What do Israel, U.S. expect from Abbas?
The rash and self-defeatist behavior emanating from Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and his close circle in the West Bank cannot possibly be intended for the benefit of the Palestinian people or for their internationally sanctioned struggle for human rights, freedom and equality. Abbas, and his self-serving Palestinian...The closed door meetings of Mahmoud Abbas
When Mahmoud Abbas, chairman of the Palestine Authority in Ramallah, holds three-hour meetings in Jericho with Ehud Olmert, the Israeli prime minister, and when these meetings are restricted to the two men only for half the time, the agenda must include issues of a very grave nature that require prior agreement. Mahmoud...Hamas optimism vs. Fatah despair
PALESTINE — Even in the face of possible economic collapse, Hamas leaders want to figure out a better way to collect garbage in Gaza. The Islamist movement, which now controls the coastal strip, is working out ways to create new jobs and reduce petty crime. A new enthusiasm has swept through this territory in the aftermath of the...
Hizbullah marks Lebanon war anniversary with pomp and piety
August 14th, 20070 Last summer, the sky above Beirut's southern suburbs was filled with Israeli warplanes; Tuesday night, it exploded with color as Hizbullah supporters came out in force to commemorate "the day of victory" that marked the end of the 2006 war with Israel. Packing an empty-lot-turned-outdoor-auditorium and spilling into crowded streets...
America waking up to scale of Iraq disaster
July 29th, 20070 The most probable result of U.S. withdrawal will be further bloodshed Iraq is over. Iraq has not yet begun. Two conclusions from the American debate about Iraq, which dominates the media in the U.S. to the exclusion of almost any other foreign story. Iraq is over insofar as the American public has decided that most U.S. troops should...Israel’s primal myth: A barrier to peace
Forget about Hamas, the wall, Gaza and the Occupied Territories. There can be no peace in the Middle East until Israel and the Palestinians deal with one key issue: the Palestinian demand that Israel recognize their right of return. That demand is based on the Arab charge that the Zionist state created the refugee problem in the war of...New peace initiative met with skepticism
WASHINGTON (IPS) — A major policy address this week by U.S. President George W. Bush promoting a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine has been greeted with considerable skepticism by Middle East specialists here. Most analysts said Bush's speech — including his pledge to provide some 190 million dollars to support Palestine...What next after Samarra bombing?
ARBIL (IPS) — Iraq is again haunted by the ghosts of Samarra, with last week's attack on the Shi'a-revered al-Askari mosque raising fears that it could touch off a new wave of sectarian violence in a country already crippled by large-scale violence and political crisis. In a similar move last year, al Qaeda in Iraq bombed the...Is there finally peace in Yemen?
The Sa'ada war in northern Yemen may be coming to a close. The Yemeni government announced on June 15 that a cease-fire had been negotiated through the good offices of the Emir of Qatar. Shi'a rebels agreed to lay down their arms after nearly three years of fighting. Hopes are high that an end to hostilities will allow immediate...The Palestinian experiment: A defining turn
All my forewarnings have suddenly actualized, all at once: Gaza has descended into total and utter chaos; Abbas has capitulated to Israel and to the United States without a shred of reservation, and the Palestinian democratic experiment, which was until recently an astounding success, has been smashed to bits. For years I have...
Bush, Olmert aim toward disastar
June 24th, 20070 What would it take to persuade Israel to rethink its attitude towards its Arab neighbors — and primarily towards the Palestinians? The Hamas victory in Gaza is surely a clear signal that an Israeli change of direction is urgently needed. All Israel’s efforts to break the democratically-elected Hamas government have failed. Its...
Why Mahmoud Abbas has failed
June 24th, 20070 The breakdown of the domestic political order in Gaza last week reflects the clear failure of the current Palestinian leadership under Mahmoud Abbas to achieve its people's national rights to statehood, security and a normal life, and the consequent need for a combination of new leadership blood and better policies. Since their...
The Arab peace initiative and the changing Middle East
April 5th, 20070 The rapid, almost hasty, developments on the Arab Israeli front, almost immediately following the Saudi sponsored Makkah Agreement on February 2, should be examined in their proper context, as a part and parcel of the regional shifts, exacerbated by the U.S. war in Iraq and the dramatic adjustment in Iran's position vis-à-vis the...
Will there be another civil war in Lebanon
April 5th, 20070 BEIRUT — A recent poll in Lebanon suggests deep pessimism about the chances of avoiding another civil war. Plenty of "wise owls" here think civil war is just a matter of time. No less an oracle than Tarek, the doorman at the Alexandria Hotel in Ashrafiyeh, where the Israeli Military Command had its headquarters during its 1982...
Arab leaders re-launch Mideast peace plan
April 4th, 20070 Servers offer Arabic coffee at the Arab summitRIYADH — Arab leaders on Thursday wrapped up a summit where they relaunched a five-year-old blueprint for peace in the Middle East, although Israel has rejected the plan as it stands. The 22-member Arab League gathering was declared over after Secretary General Amr Moussa read out a......
