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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

12/22/10
The Critical Role of Palestinian State-Building  —
12/06/10
Examining the P5+1-Iran Talks in Context  —Karim Sadjadpour, associate, Middle East Program, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Interview with Middle East Bulletin
12/01/10
Egyptians and Jordanians Head to the Polls  —

Setting the Record Straight

Determined to Reach a Common Objective

“We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

Middle East Analysis

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The Road Forward on Middle East Peace

Event: October 1, 2009 - 12:00pm-1:00pm

Introduction:
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Moderated by:
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All items on Middle East Peace Process

    • The Critical Role of Palestinian State-Building
    • Original Commentary | Dec 22, 2010
    • Palestinian worker in stone and marble factory outside Bethlehem

      On December 10, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton outlined efforts necessary to achieving Middle East peace. She called on the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to address the core issues of the conflict, and said that the United States would work with both parties towards this end. In addition, Clinton mentioned the need for regional states to continue to develop the Arab Peace Initiative, and stressed the importance of the Palestinian Authority (PA) state-building program while underscoring

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    • Working Towards Progress
    • Original Commentary | Nov 17, 2010
    • Secretary of State Clinton and Prime Minister Netanyahu at their recent meeting in New York (AP)

      On November 11, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in New York. Reports suggest that the meeting helped pave the way for a U.S.-Israel agreement whereby the United States would provide Israel with incentives to extend a one-off settlement moratorium for 90 days. Construction in East Jerusalem would reportedly not be included in the extension. Reported incentives include the United States giving Israel 20 additional F-35 fighter jets worth about

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    • Netanyahu’s Moves Spark Debate on Intentions
    • Analysis | Oct 13, 2010
    • An offer on Monday by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu … to freeze West Bank Jewish settlements in exchange for Palestinian recognition of Israel as a Jewish state—instantly rejected by the Palestinians— was the latest complex maneuver engendering debate about his intentions. The offer … was aimed either at keeping talks with the Palestinians alive and his right-wing coalition partners in check, or at seeking to shift the burden of failure to the Palestinians and escape blame should the talks wither

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    • U.S. Nudges Palestinians to Answer Israeli Proposal
    • News | Oct 13, 2010
    • The United States nudged the Palestinian Authority to make a counter-offer to Israel’s proposal for a new freeze on building in Jewish settlements if the Palestinians recognized Israel as a Jewish state.

      Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday said if the Palestinian leadership recognized Israel “as the homeland of the Jewish people,” he was ready to ask his government to extend a freeze on West Bank settlement building.

    • Israeli Presence in Jordan Valley Could Be Flexible
    • News | Oct 13, 2010
    • Israel’s insistence on maintaining a presence on the eastern border of a future Palestinian state could be reviewed over time, a government spokesman said Wednesday.

      Israel’s demand for such a presence is one of the potential obstacles to a Mideast peace deal.The Palestinians say they will not accept any Israeli deployment in their future state, arguing that the deployment of international forces during a transition period—an idea they support—should be sufficient to address Israeli security concerns.

    • Understanding the Arab League Follow-Up Committee
    • Background Basics | Oct 13, 2010
    • Official Name: League of Arab States’ Follow-Up Committee on the Arab Peace Initiative

      Members: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Secretary General of the Arab League

      Origins and Mandate: Members of the Arab League adopted the Arab Peace Initiative at the 2002 Beirut Summit. The document mentioned the need to form a separate, smaller committee to gather support for the plan. Later, two groups were formed to that end: the follow-up

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    • Courage and Leadership Needed
    • Original Commentary | Oct 13, 2010
    • President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu (AP)

      What is the current status of Israeli-Palestinian talks?

      They are very much in flux. The question of the moment is whether the settlement moratorium will be extended for a shorter period of time–perhaps sixty days. But now the Palestinians seem to be moving the goal posts somewhat in saying it’s not just an extension of the moratorium, there has to be a total freeze. I don’t know what exactly that means but we may find ourselves in a situation in which

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    • An Alignment of Top-Down and Bottom-Up Efforts
    • Heard on the Street | Oct 13, 2010
    • Tony Blair, Quartet representative and former British prime minister, The Washington Institute for Near East Policy 2010 Scholar-Statesman Award Dinner, remarks, October 5, 2010:

      “The problem is not that you couldn’t resolve borders or even very tricky issues like Jerusalem and refugees. You could. I think the problem is that you have to get an alignment between the reality on the ground and the prospect of peace. And by that I mean that, essentially, both sides have a reality-on-the-ground issue.

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    • Determined to Reach a Common Objective
    • Setting the Record Straight | Oct 13, 2010
    • “We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010
    • The Regional Component to Moving Forward
    • Original Commentary | Sep 28, 2010
    • Mubarak, Netanyahu, Obama, Abbas and Abdullah at White House (AP)

      From your experience what role do you think Arab leaders should be playing in resolving the Arab-Israeli conflict?

      There needs to be an Arab safety net, through the Arab Peace Initiative, that would, on one hand, assure the Palestinians that in their negotiations with Israel they will get support from the whole Arab world. Arab leaders should also be able to offer security guarantees, which would lead to the inclusion of Hamas and Hezbollah in any eventual settlement. Because, this is

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