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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

02/10/09
Challenges and Possibilities: A Palestinian Perspective  —Hashim Shawa, general manager, Bank of Palestine. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
02/05/09
Managing the Transition in U.S. Policy  —Brian Katulis, senior fellow, Center for American Progress. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
02/03/09
U.S. Leadership Necessary  —Lee H. Hamilton, president, Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars; former chairman, House Foreign Affairs Committee. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Peace Efforts Must Continue

“This is like hanging a 'closed for the season' sign on any peacemaking for the next year or so. You may get a government good at war-making, not peacemaking. It's really going to create a major headache for the administration.”
—Aaron David Miller, public policy fellow, Woodrow Wilson Center for International Scholars; former senior advisor for Arab-Israeli negotiations to U.S. State Department, February 10, 2009versus
  • “I'm not one who believes that time has run out on the two-state solution, but you need to see some active progress toward a two-state solution to convince people that it's worth arguing about. Therefore, I think even if the prospects of success are slim, [Special Envoy George] Mitchell has got to work on [the two-state solution] in order to keep pushing people to understand that's the only viable outcome.”
    —Daniel C. Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Visiting Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies, Princeton University; former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt, interview with Council on Foreign Relations, February 11, 2009

    • Middle East Analysis

    All items on West Bank/Gaza

      • Palestinians Gloomy As Israel Moves Right
      • News | Feb 12, 2009

      • Palestinians reacted gloomily to Israeli election results on Wednesday, as the likelihood rose of a more right-wing government opposed to returning land for a Palestinian state.

        But the self-rule Palestinian Authority (PA) said the next Israeli cabinet would be obliged to continue peace talks and meet international obligations. “The ascent of the Israeli right does not worry us,” President Mahmoud Abbas told Italy’s La Repubblica newspaper. “In whatever form, the government, once in power, will ultimately end up with responsibility,

        more

      • Challenges and Possibilities: A Palestinian Perspective
      • Original Commentary | Feb 10, 2009

      • Construction in Ramallah (AP)


        Can you tell us about the Palestinian economy and the differences and similarities between the West Bank and Gaza?

        I’m not going to bore you with statistics and numbers and details, but in general, let’s look at the macro economy. The West Bank macro economy has done relatively well. There have been success stories. There’s been progress. Companies have demonstrated growth and have realized solid earnings both in 2007 and 2008. Some of the leading companies that are listed on

        more

      • Developing Innovative Economic Tools
      • Analysis | Feb 10, 2009

      • Achieving a lasting Israeli- Palestinian peace requires simultaneous work along multiple tracks. High-level negotiations; implementation and monitoring of Road Map obligations, including freezing settlement construction in the West Bank and dismantling terrorist networks and building Palestinian Authority security forces; and supporting efforts to strengthen Palestinian institutions and the economy must occur side by side. Without the political horizon of a two- state solution, day-to-day improvements are not sustainable and without tangible signs of improvement in people’s lives, closed-door negotiations will

        more

      • The Obama Administration and the Unavoidable Issue of Palestine
      • Analysis | Feb 10, 2009

      • Economic progress is essential for both political and structural reasons. Politically, economic progress can demonstrate the benefits of peace and help maintain momentum as the permanent status negotiations take their course. Structurally, building a sound economy is essential for the creation of a stable and sustainable future Palestinian state. A situation in which the Palestinians continue to be among the largest per- capita recipients of international aid is neither sustainable nor desirable. The foundation of a self-sufficient, effective economy must

        more

      • Gaza’s Economy in Tatters, Can It Be Rebuilt?
      • Analysis | Feb 10, 2009

      • Not long ago, Yaser Alwadeya’s factory was the largest food maker in the Gaza Strip, producing cookies, ice cream and other treats for residents of the blockaded territory. Today, the sprawling 47-acre complex lies in ruins. … “Beyond the human losses, the economy is the other great victim of this war,” said Amr Hamad, Gaza’s executive manager for the Palestinian Federation of Industries. …

        Even before the latest destruction, the United Nations said some 80 percent of Gaza’s 1.4 million

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      • Israel Votes in Tight Election
      • News | Feb 10, 2009

      • Israelis voted on Tuesday in a tight election race, with right-wing opposition leader Benjamin Netanyahu bidding to oust the centrist party of Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni.

        The short campaign was overshadowed by Israel’s January war with Palestinian militants in Gaza. The key issue facing voters is which leader can best assure the security of the state while chances of a peace deal seem remote.

      • UN to Resume Aid Shipments to Gaza
      • News | Feb 10, 2009

      • The UN said Monday that it would resume aid shipments into Gaza after Hamas returned supplies seized several days ago.

        Last week, Hamas police broke into a UN warehouse in Gaza and stole thousands of UN blankets, food parcels, and tons of rice and flour, prompting the UN to stop its aid trucks into Gaza.

      • Egyptian Intelligence Officials ‘Optimistic’ About Shalit Deal
      • News | Feb 10, 2009

      • Egyptian intelligence officials told their Israeli counterparts in recent days that they are optimistic about the chances of reaching a deal with Hamas for the release of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit soon.

        The sources said the pressure being exerted on Hamas politburo chief Khaled Meshal in Damascus is expected to bear fruit. Turkish officials, in coordination with Egypt, have held talks with Hamas officials—with whom they have developed close ties—in the Syrian capital to convince them to accept the deal

        more

      • Abbas Government Announces $600 Million Gaza Aid Project
      • News | Feb 10, 2009

      • The government of Western- back Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas announced on Wednesday a $600 million reconstruction program for the war-battered Gaza Strip. …

        The United States and its allies want credit for reconstruction to accrue to Abbas’s Palestinian Authority, and not to the Iranian-backed Islamists who won a 2006 election and forcibly seized control of the Gaza Strip 18 months later.

      • Palestinians Stop Paying Israeli Hospitals for Gaza and West Bank Patients
      • News | Feb 10, 2009

      • Scores of Palestinian patients being treated in Israeli hospitals, a rare bright spot of coexistence here, are being sent home because the Palestinian Authority has stopped paying for their treatment, partly in anger over the war in Gaza.

        Hadassah Hospital in Jerusalem says that for the past week, no payments have come in and Palestinians whose children it is treating have been instructed by Palestinian health officials to place them in facilities in the West Bank, Jordan or Egypt.

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