Is the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) leadership, which is currently proposing to seek United Nations
recognition of a Palestinian state along the pre-1967 border, about to shake up
the Israeli-Palestinian paralysis in a game-changing way? The answer for now
would appear to be "no." Both U.S. and EU officials were quick to
distance themselves from the idea and label it premature. For their part, the
Israelis took umbrage at this hint of Palestinian unilateralism. In case anyone
Today Flynt Leverett, a research fellow who specializes in Iran at The New America Foundation, shares the view of many experts, who are doubtful of the chances ...
"This will recalibrate the way the Obama administration thinks of moving forward with the Iranian nuclear issue," said Nicholas Schmidle, a fellow at the New America Foundation. "There are voices now that say the regime may be in danger and therefore ...
The morning after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu finds his own formula for embracing the two-state solution - perhaps in Cairo next week or in Washington the week after - will we wake up to a new Middle East? I somehow doubt it. There may be internal political criticism (which Netanyahu can harness) and some may call his move courageous, but the focus will soon shift to settling into a diplomatic process in which the ultimate goal of two states is… more
A sense of the absurd hovers over the current negotiations
to form a new governing coalition in Israel. After previously serving in
governments together, Yisrael Beiteinu and Shas are belatedly discovering that
they might just be incompatible. Having secured a clear mandate for a
government composed of right, ultra-right and religious-right partners,
Benjamin Netanyahu appears to be distinctly unenthusiastic about such a
prospect. While Tzipi Livni's principal stance seems principled rather than
absurd, it too contains an element of the unreal.
President Barack Obama has been thrust into center stage in Israel's
general election. Not by choice, of course. Democratic hopeful Obama met with
the leading candidates during his own campaign swing through the Middle East
last July, and his newly appointed special Middle East
envoy, George Mitchell, met with them all this week. If it were up to the U.S. president,
one assumes that would be it.
For Israel, too, much is at stake. It's no fun to live in a Somalia, and no picnic either being its next-door neighbor. Daniel Levy, a senior fellow at the ...
No one should be surprised that president-elect
Barack Obama's first press conference, three days after his historic
November 4th victory, was devoted almost exclusively to the economy.
Obama was also quick to remind reporters that there is only one
president at a time, and his turn does not begin until January 20.
While domestic challenges will dominate his agenda, a not-insignificant
list of Middle East crises will confront America's 44th president as
well. Here are four of the more urgent issues in which Israel has a
keen interest,… more
