Search

Considers what the death of Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat might mean for Middle East peace. Reaction from world leaders which offers some hope; Questions of who will fill the leadership void; Failure of the U.S. to act on the optimism by getting peace talks underway; New chairman of the PLO who is Mahmoud Abbas, a moderate former Prime Minister and longtime No. 2 in the organization who will share authority with current Prime Minster Ahmed Qurei; Belief of many that an election will be won by Abbas and why that would be encouraging; The current plan of the Bush administration which to wait; Burden which is on the Palestinians to turn themselves into a model partner before the U.S. or Israel will offer a helping hand; Why this is not really possible; Suggestion that waiting will be defeating to the peace process and that all parties need to sever old stances to make peace possible.

Reports on the decline of hope for peace between Israel and Palestine. Consideration of the role of John Wolf as special envoy to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process; Commitment of the Bush administration to the peace process; Contention that the U.S. has been helpless to deal with any of the core issues at the heart of the conflict; Claims that the road map to peace was a tool to facilitate the Iraq war rather than to be a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian battle; History of American involvement in the peace process; Impact of the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas on the peace plan.

The author offers his views about the foreign affairs challenges the 2008 U.S. President will face soon after election. The end of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas's term will coincide with the inauguration of the U.S. President, and it is likely that the Islamist political party Hamas will either win a new election or resist Abbas if he tries to extend his term to 2010. A regional approach to Middle East settlement agreements is suggested, as offered by Bahrain foreign minister Al Khalifa.

An interview with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas is presented. Abbas compliments Israeli leader Ehud Olmert for being open and determined to bring peace in the Middle East. Abbas is in favor of Palestinians having their own part of East Jerusalem, and the Israelis having their part. Abbas claims that leader Ariel Sharon refused to abandon Gaza.

Offers a look at U.S. President George W. Bush's involvement in the Middle East peace process between Israel and Palestine. Interactions with the Palestinian Prime Minister, Mahmoud Abbas; Possibility for a cease-fire; Construction of a security fence by Israelis.

Discusses the outlook for peace in the Middle East under the administration of United States President George W. Bush. Plans of the President to meet with Prime Ministers Ariel Sharon of Israel and Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestinian Authority in Aqaba, Jordan; Other meetings planned by President Bush to promote his 'roadmap' for peace; Discussion of U.S. strategy, American leverage in the region, and foreign policy challenges; Idea that former President George Herbert Walker Bush advised his son to use personal diplomacy; Concern of critics that Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld, who urged President Bush to invade Iraq, will dictate Middle East policy.

Discusses the roles of Mahmoud Abbas and Yasser Arafat in Palestine. Relationship between Abbas and Arafat; Role of Abbas as the Palestinian Prime Minister; Meeting between U.S. President George W. Bush, Abbas, and Israel Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Development of a road map for peace in the Middle East; Attempt of Arafat to undermine the Prime Minister; History of Palestine and attempted peace plans.

This article examines the diplomatic prospects for the upcoming international meeting in Annapolis, Maryland, designed to ease tensions in the Middle East. Hosted and organized by the United States, it will feature Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, and Ehud Olmert, the prime minister of Israel, most prominently. But almost 40 nations will be represented at the one day summit.

The article discusses the renewed efforts of Arab leaders to end the violence occurring in Iraq and Israel and prevent it from spreading across the Middle East. After weeks of negotiations, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Prime Minister Ismail Haniyah met and reached agreement on a unity government they hoped would open the way for peace negotiations with Israel and a lifting of the siege on the Palestinians that has been in place since the election of a Hamas government in 2006.

The article focuses on how U.S. President Barack Obama has to choose if he is going to continue supporting illegitimate governments in the Middle East or increased democracy and power to Middle Eastern citizens. It states while former President George W. Bush claimed to support Middle Eastern democracy he opted to keep U.S. control over the region. It talks about protests in Egypt against Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak and leaks of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas's negotiations with Israel.

In this article the author discusses his view of the need for U.S. President Barack Obama to reevaluate American policy in the Middle East. The author opines that Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad and President Mahmoud Abbas are more amenable to a peace process than any Palestinian leaders in history. He notes that the Palestinians have successfully fulfilled most of their obligations under the Mideast road-map for peace and are focusing on rebuilding the economy in the West Bank.

The article focuses on the wars and conflicts in the Middle East and the United Nation's tendency to coerce Israel into fostering peace in the area. The author points out that Israel has been freely negotiating with both Syria and the organization Hamas, but is cautious about praising their efforts to enact cease fires. The author discusses the action of the Israelis, the organizations Hamas and the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF), the United Nations, and leaders such as Mohammed Abbas.

The article reports on the Annapolis, Maryland Middle East peace talks in November and discusses whether they were successful or not. The author points out that even though leaders Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas made diplomatic progress, the establishment of a stable Palestine state alongside Israel still will not solve the Middle East's problems. There still will be trouble from Osama bin Laden and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's political factions.

The article reports on what Israelis think about the Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas after the election of Hamas to the leadership of Palestine. Abbas is no longer in power, but, the article argues he never really was, ruling over a non-existent country and unable to control a violent independence movement. Most Israeli politicians argue that Abbas has even less power now that he is no longer in office.

Presents striking quotations from public figures during the previous week. Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas vowing to find those responsible for a suicide bombing in Tel-Aviv; President George W. Bush on the idea that the United States is getting ready to attack Iran; Barry Bonds on the use of steroids by baseball players; Chairman of the Democratic National Committee Howard Dean on being a Democrat in the U.S.; Others.

Comments on the changes that could come to the Middle East as a result of the elections in Iraq. Belief that if the new government succeeds, it will resonate in the rest of the region; Efforts of current monarchies and strongman regimes to make some economic changes in the area; Example of Egypt's economic growth and the cutting of taxes by Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif; Changes in Saudi Arabia which include municipal elections for the first time; Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas whom investors are gambling will be able to end the intifada.

This article reports that new Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will help open a fresh chapter in the long search for Middle East peace this week when he meets with Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon in the Egyptian Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. But as usual, internal Palestinian politics played a key role in getting him there. Abbas agreed to go to Sharm el-Sheikh because he wants to show that he has Egypt's support in his effort to rein in the militants of Hamas and Islamic Jihad. Shaken by Hamas' overwhelming victory in last month's municipal elections in the Gaza Strip, Abbas' Fatah Party sees Egypt as a powerful ally in the political battle against the group. Many in Fatah aren't happy about Abbas' trip to Sharm el-Sheikh, fearing it might actually hurt him in his fight against Hamas. Some Fatah officials are wondering why Egypt is suddenly taking such an interest in Palestinian affairs.

The forced elimination of Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) leader Yasir Arafat would make peace in the Middle East difficult to achieve. Everywhere we went our small band of journalists and think-tankers asked Israeli officials what would happen if they expelled or killed Yasir Arafat. They all gave the same reply: Not much. But every Palestinian we talked to -- including many who loathe Arafat -- said they're dead wrong. Asked who might replace an exiled Arafat, Mudar Kassis, a philosophy professor at Birzeit University, replied, "Nobody will be willing to do that." In former Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas, Israelis had a Palestinian leader who said all the things they had been waiting to hear. At the Aqaba summit that officially launched the road map, Abbas didn't just call terrorism counterproductive, he called it "inconsistent with our religious and moral traditions." But Abbas, who had long toiled in Arafat's shadow, lacked a significant popular base. Israel never made Abbas's success a priority. According to anti-Arafat Palestinians, Abbas needed to show that his nonviolent approach could win the Israeli concessions promised in phase one of the road map. After the Aqaba summit, Palestinian security chief Mohammed Dahlan produced a 90-day plan for taking on Hamas, which Israel and the United States accepted. Dahlan closed down 39 Hamas bank accounts, and even Israeli officials acknowledged his good-faith effort to stop the group's financing. When it came to actually arresting Hamas members, Dahlan did little. Missing was any understanding that Abbas -- who even Israeli hard-liners concede genuinely abhors terrorism -- was valuable in and of himself, that helping him supplant Arafat was more valuable to Israel's security than demanding lockstep reciprocity for every Israeli concession.

Evaluates the possibility of peace in the Middle East. Meeting between Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Shannon and Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas; Suicide bombings; Role of Yasser Arafat, who is believed to fund terrorists; Control of Arafat; Suggestions for Abbas; Role of the United States.

Discusses the suicide bombings in Israel in relation to the Mideast peace initiative by U.S. President George W. Bush and his administration. Relations between Bush and Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon; Negotiations between Sharon and U.S.-backed Palestinian prime minister Mahmoud Abbas; Calling for an end to terrorist attacks in Israel by Sharon.

Discusses American foreign policy under the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush with respect to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. Elements of a speech given by Bush in 2002 regarding the steps Palestinians needed to take before achieving statehood including stripping Yasser Arafat of his power; Percentage decrease in deaths from terrorism since April 2002; Discussion of the transition from Arafat to Prime Minister Abu Mazen; Potential pitfalls in the peace process focusing on performance-based incentives for a Palestinian state.

The author argues that Israelis and Palestinians will need to find their own path to peace during the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, and it mentions geopolitical change in the Middle East, as well as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, and the status of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as of 2017. The passage of United Nations Resolution 2334 about Israel's settlements in occupied territories is also examined.

The article reports on an accord for ending the dispute between Palestine and Israel. It is said that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has repeatedly said that he will never put pen to paper on an accord for ending the dispute with Israel. U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry's efforts for peace but drew criticism at home from his colleagues in the White House and State Department.

Reports on the outcome of a meeting of Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas with U.S. President George W. Bush in June 2005. Information on reform programs developed by Abbas; Implications of the acknowledgement of Abbas' platform for the conflict in the Middle East; Options that can be taken by Bush to solve the conflict in the Middle East.

Reports that an official three-day visit to Moscow by Mahmoud Abbas, the head of the Palestinian National Authority, has ended on February 1, 2005. Get-acquainted visit; Goal of Russian authorities to bolster Russia's influence in the Middle East; Promises by Russia to Abbas; Promise to put pressure on Ariel Sharon to stop building the "separation wall"; Vladimir Putin's offer of his assistance in negotiating with various armed groups.

The article describes relations between Palestinians and Israelis as of January 29, 2005. It is hard to imagine Hassan, a jolly, tubby Palestinian soldier at a checkpoint in the northern Gaza strip, sticking his gun in someone's face; and he wouldn't, he says, if that someone were a militant carrying a home-made Qassam rocket intended for one of the Israeli towns nearby. "I would try to convince him that it is not for the good of the Palestinian people," smiles Hassan. And if that fails? "Then I will tell him to get the hell away from my patch and launch it from somewhere else. I can't shoot at my own people." This week 3,500-odd Palestinian troops were deployed along the Gaza strip's border with Israel, at points chosen to keep would-be Qassam-launchers further from Israeli targets. Israel was pleasantly surprised. Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), the newly-elected Palestinian president, acted fast and decisively after Israel--before he was even sworn in--suspended talks and threatened to retaliate, in Gaza, for a suicide attack at a border crossing. This week, after Mr Abbas had spent five days huddled with militant groups in the strip, his officials were hinting that a hudna (ceasefire), like the one that held for nearly two months in 2003, was close at hand. And Israel resumed contacts.

The article contends that for peace talks with Israel to have a chance, Mahmoud Abbas needs not only to win the Palestinian presidential election, but to win it convincingly. As the heir apparent to the late Yasser Arafat, Abbas will overwhelmingly win the Palestinian presidential election on January 9th, but will then have to tread several extremely fine lines to win trust--both at home and abroad--and keep his job. Abbas does represent the best chance for peace talks in years. Ariel Sharon, Israel's prime minister, has spoken of a "window of opportunity". But on the campaign trail Abbas has looked and sounded more like Arafat, making all the demands that Israel refuses to countenance. A poll by found that almost two-thirds of Palestinians think violence has achieved more than negotiations have. Abbas needs to win comfortably. Hamas, despite its boycott, has not told voters to stay away, but if they do, a low turnout would damage Abbas's legitimacy. His true message will become clear only if peace talks begin.

Discusses the resignation of Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas. Effect of the resignation on the U.S.-backed Roadmap peace plan that was supposed to lead to the creation of a Palestinian state in two years; Hope from the George W. Bush administration that the war in Iraq would change the whole Mideast calculus for the better; Falsity of this hope.

September 11th prompted America to embark upon a hugely ambitious project, both to punish terrorism and to bring change to the Arab world and to Central Asia. The current situation in Iraq, while not a failure, can hardly be counted as a success. The resignation of the Palestinian prime minister, Mahmoud Abbas, and the resumption of intense violence between the Israeli army and Palestinian terrorist groups, confirm that the U.S. effort to push the two sides back into peace negotiations has failed. The deepest rift to have opened up since September 11 is that between the United States and the world's Muslims. Success can only come when a durable Iraqi sovereign government is in place and the United States stops imposing its policies on other Muslim nations.

Numerous Middle East peace plans have been proposed since the Six Day War in 1967. The latest, the U.S.-sponsored road map to peace, suffered a setback last week when Israel, in what was to be a gesture of goodwill, refused to release jailed Palestinians. With that, Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas was criticized by senior figures in Yasser Arafat's Fatah organization for achieving little in exchange for a ceasefire. Abbas then threatened to resign as prime minister unless he receives stronger support from Arafat, leading to fears that the fragile truce with Israel could end. According to Sari Nusseibeh, "If we can agree on the words, the rest will fall into place. If we can say this is a land for two peoples -- that Palestine is a land for the Palestinian people and Israel is the only state for the Jewish people." As Nusseibeh said, the devil is not in the details of proposed peace agreements, it's in the words. While there is growing optimism that a peace deal may be reached, the poll also reveals a list of problems: Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas has little credibility, corruption is endemic, and despite the fact that half of those surveyed are willing to support the existence of a Jewish state, few imagine there can be meaningful change while Yasser Arafat remains in office. The question of what to do with Palestinian refugees also seems to stand in the way of peace. In Shikaki's recent survey, Barghouti emerged as a popular choice to help lead the Palestinian Authority.

The formal unveiling of U.S. President George W. Bush's road map for Middle East peace during a historic meeting on June 4 in Aqaba, Jordan, was optimistic. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas shook hands and agreed to take the first steps toward implementing the plan, which could lead to a Palestinian state in three years. The enduring problem has been what to do about the Palestinian refugees. Some four million are registered with the United Nations (UN); taking into account others who are not on the official lists, the number may actually be as high as eight million people, scattered mostly throughout the Middle East. Many of them listened to news of Bush's so-called road map for Middle East peace in the hope that it might offer some solution to their plight. They were disappointed: the refugee problem was barely mentioned despite being a key issue separating the Palestinian Authority and Israel. Palestinian leaders have always insisted on the return of all refugees, and cite UN resolutions that call for repatriation of all Palestinians forced from their homes in successive wars dating back to 1948, when the state of Israel was established. But Israel, with a population of six million, will never allow the refugees to return to their homes--that would skew the identity of the Jewish state. And even if a Palestinian homeland is established, would Israel sanction an influx of refugees there who would help create a Palestinian state whose population would dwarf that of Israel?

The article reports on how U.S. President George W. Bush is playing an anchor role in establishing peace in the Middle East. Bush recently met with Palestinian Prime Minister Mahmoud Abbas and his Israeli counterpart Ariel Sharon. Bush has already declared his support for the creation of a Palestinian state. Bush seems fully committed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

Reports that Abu Mazen was appointed as the first Palestinian prime minister in the Middle East. Efforts to bring the Palestinians and Israelis together to work on a peace process; Proposal of the establishment of a provisional Palestinian state; How Mazen is considered a peacemaker by Israelis.

The article focuses on a trip to the Middle East by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton. Clinton attended an international conference in Egypt on aid for the Gaza Strip and reiterated U.S. support for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. U.S. efforts to improve relations with Syria may complicate its relationship with Israel.

The authors reflects on the failure of the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to achieve its vision for a strategic realignment in the Middle East. They argue that Bush, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas are not really committed to create a comprehensive peace accord. They cite several factors which hinder the development of a peace accord. The authors also argue that the Bush administration's achievement has been to reduce its political opponents to waiting.