![Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City November 18, 2012. Israel bombed militant targets in Gaza for a fifth straight day on Sunday, launching aerial and naval attacks as its military prepared for a possible ground invasion, though Egypt saw "some indications" of a truce ahead. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (GAZA - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR3AJTN](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/04/RTR3AJTN.jpg/RTR3AJTN.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=wfSJI1yb)
Jean-Loup Samaan is a researcher in the Middle East department of the NATO Defense College. His current research projects include the Israel-Hezbollah standoff since their 2006 war, the Syrian civil war and its impact on the region and the evolution of the regional security system in the Gulf. On Twitter: @jlsamaan
![Smoke rises after an Israeli air strike in Gaza City November 18, 2012. Israel bombed militant targets in Gaza for a fifth straight day on Sunday, launching aerial and naval attacks as its military prepared for a possible ground invasion, though Egypt saw "some indications" of a truce ahead. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah (GAZA - Tags: CONFLICT) - RTR3AJTN](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/04/RTR3AJTN.jpg/RTR3AJTN.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=wfSJI1yb)
![U.S. President Barack Obama walks with Jordan's King Abdullah II to a ceremony at Al Hummar Palace in Amman March 22, 2013. REUTERS/Larry Downing (JORDAN - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3FC1J](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/04/1-RTR3FC1J.jpg/1-RTR3FC1J.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=CQ2wX6Sb)
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Jean-Loup Samaan
![A view is seen of damaged buildings at Baba Amro neighborhood in Homs city, after clashes between forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and fighters of the Free Syrian Army, is seen in this handout photograph distributed by Syria's national news agency SANA March 27, 2013. REUTERS/SANA/Handout (SYRIA - Tags: CONFLICT CIVIL UNREST RELIGION) ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. THIS PICTURE IS DISTRIBUTED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. FOR EDITORIA](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/1-RTXXZRP.jpg/1-RTXXZRP.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=t5wd47nd)
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Jean-Loup Samaan
![Israel's Defence Minister Ehud Barak (L) and his Greek counterpart Dimitris Avramopoulos watch a military parade at the Defence Ministry in Athens January 10, 2012. REUTERS/Yiorgos Karahalis (GREECE - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2W3DY](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/RTR2W3DY.jpg/RTR2W3DY.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=6Dh8accS)
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Jean-Loup Samaan
![A Palestinian man walks near placards designed by an activist depicting U.S. President Barack Obama, ahead of his visit to the region, in the West Bank city of Ramallah March 12, 2013. The White House has yet to officially announce the dates for the trip, but Israeli news media have reported that Obama will arrive in the region on March 20. REUTERS/Ammar Awad (WEST BANK - Tags: POLITICS) - RTR3EVUU](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/1-RTR3EVUU.jpg/1-RTR3EVUU.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=yjRxxVkv)
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Jean-Loup Samaan
![An Arrow II missile interceptor is displayed in front of journalists at an Israeli air defence command in the Palmahim military base south of Tel Aviv May 12, 2011. An upgraded version of the Israeli air defence system, designed to blow up ballistic missiles in space, could be rushed into deployment before its 2014-2015 target date, a senior officer said on Thursday. REUTERS/ Nir Elias (ISRAEL - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR2MBG1](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/03/1-RTR2MBG1.jpg/1-RTR2MBG1.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=LAE03HA1)
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Jean-Loup Samaan
![Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel (L) walks past the Patriot system as she meets with troops from a German NATO Patriot missile battery at a Turkish military base in Kahramanmaras February 24, 2013. China and Russia are increasingly realizing that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's time is up, Merkel said on Sunday, as she visited German troops stationed with NATO Patriot missiles close to the Turkish-Syrian frontier. REUTERS/Murad Sezer (TURKEY - Tags: POLITICS MILITARY) - RTR3E7WR](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/Patriots.jpg/Patriots.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=jRLUC22W)
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Jean-Loup Samaan
![An Israeli soldier looks on as a United Nations jeep drives past the Quneitra border crossing between Israel and Syria, in the Golan Heights, on the Israeli side of the 1973 ceasefire line with Syria January 31, 2013. Israeli forces attacked a convoy on the Syrian-Lebanese border overnight, a Western diplomat and regional security sources said on Wednesday, as concern has grown in the Jewish state over the fate of Syrian chemical and advanced conventional weapons. REUTERS/Baz Ratner (POLITICS CIVIL UNREST)](/sites/default/files/styles/article_header/public/almpics/2013/02/1-RTR3D70R.jpg/1-RTR3D70R.jpg?h=2d235432&itok=a3thprcU)
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Jean-Loup Samaan