finding themselves unable to achieve in Libya, quickly gave way to infighting and political their various political goals through military means. fragmentation. The following years were marked by This realisation has led to a series of de-escalations. the rise of the Islamic State (ISIS), foreign interven- However, for the most part these measures are due tions and civil wars. to exhaustion and may not be the cause for opti- As