At this critical time for UK-Israel relations, and the Middle East as a region, we share this paper to provide factual information and context to a complex conflict – providing analysis regarding October 7, the situation in Gaza, and the backdrop to previous peace processes and anti-Israel propaganda.

It is important context to the conflict that October 7 was the worst terrorist attack in the history of Israel, and was more akin to an invasion. The attack on Israel was subsequently supported by Iran’s regional proxies and set the stage for regional war. There is no doubt that the motivation of October 7…

The US-Israel conflict with Iran has seen multiple phases since initial hostilities began on 13 June 2025 with the 12-Day War. It has been shaped by the willingness or unwillingness of US-Israel allies to join the conflict – as it has been for Iran by the willingness or unwillingness of its allies and proxies to join the fray.

As of 29 August 2026 the war’s current status is that of open ended US economic sanctions, ‘economic D-Day’, in conjunction with the US blockage of the Strait of Hormuz causing inflationary pressure and economic hardship for Iran…

The Knesset was dissolved on 17 July – formally triggering the countdown to Israel’s general election on 27 October.

It will be a historic election: the Netanyahu government, which came to power in December 2022, is only the second in Israeli history to complete a full term in office. The outgoing 25th Knesset is also the first since 1988 to hold elections after a full four-year term…

With elections required by October, Israel faces its most consequential vote in decades.

On the surface, Israel’s general election race looks remarkably stable. With less than four months to go until an election must be held on 27 October, polls show the two big blocs – Benjamin Netanyahu’s governing coalition of right-wing and ultra-Orthodox parties and the more ideologically eclectic opposition – both short of a majority in the Knesset – but with the long-serving prime minister’s opponents much closer to the 61-seat finishing line…

Israelis vote this year in what many commentators view as the most consequential election in the Jewish state’s 78-year history. The election takes place against the backdrop of Israel’s worst-ever terror attack - and the resulting conflict with the Palestinians, as well as two unprecedented direct confrontations with Iran.

The election must be held by 27 October 2026, but it will likely come sooner with legislation to dissolve parliament now advancing through the Knesset. Analysts suggest the poll might be held in early September, with Netanyahu believed to be keen to avoid the elections falling too close to the anniversary of the 7 October attacks.

ELNET UK calls on the government to fast-track legislation and proscribe the IRGC without delay.

With every major UK ally having now acted, the case for the proscription is beyond question. The IRGC poses a direct, documented and escalating threat to people in the UK. The time for legislative delay has passed.

The Iranian regime appears to have weathered the most challenging and widespread protests against its rule since the 1979 Islamic revolution. But it has done so only by engaging in an unprecedentedly brutal crackdown in which thousands have been killed and imprisoned – with reports suggesting that mass arrests are continuing even after the protests have, for now at least, been quelled. The ferocity of what has been termed “a state-ordered massacre” is an indication of not only the existential challenge which the regime faces, but also of its weakness and vulnerability…

The latest in our Explainer series examines the Trump administration's 2025 National Security Strategy (NSS), released on 5 December 2025, and its implications for Europe, Israel, and the Middle East.

This document sets out a clear "America First" vision, sharply diverging from previous administrations by downgrading Europe (criticised for insufficient defence spending, economic decline, and civilisational challenges including migration and loss of national identity) while presenting a markedly more positive assessment of the Middle East…