The Israelis and Palestinians have been trapped for decades between delusions and denial and both have resorted to ideological and religious dogmas that dismiss with conviction any factual evidence to the contrary. A powerful Israeli right-of-center constituency led by Prime Minster Netanyahu insists that Israel is not an occupying power, the settlements are not impediments…

The war between Hamas and Israel has exposed the folly of both sides. Hamas’ long-standing objective to destroy Israel has come back to haunt it, which may eventually spell its own demise. Conversely, Prime Minister Netanyahu’s unwillingness to end the occupation and the blockade has also shown the folly of his policy. The sad irony…

At a time when hundreds of rockets are fired by Hamas and Islamic Jihad from Gaza against Israel – threatening population centers, including Jerusalem and Tel Aviv – criticizing Israel’s occupation of the West Bank would seem inappropriate at best. Many Israelis justify the continuing occupation in light of the intensifying violence. They argue that…

I have been writing about your conflict for more than three decades. Invariably, I find myself delving into the same themes time and again. The nature of the conflict remains the same. You coexist, and short of self-inflicted catastrophe, you are destined to coexist until the end of time. You must now choose to live…

There are no words that can adequately condemn the tragic death of the three Israeli teenagers, Naftali, Gilad and Eyal, who have become the latest victims of the long and bloody Israeli-Palestinian struggle. The abduction of any person, be that for exacting ransom or for the purpose of a prisoner exchange, must be vehemently opposed…

The abduction of three Israeli teenage boys is a criminal act and hopefully the perpetrators will be caught soon, face the full weight of the law and end the heart-wrenching ordeal of the boys’ parents and relatives. Yet regardless of who is responsible, Prime Minister Netanyahu made matters much worse for both Israelis and Palestinians….

The current escalating sectarian violence between the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) and Iraqi forces and the unending civil war in Syria are now intertwined and neither can be resolved without the other, which requires a dramatic change in the political and military landscape in Syria and Iraq. What is happening in Iraq…

The nearly seven decades-old Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to overshadow the brewing conflict between the Jewish majority and the Arab minority in Israel. There is overwhelming evidence that successive Israeli governments failed to reconcile between maintaining the Jewish national identity of the state and a democracy that also connotes equality, the two principles on which the…

The success or failure of the newly established Palestinian unity government rests on its ability and willingness to chart a new course in its relations with Israel and its commitment to peace. Having Hamas as a partner in this government is critical because the Palestinians can now present a united front and Hamas may have…