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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)

    Losing Lebanon

    Los Angeles Times Editorial
    June 29, 2007

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

    "Although [we] ha[ve] endorsed engagement with Syria, there can be no compromise on the work of the tribunal ... [A]nd there can be no retreat from Lebanon's right to sovereignty."

    In 2004, the U.N. Security Council resolved that Lebanon should hold free and fair elections "devised without foreign interference or influence." That promise has not been kept. Now the Cedar Revolution, which forced Syria to end its military occupation of Lebanon, is unraveling.

    U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice met with [Prime Minister] Siniora on Tuesday in Paris, but where is the U.S. or U.N. plan for free Lebanese elections? If the Lebanese parliament cannot meet in Beirut without the fear of Hezbollah- or Syrian-inspired violence, and if the United Nations cannot guarantee its safety, then let the parliament sit in exile — perhaps in New York. Access the full article>>