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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

09/04/08
From Zero-Sum to Win-Win  —Mara Rudman, adviser, Middle East Progress; senior fellow, Center for American Progress. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
09/04/08
How Progress Is Possible  —
08/07/08
How to Deal with Jerusalem  —Lt. Col. (Res.) Ron Shatzberg, Project Director, Economic Cooperation Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Two-State Solution Still Best Option

“In practical terms, we can reach two conclusions: First, a final-status agreement, although its details are known, cannot be secured in the foreseeable future. Second, the time has come to think about other solutions. One of them is a return not to the 1967 borders, but rather, to the reality that prevailed in 1967, when Jordan controlled the West Bank.”
—Major General (ret.) Giora Eiland, “The Jordanian Option,” YNet, September 3, 2008 versus
  • "On both sides of the green line and, indeed, wherever people think about solutions to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, a lot of old/new thinking is taking place. … Most of these ideas are patently unrealistic. Discussion of them often reflects despair, not pragmatic strategic thinking. … Precisely because there is no such alternative, other options more readily suggest themselves, ranging from temporary conflict management to three states or entities. Nor does failure today mean that tomorrow we cannot try again to arrive at a two-state solution, which remains the best option for all."
    —Yossi Alpher, coeditor of the bitterlemons family of internet publications & former director, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, "One State Definitely Not an Option," bitterlemons.org, August 18, 2008

    • Middle East Analysis

    • How Progress Is Possible —Hiba Husseini, chair, Legal Committee to Final Status Negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis; former vice chairperson of the Palestine Securities Exchange (1998-May 2005). Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
    • Perils of an Israeli Transition —The New York Times, Editorial
    • The Arabs Will Look Differently Upon America —Ron Pundak, director general of the Peres Center for Peace and former architects and negotiators of the Oslo Agreement (bitterlemons.org)

    Iraqi Refugees: The Broader Context

    June 1, 2007

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

    Dr. Shibley Telhami appeared before the House Foreign Affairs Committee Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia on May 8 in a hearing entitled "Two Sides of the Same Coin: Jewish and Palestinian Refugees." He spoke about the current Iraqi refugee crisis and its greater context:

    "I also think that the refugee issue - we don’t spend enough time talking about it in this country. We sort of mention it… whether it’s in the Sudan, for example, or now the refugees out of Iraq. … The 1948 conflict was not just a refugee issue, it was a political issue, and that’s what makes it very difficult. The refugee issue only reinforces the complex political issues in the region.

    "And in the case of Iraq … Jordan has absorbed 1 million refugees from Iraq; it’s a country of about 5 million people. And Syria, next door, is hosting possibly up to three quarter of a million refugees. And they’re poor countries, with limited populations. And they are dealing with it and obviously the international community is trying to help with that. But are we aware of this even though we’re involved in the Iraq war? Are we making enough of an issue on it? And we’re not hosting enough refugees here, out of Iraq. And we have to think about this collectively. I, as an American, for example, feel a sense of responsibility towards the refugees coming out of Iraq, given our role in the war." Watch the hearing>>