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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)

    Lebanon’s Political Landscape

    September 19, 2007

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

    Confessionalism
    Confessionalism is a system that proportionally allocates political power to a country’s communities according to their proportion of the total population. Lebanon’s confessional formula was consecrated following independence from France in 1943. The formula for allocation was revised following the Taif Agreement that ended the civil war in 1989. The nature of the confessional system over time created opportunities for political movements seeking assistance from outside forces to improve their political position.

    Distribution of Political Posts in Lebanon by Religion
    President: Maronite Christian
    Prime Minister: Sunni Muslim
    Speaker of Parliament: Shi’a Muslim
    Deputy Speaker: Greek Orthodox
    Minister of Defense: Druze
    Commander of Armed Forces: Maronite Christian
    Ratio of Muslims to Christians in Parliament: 50/50 (originally 6/5 with a Christian majority, but ratio was revised in the 1989 Taif Agreement)

    Political Leaders in Lebanon
    Emile Lahoud
    President (since 1998)
    President Emile Lahoud has faced increased pressure to resign since the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The pro-Syrian president has said he will stay until his term expires in late 2007.

    Fouad Siniora
    Prime Minister
    A former finance minister and friend of the late PM Rafik Hariri, Siniora was chosen as premier after the victory of anti-Syrian March 14th alliance in the 2005 elections. He promised to continue Hariri’s campaign of reforms, and has proceeded with plans for an international tribunal to investigate Hariri’s assassination. The UN secretary general hopes to appoint judges in the trial by the end of 2007.

    Nabih Berri
    Speaker of the Parliament
    Nabih Berri is a pro-Syrian Shi’a and leader of the opposition Amal party. Berri formed an alliance with Hezbollah during the 2005 elections, and he opposes Hezbollah disarmament.

    Hassan Nasrallah
    Secretary General of Hezbollah
    Nasrallah has been the secretary general of Hezbollah since 1992. Hezbollah has grown considerably under Nasrallah’s leadership, and particularly since Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon in 2000 He has been less successful however in his efforts to build a coalition that could oust the anti-Syrian majority. Hezbollah’s civilian rebuilding efforts since the 2006 conflict with Israel also have been slow, despite Iranian financial backing.

    Michel Aoun
    Leader of Free Patriotic Movement
    Recently returned from a 15 year exile in France, Michael Aoun is a former prime minister of Lebanon and was the leader of the Christian anti-Syrian faction during the Lebanese civil war. While his party bases its support in the Christian middle class. Aoun now has formed an alliance with Syrian-Iranian aligned Hezbollah against the Siniora government, which he claims is corrupt.

    Walid Jumblatt
    Leader of Progressive Socialist Party
    A Druze politician, Jumblatt is a member of the ruling March 14th coalition. In 1983, during the Lebanese civil war, he presided over the sectarian cleansing of Christians from Lebanon’s mountains, but in 2001 he sealed a reconciliation with the Maronite patriarch on behalf of the Druze. Politicians associated with Jumblatt now often receive Christian support. He supported Syria until the death of Hafez al-Assad, and now is a leading advocate for Lebanese sovereignty.