The Netanyahu government has conveniently and consistently separated the occupation of the West Bank from the repeated eruption of violence, insisting that the Palestinians’ unrest is a result of incitement by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, when in fact he has been attempting to reduce the tension. Not once has any Israeli official suggested that…
It was always a question of when the Israeli-Palestinian conflict would violently erupt once again, which only proves that, contrary to the prevailing views among a multitude of Israelis, no Israeli government can manage the occupation indefinitely. The current replay of past violent flare-ups points to the dismal failure of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s policy. That…
Anyone who has followed Iran’s behavior since the 1979 Revolution cannot escape the fact that Iran is bent on restoring some, if not much, of its historical glory as the empire that for centuries dominated the Middle East and beyond. The 2003 Iraq War, which brought the Iraqi Shiites to power, provided Iran with a…
Regardless of what Prime Minister Netanyahu and Palestinian Authority President Abbas stated in their speeches at the United Nations General Assembly, neither is genuinely committed to negotiating a peace agreement based on a two-state solution. Both leaders were engaged in empty rhetoric and slogans for domestic consumption instead of proposing new, credible, and constructive initiatives…
Cartoon by Sam Ben-Meir The following conversation between Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (Bibi) and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) is fictitious. The setting: Bibi and Abu Mazen happen to come to East Jerusalem and stumble into each other at the Colony Hotel. They approached to say hello and felt that a brief…
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (R) and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas attend an event about the Middle East peace talks in the East Room at the White House in Washington September 1, 2010. REUTERS/Jim Young The enduring impasse between Israel and the Palestinians in the peace negotiations and their changing internal political dynamics has made…
Hamas chief Khaled Meshaal (L) hugs senior Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh before leaving Gaza Strip December 10, 2012. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah Israel and Hamas are reportedly discussing a long-term truce. Although Israeli officials claim it is merely a rumor and that there are no direct or indirect negotiations with Hamas, many signs suggest that a deal…
The pending order to demolish the small Palestinian village of Susiya in the southern Judean Mountains in the occupied West Bank represents the most blatant violation of human rights. The order calls for the forcible removal of several hundred Palestinians who have been living on their land from the time of the Ottoman Empire and…
Prime Minister Netanyahu’s and Palestinian Authority President Abbas’ presumed public commitment to a two-state solution means little unless they begin to undertake confidence-building measures to demonstrate their real intentions. In fact, even if they really believe in what they state and negotiate to reach an agreement, they will fail just like in all previous peace…