The avowal of human rights as a political, religious, and moral philosophy, and as an ideal that governs the relationship between groups and individuals, has had a long and mixed history.

While Israel has never been more secure internationally, its existence now is threatened by one of the legacies of its victories: the Palestinian people.

In the wake of the recent "discovery" of a chemical weapons plant in Libya and a biological weapons plant in Iraq, the need for Israel's pre-emptive strategy and maintenance of military superiority has now come into renewed focus.

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Nearly two months have passed since the Israeli general elections, and the results reflected a sad reality: dissension, disunity, lack of purpose, party infighting, jealousies and, above all, a hunger to hold onto power.

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Twenty-four years ago in Rabat, Morocco, the Arab League passed the celebrated "three nos" resolution: no peace, no recognition, no negotiations with Israel. Despite the ambiguities in the declaration issued recently in Algiers by the Palestine National Council, it is widely believed that the Palestine Liberation Organization may have finally come to the unavoidable conclusion that the only way to realize the national aspirations of the Palestinian people is to recognize Israel's right to exist.

One of the major problems that continues to haunt the Israelis and Palestinians is the core issue of national identity as it relates to a territorial settlement.

For years, the conventional wisdom about the Middle East has been that peace between Israel and the Palestinians was unlikely in the foreseeable future.