The decision by President Mahmoud Abbas to engage all Palestinian factions in a national dialogue to stop the present internal discord from spinning out of control and to create a coherent national policy toward Israel has not been made a minute too soon. The challenge that Mr. Abbas prese

Any concerted effort by the Bush administration with the support of other regional powers in the Middle East to undermine Hamas and precipitate its early collapse will be counterproductive and extremely dangerous. A better option is to persuade Hamas, for its own good, to enforce a compreh

Hamas’ rise to power provides the United States and Israel with a strategic opportunity to shift their attention to Israel’s northern front with Syria. Damascus’ interest in recovering the Golan Heights remains on the top of its national agenda. Syria is also in dire need

There are no words to express the sadness of millions of Israelis and people around the world on hearing of the strokes suffered by Prime Minister Sharon during this fateful time in the Middle East. Those who pinned their hopes on his vision to deliver peace and those of us who knew Sharon

I have just returned from a week-long trip to Israel and Palestine during which I met with many Israeli and Palestinian officials, intellectuals, and ordinary people. This article is the first in a series of articles written with the hope of shedding some new light on many conflicting issu

No one has a lock on patriotism. This, however, has not stopped the administration from using it as a whip to lash out at the integrity of those who disagree with its disastrous and, by now, senseless war in Iraq. Yet the truth is that those who are against or in favor of a troop withdrawa

Free elections do not constitute democracy and when they precede the building of democratic institutions, they are more likely to produce instability and upheaval, especially in countries previously governed by authoritarian regimes. This explains why the United States should first assist

While the call this past week by Iran’s President Ahmadinejad to “wipe Israel off the map,” should not come as total surprise, it could suggest a dangerous shift in Iran’s policy toward Israel. In any case, such a grotesque breach of international conduct by Mr. Ahm

Israel’s momentous withdrawal from Gaza and the ceasefire agreement between Israel and the Palestinians, while substantially reducing the level of violence in the past eight months, have not produced the hoped-for momentum to propel the peace process forward. The two parties have rem