Democracy For Peace
August 8th, 2008 by Adam
In an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, Natan Sharansky and Bassem Eid suggest that peace between the Israelis and Palestinians requires democratic reform and an empowered civil society in the Palestinian Territories. The two suggest that Israeli and American passivity towards Fatah’s corruption and flattening of civil society allowed Hamas’ political rise and made peace unlikely. They suggest peace efforts not be based on who is ruling, but on how they rule. Sharansky and Eid conclude by saying, “It is high time that Palestinian civil society be fully recognized by the international community as a prerequisite to peace, not as an obstacle to it. If Palestinian civil society is not empowered, the Fatah-controlled West Bank may soon be ruled by Hamas, and Fatah leaders there may find themselves one day having to rely on Israel’s Supreme Court to save them.”
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Hamas, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine | Comment »
Palestinian Political Suicide
August 6th, 2008 by Adam
Rami Khouri sees the fighting between Fatah and Hamas as dark days for the Palestinian national movement. He further states that this fighting is incomprehensible as economic sanctions have, “…reduced Gaza not just to a prison-like encampment, but to a ward of paupers.” According to Khouri, the fighting is the latest example of how the Palestinian liberation movement has been discredited by the ineptitude of its political leadership that is unable to avoid internal infighting and remain cohesive. However, Khouri concludes on an optimistic note by saying, “This is a dark day for the Palestinians, but not the end of the line. When they hit bottom - and they are almost there - the Palestinians will find better leadership that can regain their cohesion and credibility, and their self-respect.”
Posted in Hamas, Palestine | Comment »
Problems in Palestine
August 5th, 2008 by Adam
An editorial in the Daily Star claims that the recent infighting between Hamas and Fatah illustrates how much the two groups have imperiled the Palestinian cause. Instead of Israel, the Palestinian groups’ inability to put partisan differences aside and keep focused on their struggle represent a greater threat to the Palestinian people. The editorial warns that continued political bloodshed and internal violence threatens the Palestinians’ “very right to existence.”
Posted in Hamas, Israel, Palestine | Comment »
A Grand Strategy
July 31st, 2008 by Sarah
Kenneth Pollack joins WashingtonPost.com readers online to discuss his recently published book “A Path Out Of The Desert: A Grand Strategy for America in the Middle East.” Pollack answers questions about America’s dependence on foreign oil, missed opportunities to develop a relationship with Iran, and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In regard to U.S. influence in the region, Pollack recommends that the U.S. “help ALL of the Muslim Middle Eastern states, including the rich Gulf states, begin a long-term process of reforming their economic, political and social systems to deal with the underlying problems that generate the endemic instability and terrorism of the region, and that create the greatest threats to us and to them.”
Posted in Iran, Israel, Oil, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »
Setback to Democracy Promotion
July 30th, 2008 by Sarah
Rami Khouri in the Daily Star looks to the advice of Robert Pelletreau, former assistant secretary of state for Near Eastern affairs and ambassador to three Arab countries, to review why the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan, the oil situation, and efforts to expand democracy are worse off now than before Bush became President. Democracy promotion “has been set back by our headlong push for elections in countries with little or no popular experience in political participation. The result has been clerical-led factions being elected in Iraq, Hamas winning parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories, the Muslim Brotherhood gaining ground in Egypt, Hizbullah becoming a stronger political force in Lebanon and even the word ‘democracy’ now being widely treated in the region as an American implant.”
Posted in Democracy Promotion, Egypt, Hamas, Hezbollah, Iraq, Israel, Muslim Brotherhood, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »
US Foreign Policy Pivots - More to Come?
July 25th, 2008 by Amanda
The Economist considers the recent changes of the Bush Administration’s Middle East policy to be less of a pivot and more of an absolute U-turn, and calls for more of the same. As its attitude toward Iran has shifted from “axis of evil” rhetoric to one of limited yet active diplomacy, President Bush ought to now engage Syria in “the same guarded flexibility that he is now showing towards Iran.” If the US is beginning a complete about face, then what about “the final half turn?” The Economist suggests that Bush “cannot make up in months for his years of neglect of Palestine. But he could do his successor a favour” and “help the next man make a quicker start.”
At National Interest Flynt Leverett and Hillary Mann Leverett elaborate on the opening that the US has suddenly created with Iran, and the possible dangers if Bush closes in too quickly by imposing its two-week deadline for the halting of Iran’s uranium enrichment. They comment that the Administration’s historically hard-line approach of disengagement has “not only imposed opportunity costs on American interests in the Middle East—by foregoing the possibility of better relations with a key regional actor—but also hardened Iranian perceptions that the United States is unwilling to live with the Islamic Republic.”
And then comes Iraq. Fouad Ajami at US News provides an interesting perspective on the future of US presence and its security agreements with Prime Minister Nuri Al-Maliki and the Iraqi government.
Posted in Diplomacy, Iran, Iraq, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »
Palestinian Security Forces as a Move Towards Peace
July 23rd, 2008 by Sarah
Anthony Cordesman in an op-ed in the New York Times argues that the U.S. should help build a Palestinian security force in order to promote peace between Palestinians and Israelis. “Unless there are effective Palestinian security forces, Israel will never trust in a Palestinian state or be able to act on the quiet progress being made toward reaching a final settlement.”
Along those lines, Cordesman denounces the State Department for acting as a “key barrier to the first real step toward peace,” by preventing U.S. actors from “working in the field and developing critical personal relationships with Palestinian officers and officials.”
Posted in Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Military, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »
Undermining the Palestinian Movement
July 21st, 2008 by Adam
Omran Risheq at the Daily Star writes an interesting piece about how disillusionment with the Palestinian national movement and chances for a peaceful resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict have bolstered the political fortunes of Hizb al-Tahrir al-Islami, a Salafist movement seeking restoration of the Caliphate. The party rejects modern conceptions of human rights and democracy, and has gained credibility with Palestinians as the lack progress on peace has undermined other groups’ ability to claim they can end the occupation.
Posted in Islamist movements, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine | Comment »
2008: Dennis Ross Joining Obama on Mideast Trip
July 17th, 2008 by Matt
Time magazine’s Massimo Calabresi reports on Barack Obama’s choice to have Dennis Ross accompany him on his Middle East trip, what Ross’ presence might mean to Arab and Israeli observers, and whether or not Ross might have a future role on Obama’s negotiating team for the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Posted in Election 08, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, US foreign policy, US politics | Comment »
World Opinion on the Palestinian-Israeli Conflict
July 2nd, 2008 by Sarah
WorldPublicOpinion.Org has released the results of their 18-country study regarding the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. Most favor the U.N. playing a robust role in peace enforcement, an even-handed approach to resolving the conflict, and negative reviews of Israel, Palestinians, the U.S., Arab Countries, and Europe.
For country-by-country summaries, click here.
For the full report, click here.
Posted in Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Public Opinion | Comment »
POMED Notes: The Bush Administration and Middle East Peacemaking: The Final Six Months
June 30th, 2008 by Adam
On Monday the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars held a panel discussion regarding the future of Middle East peacemaking in the last six months of President Bush’s administration. Speakers included, Rami Khouri, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and Editor-at-large of the Daily Star, David Makovsky, Director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, and Aaron David Miller, Public Policy Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson Center and former U.S. Middle East Negotiator.
For POMED’s complete notes on the discussion, click here.
Posted in Diplomacy, Event Notes, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, US foreign policy | 1 Comment »
Engagement in the Middle East
June 30th, 2008 by Sarah
Daniel Levy at Prospects for Peace asks the $64,000 question of whether recent rocket fire will lead to an escalation between Hamas and Israel and to an end to the cease-fire.
Sameer Lalwani notes at the Washington Note the pressures on both sides to “play spoiler in order to preempt a resolution that leaves them weakened or excluded from power.”
However, regardless of how successful Israel’s engagement with either Syria and Hamas will ultimately be, a New York Times editorial credits Israel for its latest diplomatic moves. “With its security and even survival at stake, it would have been irresponsible to continue to let Washington’s ideological blinders constrain Israeli diplomacy.”
Meanwhile, Mona Yacoubian and Scott Lasensky at The Council on Foreign Relations argue that the U.S. should change its policy toward Syria to include conditional engagement in order to further U.S. interests of stability in Iraq and Lebanon, promoting peace and stability between Israel and its Arab neighbors, and heading off Iranian influence.
Posted in Diplomacy, Hamas, Hezbollah, Israel, Palestine, Syria | Comment »
The Turn in Israeli Policy
June 24th, 2008 by Adam
Israel’s recent regional undertakings have been very effective diplomatic gambits, according to Marc Ginsberg at Huffington Post. “Israel has secretly accomplished more diplomatically in the past few months with its adversaries than anything that Condi Rice could have or would have brokered in years — a glaring testament to the ever-shrinking influence of the U.S. in the region…”
On the other hand, Martin Peretz, sees these negotiations as doomed to fail. Peretz asserts that Israel’s negotiations with Syria are a gift and that they are unlikely to produce anything tangible for Israel’s security situation. The Israel-Hamas ceasefire will also have negative consequences in that it emboldens Hamas while marginalizing Fatah in the West Bank.
Posted in Hamas, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, Syria | Comment »
Hamas: A Year Later
June 17th, 2008 by Adam
Rafael Frankel of the Christian Science Monitor takes a very interesting look at the effects of Hamas’ rule one year after it seized the Gaza Strip from Fatah in a violent struggle. Even as economic standards, sanitary conditions, and basic standards of living have plummeted precipitously, an interesting dynamic has developed. Gaza is no longer lawless, but there is a pervasive climate of fear and Gazans have not been able to judge Hamas’ ability to govern as they blame the current situation on Israel’s blockade of the territory.
Posted in Hamas, Palestine | Comment »
POMED Notes: Examining the Year Ahead on the Israeli-Palestinian Front
June 16th, 2008 by Sarah
The New America Foundation invited Mustafa Barghouti, Daniel Levy, and Aaron David Miller to discuss where Israeli-Palestinian relations are now and what we can anticipate in the next six months. Mustafa Barghouti is a member of the Palestinian Legislative Council and former Presidential candidate. Daniel Levy is the Director of the Middle East Policy Initiative at the New America Foundation and Prospects for Peace Initiative at the Century Foundation. He is a former Senior Policy Adviser in the Israeli Prime Minister’s office. Aaron David Miller served under six Secretaries of State, most recently as senior adviser on Arab-Israeli negotiations. Introductions were made by Patrick Doherty, Deputy Director of the American Strategy Program at the New America Foundation.
For POMED’s full notes, click here.
Posted in Elections, Event Notes, Hamas, Israel, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »
2008: Obama at AIPAC
June 10th, 2008 by Matt
The speeches at AIPAC were probably the most important policy items that I missed while away, so I’ll address them briefly here, despite potential staleness (focusing only on Obama and McCain, as the general election so begins). Obama argued in his remarks that recent U.S. foreign policy has made Israel less secure by clumsily strengthening entities like Hamas, Hezbollah, the government of Iran, and other extremist organizations. For Obama, a solution is attained by: continuing large amounts of military aid to Israel ($30 billion over the next decade); a lasting two-state peace agreement with the Palestinians achieved in part by isolating Hamas (Obama opposed the 2006 elections that brought Hamas to power), championing Palestinian moderates (and asking other Arab states to do so as well), cutting off weapons smuggling through Egypt, and insisting that Israel live up to past agreements to improve freedom of movement, refrain from building new settlements, and aid economic conditions in the Palestinian territories.
All of these strategies would be accompanied by tough-minded engagement with Iran and Syria (which Obama elaborates on in more detail than I am aware of him doing previously) and a comprehensive energy policy that would help move us away from indirectly bankrolling many of the problems we are trying to fight.
At the Foreign Policy blog, Blake Hounshell wonders if Obama’s take on an “undivided” Jerusalem might come back to haunt him down the road.
Posted in Election 08, Israel, Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine, US foreign policy, US politics, Uncategorized | Comment »
Fatah-Hamas Dialogue?
June 5th, 2008 by Adam
The New York Times is reporting that Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas has called for a resumption of dialogue with Hamas. An editorial in the Middle East Times argues that Abbas’ opening of talks highlights the failures of U.S. policies that stress isolation and de-emphasize negotiation and compromise. The editorial states, “Now even America’s friends don’t listen. As a result regional players are stepping up and playing a bigger role in resolving regional issues.”
Posted in Hamas, Palestine, US foreign policy | Comment »
Gazan Fulbright Students’ Future Looking Brighter
June 2nd, 2008 by Sarah
Today, the U.S. State Department reinstated the Fulbright grants offered to Palestinians in Gaza, reported to have been withdrawn last week. The spokesman for the Israeli Defense Ministry said the Gazans would be granted permits after individual security checks.
Ethan Bronner reported in the New York Times that the US State Department withdrew the Fulbright Grants because Israel had not granted them permission to leave the “hostile territory” of Gaza. Current Israeli policy only permits movement out of Gaza for humanitarian concerns, a bar that higher education does not pass.
One of the Fulbright recipients, Abdulrahman Abdullah, was outraged. “Israel talks about a Palestinian state. But who will build that state if we can get no training?”
Some however believed this policy should have been upheld. Israeli lawmaker, Yuval Steinitz, stated, “I don’t think we should allow students from Gaza to go anywhere. Gaza is under siege, and rightly so, and it is up to the Gazans to change the regime or its behavior.”
Others such as Natan Sharanksky cautioned that “we correctly complain that the Palestinian Authority is not building civil society, but when we don’t help build civil society this plays into the hands of Hamas.”
Gisha, an Israeli organization focusing on the free movement of Palestinians, supports the decision, but calls on Israel to “allow all Palestinian students accepted to universities abroad to exercise their right to leave Gaza and access education, in order to obtain the tools they need to build a better future in the region.”
Posted in Foreign Aid, Hamas, Israel, Palestine | Comment »
Palestinian Leadership Collapsing in Wake of Annapolis?
May 22nd, 2008 by Pasha
Ghassan Khatib argues in the Daily Star that the United States and Israel had “no serious intention to make peace” at Annapolis, and Palestinian leadership is too weak to successfully broker a peace agreement. Khatib sees President Abbas’ promise to resign if peace talks do not succeed as part of a potentially wide “collapse” of political leadership that could be “catastrophic” for Palestinians.
Posted in Mideast Peace Plan, Palestine | Comment »
Palestinian Progress
May 3rd, 2008 by Amanda
Ben White lauds the “flourishing of Palestinian civil society” in a Christian Science Monitor opinion piece, that is “emphasizing democratic participation and education.” He praises their steadfastness in spite of “Israeli policies of dispossession and occupation.” And while White recognizes that “formidable obstacles remain” for progress, he sees wide room for continuing growth toward a unified, democratic, and peaceful Palestine.
Posted in Israel, Palestine | Comment »
