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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

12/11/08
Toward Resolution  —President of Israel Shimon Peres. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
11/25/08
U.S. Engagement with Iran: A How to Guide  — Karim Sadjadpour, associate, Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
11/20/08
Pakistan: Learning the Right Lessons from Iraq  —Senator Robert P. Casey, Jr. (D-PA), Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

A Shared Interest

"With his enthusiastic embrace of the so-called Saudi peace plan, Olmert is committing Israel to accepting the Arab narrative of the Arab-Israeli conflict. … With Olmert now giving his stamp of approval to the Saudi plan, he is denying the country its moral right to defend itself both militarily and diplomatically."
—Caroline Glick, deputy managing editor, The Jerusalem Post; senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs, Center for Security Policy, "Tzipi and the Drug Lords," The Jerusalem Post, November 27, 2008 versus
  • “Israel rejected the Initiative in the past without examining it in depth. According to the common wisdom, the more Arab partners involved, the more they’ll be pushing us and be in favor of the Palestinians. I think that in the present situation in the Arab and Muslim world, where we see strengthening of extremism that bothers moderate Arab states no less than it bothers us, the Arab states have an interest that such an agreement comes to fruition. And for that to happen, if there is a need to push the Palestinians or assist them, I think this is exactly the time to do that.”
    —Maj. Gen (ret.) Danny Rothschild, president, Council for Peace and Security, interview, Israeli radio, Reshet Bet, November 2, 2008 (translated by Middle East Bulletin)

    • Middle East Analysis

    • Putting the Arab Peace Initiative Into Action —Ghaith al-Omari, director of advocacy, American Task Force on Palestine; former foreign policy adviser to Palestinian President Abbas. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
    • Peace Plan Needs PR Backing —Roula Khalaf (Financial Times)
    • A Comprehensive Agenda —Ezzedine Choukri-Fishere, former adviser to the Egyptian foreign minister, & Omar Dajani, former legal adviser to the Palestinian negotiating team (Al-Ahram Weekly)

    Three Voices on the Situation in Gaza

    May 21, 2007

    Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

    Israeli
    “We did not leave Gaza in order to reoccupy it. And when we were there, we were unable to eradicate the terror and violence. And always, when you weigh a military step, you have to think of its diplomatic conclusion. The diplomatic aspect has two main components. International public opinion has to be recruited to firmly and emphatically oppose fire at our sovereign territory. …

    “On the other hand, there is another component. And that is dialogue, that does not exist, with the moderate Palestinians.”
    – Gilad Sher, former bureau chief for Prime Minister Ehud Barak and lead Israeli negotiator with the Palestinians, Israel Radio, May 18, 2007

    Saudi
    “The government, when it was formed, it was to lead the Palestinian people towards the negotiated settlement. But if fighting continues, and spreads, and the government falls, then that would be catastrophic for the cause of peace.

    “Certainly there will not be any reasonable expectation of success [for the Arab peace initiative] without a return to unity between the Palestinians.”
    –Prince Saud Al Faisal, Foreign Minister, Saudi Arabia, Time Magazine, May 16, 2007

    Palestinian
    “The catastrophe currently afflicting Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, the homeland and the Diaspora must end immediately. Hundreds of innocents have already been injured, maimed and killed by the criminal operations that are being carried out around the clock in the Gaza Strip. They are a threat to the unity of the Palestinian people, their institutions and national cause, a cause for which we have expended much sweat and made many sacrifices in the past.

    “I therefore condemn this bloody struggle for control over a besieged authority that is bereft of any jurisdiction that it initially may have had, following 7 years of Israeli obstruction and interference.”
    –Marwan Barghouti, former leader of Fatah militia in West Bank, sentenced to life in prison by Israel, May 17, 2007