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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

08/07/08
How to Deal with Jerusalem  —Lt. Col. (Res.) Ron Shatzberg, Project Director, Economic Cooperation Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
08/07/08
How to Deal with Jerusalem  —
08/05/08
Why Did Maliki Call for a Timeline?  —by Christopher Kojm who teaches at the Elliott School of International Affairs at George Washington University and is a former senior advisor to the Iraq Study Group. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Already Divided

“Even the Arab minority in the city has shown its preference for living under Israeli rule, as many have moved to the Israeli side of the security barrier being built around Jerusalem. Their choice is reasonable, as Jerusalem offers the quality of life of a modern western city while only a few kilometers away the norm is a third world standard of living, chaos and religious intolerance. An undivided Jerusalem is the best guarantee of a better life for all Jerusalemites.”
—Nathan Diament, Director of Public Policy, Union of Orthodox Jewish Congregations of America, July 23, 2008 versus
  • “Those who believe that Jerusalem should not be divided, and mean by that that the Arab neighborhoods should not be separated from the city, should be the first to insist that an active policy be adopted by the government and the municipality to improve the lot of local Arab residents. Barring that, Jerusalem will continue to remain a divided city.”
    —Moshe Arens, former Israeli defense and foreign minister (Likud), “A Story of Neglect,” Haaretz, July 28, 2008

    • Middle East Analysis

    Conference Watch: Still Much to be Done

    August 3, 2007

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

    Date: October or November

    Location:     To be determined.

    Invitees:
    • Invitations have not yet been issued.
    • Saudi Arabia will consider attending if talks are substantive.
    • Syria also announced its willingness to attend, despite almost non-existent relations with Washington.

    Agenda:
    • Specific agenda items have not been determined
    • Main purpose is to discuss and possibly move forward the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.
    • Arab states have urged discussion on final status issues, while Israel wants to use the forum to move forward, not finalize, the peace process.

    Advance Preparation:
    • Trips Completed: 1 four-day visit, July 30-August 2, with Defense Secretary Gates. Gates did not accompany Rice to the Israel portion of the visit.
    • Earlier trip to the Middle East and Africa cancelled so Secretary Rice could focus on the domestic debate on the war in Iraq.
    • Trips planned: Rice plans to return to the region before the conference
    • The Quartet is expected to meet once prior to the conference.

    Guide to Preparing International Conferences