All eyes on Germany as UN Security Council debates anti-Israel resolution
It comes as no surprise that Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas declared President Trump’s Middle East peace plan “dead on arrival” even before it was presented at the White House this...
View ArticleTrump's peace plan and the Gulf Arab States' reaction
The Arab League rejection of Donald Trump’s peace plan confirmed Israel’s role as the diplomatic mistress of Persian Gulf monarchs. Arab states are happy to flirt privately with Israeli...
View ArticleSaudi TV series speaks volumes about regional dynamics
During the holy month of Ramadan, now underway, when TV viewership among Muslims traditionally skyrockets, Saudi Arabia’s MBC network is airing a series about Jewish families in a fictional Arab...
View ArticleWhy Morocco refused to normalize relations with Israel
Morocco’s decision not to normalize relations with Israel following the agreement between Israel and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) likely came as a result of two overriding considerations. First, King...
View ArticleBandar speaks out: the changing landscape in the Mideast
Shortly before we presented the Clinton parameters on peace to the Israelis and Palestinians in December 2000, I briefed Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador to America. Once presented, I wanted...
View ArticleWhat does $4.3 billion buy? Leveraging results, not process, with Israel and...
In the depths of this pandemic, nearly 14 million American children are not getting enough to eat. Yet, by my count, the Biden administration has approximately $4.3 billion in the treasury for...
View ArticleEnd the 'conventional wisdom' of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict...
For the first time in 16 years, Palestinians will go to the polls for a parliamentary and presidential election. The elections in May will gain legitimacy for the Palestinians with the Biden...
View ArticleThe US should help Palestinians vote regardless of potential outcomes
The ghost of 2006 hangs heavy over the heads of United States policymakers anticipating Palestinian elections scheduled for May 22. Hamas’s surprise victory over a divided Fatah in 2006 upended the...
View ArticleDuplicity is a diplomatic game, but not one to play with Palestinian elections
It has often been said, somewhat in jest, that diplomats are people who are sent abroad to lie for their country. But they can also lie at home, or be disingenuous if a more diplomatic description is...
View ArticleTurkish demonstrators protest Israeli violence on Palestinians
Thousands demonstrated in Turkey outside the Israeli Embassy on Monday in protest of Israeli violence against Palestinians amid escalating clashes.Reuters reports that demonstrators broke with the full...
View ArticlePlace the blame for the Gaza war where it belongs
As Israel continues to defend itself against a brutal war begun by Hamas — and the launching of thousands of missiles against a civilian population is nothing less than a war — many are seeking to...
View ArticlePalestinians must make peace with themselves before peace with Israel will be...
What is happening between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza is an immense human tragedy. In just over a week, Hamas has fired about 3,500 rockets. At least 212 people have been killed in Gaza, 12 in...
View ArticleHamas violence meets Gulf silence
Eight months since the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain shocked the world by announcing formal relations with Israel, diplomatic ties are facing their most severe test after the eruption of war in...
View ArticleWinners and losers in the mini-war between Israel and Hamas
As a ceasefire took hold after 11 days of rocket and bombing attacks, Israel and Hamas both lost little time in claiming victory. It is difficult to point to winners and losers amid such death,...
View ArticleHow 'constructive ambiguity' has failed Israelis and Palestinians
Well-meaning American negotiators over the years have done a disservice to the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. To try to bridge the perhaps insurmountable gulf between the warring parties, diplomats...
View ArticleAn American consulate in East Jerusalem would preserve a two-state solution
As tensions grow over the Biden administration’s decision to reopen the U.S. Consulate in Jerusalem, there is a simple solution that, unusual for this conflict, could be a win-win all around. That...
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