Israel’s attempt to divert argument away from its blockade on Gaza, and over to the resistance that its troops encountered while attacking the Blue Marmara, is futile and grotesque. Let’s suppose for a moment that its commandos were attacked, as…
Tag: Hamas
The New Abu Mazen?
American mediator George Mitchell is again en route to the Middle East in a mission to jumpstart negotiations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA). Mitchell is trying to keep his grip on the rope that Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu grudgingly let…
What’s at Stake in the Deal for Gilad Shalit
The video of kidnapped soldier Gilad Shalit ruled the ratings on the eve of the Sukkoth festival, sparking off a weekend of analyses as commentators studied each frame of the two-minute forty-second Shalit clip that Hamas released in exchange for…
A Palestinian State Within Two Years?
On Tuesday, August 25, 2009, Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad presented his plan to establish a Palestinian state within two years. He stressed the internal changes that must be made in order to build its legal, economic and social infrastructure.…
Settlements First
Ever since the speech by US President Barack Obama at Cairo University on June 4, 2009, construction in the West Bank settlements has become the focus of political attention in both Israel and the world. The clear, even blunt position…
Obama and Bibi: Political Divergence, Strategic Symbiosis
From the meeting between US President Barack Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu on May 18, 2009, no wide-ranging agreement was to be expected. To judge from the public news conference, the encounter was a porcupine tango. Netanyahu flew…
The Fading of the Two-State Solution
AFTER RETURNING from the Annapolis Conference, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert told Haaretz (November 28, 2007) that “the State of Israel cannot endure unless a Palestinian state comes into being.” Olmert had made a like pronouncement in December 2003, when he was…
Never Never Land
AFTER HAMAS was elected, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas (Abu Mazen) attempted to cooperate with it. This led Israel to claim there was no one to talk to. After Hamas took over Gaza, however, Abbas officially dismissed its government and set…
Nablus: Fury and Apathy
IPHONED AP photographer Nasser e-Shtay on Friday evening, December 22, 2006. I knew he’d been working in Nablus all day. There had been a lot of work there. “Do you have anything?” I asked. His “Yes” was so definite that…
Windows of Flopportunity
US President George W. Bush has meddled in three major theatres of the Middle East: Iraq, Palestine and Lebanon. As a result, the first is now in civil war and the remaining two are on the brink. Back in 2003,…