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...
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...
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...
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...
April 5th, 20070BEIRUT — 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...
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...
April 4th, 20070
WASHINGTON (IPS) — With U.S. President George W. Bush reiterating his threat to veto legislation that makes funding for the Iraq war conditional on a deadline for withdrawing at least some U.S. troops, Washington moved rapidly this week toward a major confrontation between the White House and Democrats in Congress.
The latter won...
