In this conversation, Mouin Rabbani examines Gaza within the international system — focusing on power, policy, and the political choices that sustain the status quo.

We discuss regional dynamics, the sidelining of international law, the limits of the two-state framework, U.S. policy options, and the internal Palestinian political crisis.

This is Part II of a two-part episode titled The Gaza Exception.

In this conversation:

00:00 Introduction

12:03 The tunnel economy

14:30 Gaza as a national security issue for Egypt

18:39 Arab responses to the Gaza crisis

39:55 Who pays the price for sidelining international law

42:10 The two-state solution: from policy to slogan

47:20 A U.S. weapons embargo as a policy shift

49:47 Why Mahmoud Abbas’s departure could reshape Palestinian politics

52:03 The two-state solution as a question of political will

56:08 How the Abraham Accords marginalized the Palestinian question

This is a full, uncensored conversation.
Frontlines & Backrooms documents long-form dialogue — not soundbites.