On Tuesday, the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars hosted a panel titled “An Israeli-Palestinian Agreement? What’s Possible and What Isn’t.” Haleh Esfandiari, the director of the Middle East Program at the Wilson Center, introduced the panel, which was moderated by Washington Post deputy editorial page editor Jackson Diehl. Panelists included Brandeis University professor Shai Feldman, author and Wilson Center Public Policy Scholar Aaron David Miller, and Hussein Ibish, a ...

Robert Malley, from the International Crisis Group, gave a lengthy interview on NPR's Fresh Air program about the Arab Spring and the situation in Israel/Palestine. Malley believes the Arab Spring movements in the MENA region could be a "game changer" for Israel and the United States.  He discusses the Palestinian movement for U.N. recognition in September, the Fatah/Hamas unity government, and how the Arab Spring has affected the Israeli-Palestinian relationship.  

Last week, following President Barack Obama's address on the Middle East, Senator John McCain (R-AZ) delivered the Dean Acheson Lecture at the United States Institute of Peace where he discussed the Arab Spring.  McCain opened by noting that the uprisings  in the Middle East represent a repudiation of Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda and stated that Arab Spring should be "a clarifying event for the United States" which presents an ...

Moisés Naím, writing for the Carnegie Endowment, discusses why the United States and Europe are attacking Libya with bombs and Syria with words. He first dismisses arguments that the justification for war in Libya is oil, arguing that it would be easier for U.S. oil companies to have security under Gadhafi rather than under the chaos that has ensued.  He states that there are five reasons why the same response ...

Writing in the Cairo Review of Global Affairs, Trita Parsi and Reza Marashi discuss the regional uprisings affect on the regional power-balance.  The others note Saudi Arabia and Israel's disapproval of the Arab Spring given the strategic and political implications for their own countries.  Parsi and Marashi state that while Saudi leaders understood there was little they could do to prevent U.S. supported revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, they moved ...

  In remarks with Jordanian King Abdullah before their meeting, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton noted that the king "is a strong and steady voice in the incredible changes that are going on around the world."   King Abdullah noted that the discussion will include the challenges facing the Middle East as a result of the Arab Spring and stated that "the role of the United States is going to be ...

Following the final signing of a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement yesterday many international leaders and negotiators weighed in. Benjamin Netanyahu announced in London: "What happened today in Cairo is a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism."  Ha'aretz reports that leaked Israeli Foreign Ministry documents state that the agreement could offer Israel a "strategic opportunity", which is in stark contrast to statements coming from Israel's leadership.  Quartet Representative Tony Blair announced that ...

On Wednesday, Fatah and Hamas signed the proposed reconciliation agreement in Cairo following final negotiations. The deal has been heavily criticized by the Israeli Government, who is currently withholding $90 million in  tax revenue owed to the Palestinian Authority. Israel collects nearly a $1 billion annually in tax revenues  and customs on behalf of the PA. The revenue is transferred in accordance with terms of the Oslo accords. Hamas has announced ...

Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman will travel to Amman, Jordan on May 2-4 to meet with King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan, and members of civil society.   Secretary Feltman will continue bilateral dialogue that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Judeh held in Washington D.C. in April, discuss the King's reform agenda and regional issues ...

Khaled Elgindy, writing at Foreign Policy, argues that the Palestinian reconciliation will pose “serious political, diplomatic, and legal challenges for U.S. policymakers,” but that American opposition at this time would “be both futile and counterproductive.” Elgindy argues: “the agreement is a major breakthrough for the Palestinians, whose four-year split has paralyzed domestic politics, hindered peace efforts, and demoralized ordinary Palestinians.” Following Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s denunciation of the deal, Elgindy ...