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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)

    Economic Aspects of Peace in the Middle East

    Ed Balls MP and Jon Cunliffe, special report commissioned by the British Government (September 2007)
    September 26, 2007

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

    The current economic outlook for the OPTs is bleak. Despite $10 billion in international aid since the formation of the Palestinian Authority in 1993, the Palestinian people are getting poorer and
    65 per cent now live below the poverty line. For the Palestinians, further economic malaise will only increase humanitarian suffering. For the Israelis, economic deterioration in the OPTs can
    only increase security risks. For both sides, the current vicious cycle of poverty and unemployment contributing to instability and conflict, and in turn further poverty and unemployment, must be broken.

    Sustainable economic growth in the OPTs can come only from the private sector, whose development is currently held back by a number of barriers. While these are numerous, five building blocks of an economic roadmap for sustainable progress have been identified. First, the economy needs to be stabilised by reducing public expenditure, specifically the public wage bill, which could be temporarily underpinned by donor-funded employment and investment programmes. Second, a stable relationship between the Palestinian and Israeli economies needs to be established to provide a reliable framework for private sector led growth. Third, flowing from this, the right balance must be struck between short-term security and allowing movement and access, to allow both prosperity and security for the future. Fourth, the Palestinian economy must diversify its trade links and improve its access to global markets. Fifth, the private sector needs to be supported by enhancing the investment climate. Access the full article>>