|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Online Journal: Middle East Current Affairs, the Israel-Palestinian Conflict, Democracy and Civil Society
|
Gaza standoff is the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in miniature - Elements of the big conflict may be seen in the little conflict, but there are important nuances. Hamas has loaded the dice so it may win no matter what. More
Whose fault? The Blame Game in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict - "Peace" advocates who insist on finding a culprit are driven by inflexible ideologies that are incompatible with peace. More
Gaza: The Price of Protracted Occupation Walid Salem offers a way out of the impasse. More
One state for Israelis and Palestinians is 'utopian' - South Africans are in love with the one state solution, but it won't work here, argues Benjamin Pogrund. More
Israel and the Palestinians - over the cliff? Inexperience may be leading us into a fiasco, without solving the fundamental problems. More
Showdown in Gaza: Reality versus politics The Gaza mess that is going out of control illustrates the dangers of divorcing "peace process" from war reality. More
Iraq embassy memo portends Busherdammerung - Electric shortages, murderous sectarian rivalry and enforcement of fanatic dress codes are ominous. Embassy staff want to know what happens to them if the US leaves. Is the writing of Saigon on the walls of Baghdad? More
Occidentalism, Zarqawi and Iraq - Something is wrong when we have to choose between insane adulation of Iraqi terrorists and support for the US fiasco in Iraq. A new ideological approach is needed. More
Realignment is bent out of shape -
Ehud Olmert's unilateral plan becomes a multilateral unilateral plan.
More
End of the PNA-PLO?
Have the PNA and PLO outlived their usefulness?
More
Epitaph for Zarqawi -
Almost everyone agrees the world is better off without this man, but unbelievably, a cult following is developing.
More
Tragedy in Gaza - The death of a Gaza family indicates the futility of peace rituals and cant against the background of violence. More
A good day for Iraq: Zarqawi is Dead - The end of Abu Musab al Zarqawi can only be applauded by decent people, but it won't mean deliverance for Iraq. More
Prisoners'
document dilemmas - The document generated a lot of enthusiasm, but it may be good only for Marwan Barghouti. At
the same time, moderation of Hamas may paradoxically result in increased chaos and proliferation of Al-Qaeda.
More
06/07/2006: Hamas: Twisting in the Wind - Hamas
faces difficult choices - or perhaps it is avoiding facing them.
More
Maskiot Settlement tells us about realities of Israeli Policy Israeli government is talking convergence and peace, and at the same time, it is building settlements. What can this mean? More
Does Iran Want to Be Hit (First)? Dulio Demarzios offers an intriguing theory about Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's aims. More
Iranian peace overtures in 2003 and mysterious non-reaction- More about the Iranian letter offering to adopt the Arab peace initiative - and why it was ignored. More
Palestinian face-off on Prisoner's document - The prisoner's document is a masterpiece of diplomacy. If the Hamas and Israel reject it, Fatah and the PLO are the winners. If the Hamas accepts it, Fatah and PLO are the winners as well. More
Iran letter to US in 2003- Did the US miss a chance for peace in the Middle East? In 2003 the Iranian government apparently sent the US a letter proposing to end terror and adopt the Arab peace initiative. The Bush administration ignored it. More
Bad news from the Israeli side? -
Plans to annex Hebron cast doubt on the unilateral convergence plan.
More
Good news on the Palestinian side?
Palestinians may be unifying around a moderate program. Or not.
More
Olmert in Washington: A guide to the perplexed -
In reality, Olmert got nothing in Washington, but some Israeli media hype gave a different impression.
More
Olmert visits the emperor - convergence and roadmap to disaster A trip that accomplishes nothing is worse than no trip at all. More
Iranian unclear weapons program - and the world's unclear response (not a typo). More
Ahmedinejad's Letter to Bush - Take II The letter is modeled on the ultimatums of medieval caliphs and on the letter of Khomeini to Gorbachev. Is it a bid to gain popularity and leadership among Muslims? More
Palestine and Israel - No Road and No Map - The quartet overseeing the Roadmap for Middle East Peace met and decided to ignore the disastrous wreckage of their plans and focus on hypothetical palliatives. More-
Ahmadinejad's letter to Bush: Worse than we could imagine Let's hope he was just kidding. More
Where are the Palestinians going? - Radical and imaginative thinking is needed to prevent a tragedy. More
Hamas, the Arab Peace Initiative and reality - What is the Arab peace initiative, is Hamas about to accept it, and would it make a difference if Hamas accepted it? More
Iran - High Noon? - As the Iranian nuclear crisis approaches a critical phase, nobody seems to have a solution, and some "experts" are trying to convince us there is no problem. Iran's neighbors in the Persian Gulf certainly believe there is a problem. More
Israel, the Palestinians and terror - reinventing history - If historical facts get in the way of your argument, just alter the facts. If you are prominent pundit or journalist, you can get away with it. More
Solving the Hamas Problem - Just because there are no good solutions, doesn't mean that all the bad solutions must be adopted. More
The Euston Manifesto - Taking Back the Dream -
Be a part of a new effort to restore decency and intellectual honesty to the struggle for human rights.
More
Is the Hamas government about to fall? -
Maybe, but it won't be a great loss to anyone.
More
Passover Message: FREE PEOPLES - Yesh Tguva* - Paul Usiskin examines the holiday message in the light of realities and Realpolitik. More
Israeli Elections - What the Hell! - Israelis are fed up with irrelevant old-line ideologies, empty promises and foreign policy fantasies. More
What will happen after the Israeli elections? - Ratna Pelle explores the possibilities. More
The devil is in the detail in the Middle East Benjamin Pogrund examines why peace is so near yet so far. More
The Syrian regime is not about to collapse - Nehad Ismail discusses the unappetizing and unrealistic alternatives to the Bashar Assad regime. More
First Results - Israeli Election Surprises - The pollsters were not completely right. Israeli elections spawned new parties and surprises. The development of those parties will be of interest. More
Gaza and the West Bank - What Nobody is saying - It seems there are no peace partners and no peace plans and nobody cares what happens to the Palestinian people, least of all the Palestinian leaders. More
Iraquagmire - Putting an end to the Iraq nightmare - All we are offered is either perseveration in disaster or defeatism. Neither are realistic. More
Strengthening Middle East Moderates - The extremists don't represent most of us, so why do they always seem to win? More
Ehud Fit the battle of Jericho Jail - The IDF besieged the jail and the walls came tumbling down. Americans and British proved that they are unable or unwilling to stand behind their guarantees. Ehud Olmert proved that he knows a political opportunity when he sees it. More
Tel-Aviv will be fun city, Jenin a riot - Are Ehud Olmert's policies really different from those of Benjamin Netanyahu? More
Iranian threats are not empty rhetoric and must be taken seriously Nehad Ismail examines Iran's options for causing pain. More
Is there a future for Palestinians? If Palestinians make believe Hamas is just fine as it is, they may have no future. More
Sedition or Patriotism? Salah Shoaib Choudhury has been fighting for democracy and moderation in Bangladesh. His "reward" is to be tried for sedition. More
After Moscow: Israel and Hamas must make a deal - Nehad Ismail argues that Hamas missed a golden opportunity in Moscow. Sooner or later, Hamas and Israel will have to talk, but Hamas will need to reform first. More
About a Song - Make something good happen in Jewish-Arab Israeli dialogue - Vote for "Mother Earth" in the Eurovision contest to promote Jewish-Arab cooperation. More
Jordan Valley - Disaster in the making - Some Israelis think they are fooling someone if they look the other way while annexing the Jordan Valley. More
Rise of Hamas - Debacle for peace - For some people, it seems we need to belabor the obvious: the peace process and the roadmap cannot coexist with the Hamas ideology. More
Palestinian Unilateralism in Action: The Hamas Campaign Platform - Walid Salem discusses the Hamas platform in detail and gives a Palestinian view of what it might mean. More
Full Text of Second Mehlis Report -
Mehlis {interim] Report on the Hariri assassination - complete unexpurgated text
Cartoon Crackup - Indiscretion, intolerance and cynical politics are an explosive mixture. More
Hamas Victory - How it Happened, What is to be done? - Walid Salem writes from Jerusalem. More
First Reactions to Hamas Victory - Walid Salem writes from Jerusalem. First in a series. More
Hamas victory in the Palestinian elections - - No easy solutions and too much complacency, writes Ratna Pelle from Holland More
Hamas victory - the new Middle East is not what we expected - Those busy looking to find the guilty culprits for the unexpected Hamas win, should each look the mirror. More
Abbas needs his 'Altalena' - Time for Abbas to act decisively against armed gangs, as Ben-Gurion did, writes Ralph Seliger. More
The Quiet Revolution - Politics of Peace - It is still only words, but for the first time, both Palestinian and Israeli politicians are competing to prove to their electorates that they are moderates who can bring peace. More
State Sanctioned Fundamentalism - Perspectives from Tehran and Washington - The rule of George Bush and Mahmud Ahmadinejad have more in common then you might think according to Hussein Solomon. More
Sharon: warrior or a man of peace at the end? 01/14/2006 by Ratna Pelle - "I am a Jew, and that is the most important thing for me. Therefore when it comes to security Israel will not make any compromises." These words, spoken in Sharon's last interview before he suffered a massive stroke, summarize his views of Israel and peace very accurately. More
Crystal Ball 2006 - Will Israel invade Iran? Will the US stay in Iraq? What will be the fate of the peace process? What will the price of oil be this year? MidEastWeb's yearly predictions. More
Sharon's illness upsets the chessboard - Ariel Sharon's victory in the upcoming Israeli elections was the last certainty in Israeli-Palestinian relations. Now what? More
Prophet & Loss Statement 2005 - Check out our predictions for 2005 versus what really happened - and compare them to predictions of prestigious "think tanks." More
Why Israel Labor's leasing proposal falls short - Ralph Seliger of Meretz USA takes on the proposal to lease settlement blocs from Palestinians. More
Apartheid? Israel is a democracy in which Arabs vote - Benjamin Pogrund argues against comparing Israel to apartheid South Africa. More
Islamism - The Tsunami of the future? - The Middle East seems to accept religious fanaticism and religious control of government as legitimate political factors. More
Abbas Joins Kadima Party: "Sharon is the best hope for peace" After considering the results of the recent Fatah primaries, Mahmoud Abbas has decided to join the Kadima party. More
Pay heed to Jewish fears of Iran's Ahmadinejad - Mahmoud Ahmadinejad doesn't stop reminding us that he wants to destroy Israel. Benjamin Pogrund explains why there are good reasons to believe Ahmadinejad is serious. More
Suicide Bombing in Netanya or 'The Iranian Candidate?' - The terrorists have opened the Israeli campaign season with a bang. More
Springtime for Sharon - Only last week, it looked, for just a moment, as though the Israeli left had miraculously been resurrected by the election of Amir Peretz to the head of the Labor party, and the defection of Ariel Sharon from the Likud. What could be better than renewal at home and confusion in the camp of the enemy? However, it is apparently not to be. The Israeli political system is confusing, surprising and illogical. The vicissitudes of Israeli politics are determined by the electoral process, the nature of Israeli society and perhaps by sunspots and bum luck. [more]
Israel political earthquakes: Sharon quits, Peretz resurrects Labor - Ariel Sharon today virtually destroyed the Likud party that he helped to create in 1977. He announced his resignation from the party and called for new elections. With this move, and the election of Amir Peretz as head of the the Israel Labor party, the Labor party, mourned only a few weeks ago as defunct, will probably become the leading political party in Israel once again, with the largest bloc of Knesset votes. If there are no further surprises in store, Amir Peretz would be the next Prime Minister of Israel, an inconceivable idea just two weeks ago. As usual, however, Sharon is planning surprises. More
Rice brokers lifting of Gaza siege - Negotiating Israeli-Palestinian agreements is easy. It's been done thousands of times, but will the agreements be kept? More
Laptop computer evidence of nuke program - is it conclusive? - Expert David Albright casts doubt on the evidence of Iran's nuclear warhead program as presented in the New York Times, but doesn't deny the importance of the actual evidence. More
Terror in Jordan kills 57: Enough is Enough - Wednesday evening, terror attacks at three hotels in Jordan killed 57 people and wounded up to 200. At least two of the explosions are believed to have been suicide bombings, but in reality it makes no difference how they were carried out. Our hearts go out to the victims and to the people of Jordan. More
Thank the al-Khatib family for their gift to peace - The parents of Ahmed al-Khatib, a twelve year old boy killed by accident by the IDF in Jenin, have given a gift to the peoples of Israel and Palestine, and to peace. They have allowed the organs of their son to be used to help save the lives of Israeli children. More
Self-righteousness will come home to roost ( or NY is Fun City, Paris is a riot) - The news from France is not good. The riots that are engulfing France should be the occasion for concern by all decent people. Instead, they have generated an incredible outpouring of self-righteousness. More
The legacy of Yitzhak Rabin - Ten years after - Critics have missed the very obvious point of what Rabin was trying to do and why it was important. More
A Palestinian responds to Ahmedinejad's call for destruction of Israel - Walid Salem asks some pointed questions and calls for an intensive discussion of the issues. More
Iran wants to destroy Israel - so what else is new? - All the world is in a surprising uproar because Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said that Israel should be wiped off the map. What's the fuss? More
Two Muslims and one American consultant - Three views of the Middle East Rashomon More
The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Toward one history - Palestinians and Israelis, Arabs and Zionists have learned different histories of the conflict. There can't be peace until we all agree. How do we achieve that? More
Mehlis Report fingers Syria, Lebanese officials for Hariri assassination - The UN report is embarrassing for apologists and wishful thinkers. More
Live in the Middle East - Travel warning for the United States - Gaza is Safer - U.S. homicide rate in 2004 was 25 percent higher than Israel's combined rate of deaths from crime, suicide bombings and intifada-related military casualties. More
Future of Palestine: Abbas at the crossroads - Abbas procrastinates, like a confused old man lost in the swirl of the uptown traffic. The once assertive being is now reduced to a mere cork upon a turbulent sea trapped between the many currents, and while he dithers Palestine slips away unnoticed as each hope is squelched. More
Abbas visits the Emperor - Again - The question I keep asking myself about the Bush-Abbas meeting is, "Was this trip really necessary?' Honestly, I could not understand what was to be accomplished, and I still can't. More
Iraq vote means what? A relatively large proportion of Iraqis voted for (or against) their new constitution, probably approving it. This is considered by most optimists to be at least a temporary reprieve and possibly a great success. More
Violence in the West Bank - Palestinian terrorists of the Fatah al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigades took "credit" for killing three Israel civilians, one a fifteen year old youth, yesterday in the West Bank and for wounding four others in two separate attacks. More
Al-Qaeda to Al-Qaeda - Zawahiri to Zarqawi - US intelligence has just released the text of Ayman Zawahiri's letter to Abu Musab Zarqawi. [more]
Is this what is wrong?? My attitude to the war in Iraq is increasingly, "Either find a way to win, or get out." [more]
Abbas Sharon Summit Postponed - No surprise there - They had nothing to talk about, so they decided not to talk about it. More le
Zionist Dream or Zionist Nightmare - the future is up to us - The Israeli left has abdicated leadership to the right, and sold out on key issues. The extreme right is planning to take over Israeli society. They might succeed by default. More
Untangling Iraq - Americans are now, slowly, beginning to admit that they "might" have a problem in Iraq. Admitting the problem is a first step. Finding solutions is a different matter. More
Five years of Intifada - a reckoning - Five years after the start of the Intifada, it is doubtful if anyone has learned anything useful, but it is useful to take stock. More
Mewzine Middle East Opinion
MEW BLOG - Middle East News and Views
Click here to tell your friends about MidEast Web
Please link to these pages
MEW BLOG - Middle East News and Views
Middle East Maps Israel-Palestine Timeline History of Israel and Palestine
MidEastWeb Middle East Master Reference and External Sources
Zionism - Definition and History
Copyright 2001-2005, MidEastWeb for Coexistence RA.
All original materials at MidEastWeb are copyright. Please do not copy materials from this Web site to your Web site or to forums without permission. Please tell your friends about MidEastWeb. Please forward these materials in e-mails to friends with links to this URL - http://www.mideastweb.org and to the URL of the material.
You can print out materials for your own use or classroom use, giving the URL of MidEastWeb. For pages marked Copyright, printed material should bear this notice:"Copyright by
MidEastWeb for Coexistence R.A - Middle East Resources. - http://www.mideastweb.org. All rights Reserved. "and should give the URL of the original. Reproduction in any other form - by permission only. Consult detailed terms of use and copyright information
at Zionism and Israel Information Center: Timeline (Chronology) of Zionist and Israeli History Zionism and the creation of Israel Detailed Road Map of Israel Maps of Israel showing distances to borders and comparative size Photo Gallery of Israeli and Zionist History Biographies of Zionist and Israeli Leaders Zionism and its Impact
Mideastweb Middle East Conflict News History Israeli-Palestinian Conflict
