Louis René Beres
ARTICLES BY: Louis René Beres
Why a ‘Demilitarized’ Palestinian State Will Not Work and Conflicts with International Law
On May 6, 2025, National Unity leader Benny Gantz reaffirmed the obvious: the establishment of a Palestinian state would seriously undermine Israel’s security. Gantz concluded...
Is the Prospect of Nuclear War Really a Risk of the Past?
In an impressively-prepared television documentary, The Fog of War, one-time US Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara warned about the limits of rationality in world politics --...
Israel and the Middle East: Could There Be a Regional Nuclear War?
Current synergies between Palestinian statehood and regional nuclear war remain generally ignored. Once formally established, a Palestinian state could significantly impact the Israel-Iran balance of...
Why Palestinian Terrorism Is Never Legal or Justified: A Fact-Based Retort
In a world of international anarchy, law-based counter-terrorism is never just about strategy, tactics, or doctrine. Whatever an insurgency’s specific features, this critical arena of...
What the Law Actually Says About Targeting Jihadist Terrorists
During the coming year, the United States, in occasional concert with Israel, must confront expanding terrorist threats. Topping pertinent concerns in Washington and Jerusalem will...
Learning From the Wise Men of Chelm: Israel and a Palestinian State
A boy had been given money to buy things at the grocery store. On the way, he lost the money. Someone saw him looking for...
Israel Must Make Its Nuclear Intentions Clear in Order to Stay Safe in an Escalating Middle East
Recent events in Syria underscore the changing geo-strategic landscape in the Middle East. For Israel, although the fall of Assad will likely weaken Iran, it...
Vladimir Putin Has Threatened to Use Nuclear Weapons; What Would This Mean for Israel?
Soon, Israel will need to make critical decisions on launching preemptive strikes against Iran. Such non-nuclear defensive actions -- expressions of anticipatory self-defense” under international...
The Targeted Killing of Hamas Leader Yahya Sinwar Was Completely Legal
In assessing Israel’s targeted killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar, two separate but overlapping standards should be applied: legal and operational. Though these kinds of...
What Would a Palestinian State Mean for Regional Security, and a War with Iran?
Though significant, connections between Palestinian Arab statehood and nuclear war remain generally ignored. For Israel, the seemingly discrete perils of war with Iran and Palestinian...
Nuclear War in the Middle East
Contrary to conventional wisdom, Israel’s “Iran nuclear problem” is not principally about enemy leaders who might go mad. The more worrisome existential problem for Israel...
As Threats Rise, Israel Must Get Rid of Its Nuclear Ambiguity
Listening to Iran’s repeated threats to initiate aggressive war with Israel, something seems to have been overlooked: Israel is a nuclear power; Iran is not. Iran...
Israel’s Chief Mission Is to Protect Its Citizens From a Nuclear Iran
“The safety of the People,” exclaimed Roman statesman Cicero, “is the highest law.” Accordingly, Israel must do whatever possible to protect its populations not only from...
Israel’s Understanding of Time
JNS.org - For Israel, it’s all about chronology. Time represents both the most critical determinant of Israel’s survival and the context within which such survival...
