King Abdullah II will hold talks with U.S. President Barack Obama next Tuesday in Washington. A statement from the royal palace says that the talks will focus on the uprisings that have engulfed the region along with the resumption of Palestinian-Israeli talks. The talks will be preceded by a meeting in London this Thursday between Abdullah II and British Prime Minister David Cameron.    

Writing at Babylon & Beyond, Director of the Carnegie Middle East Center Paul Salem notes that the regional uprisings have not caused any shift in the region's strategic balance. He notes that rather than gaining influence, Iran's soft power has decreased as it's regime looks increasingly repressive in light of the new revolutionary models of Egypt and Tunisia. While Saudi Arabia remains worried about the effect of these transformations, it has ...

French President Nicholas Sarkozy told L'Express (French) that if peace negotiations are still stalled by September, "France will assume its responsibilities on the central question of recognizing the Palestinian state." The Palestinian Authority intends to seek a vote for statehood before the United Nations General Assembly in September. Sarkozy added that the "idea that we have time is a dangerous one." He also called upon Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ...

Following the final signing of a Fatah-Hamas reconciliation agreement yesterday many international leaders and negotiators weighed in. Benjamin Netanyahu announced in London: "What happened today in Cairo is a tremendous blow to peace and a great victory for terrorism."  Ha'aretz reports that leaked Israeli Foreign Ministry documents state that the agreement could offer Israel a "strategic opportunity", which is in stark contrast to statements coming from Israel's leadership.  Quartet Representative Tony Blair announced that ...

On Wednesday, Fatah and Hamas signed the proposed reconciliation agreement in Cairo following final negotiations. The deal has been heavily criticized by the Israeli Government, who is currently withholding $90 million in  tax revenue owed to the Palestinian Authority. Israel collects nearly a $1 billion annually in tax revenues  and customs on behalf of the PA. The revenue is transferred in accordance with terms of the Oslo accords. Hamas has announced ...

Assistant Secretary for Near Eastern Affairs Jeffrey Feltman will travel to Amman, Jordan on May 2-4 to meet with King Abdullah, Foreign Minister Nasser Judeh, Minister of Planning and International Cooperation Jafar Hassan, and members of civil society.   Secretary Feltman will continue bilateral dialogue that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Foreign Minister Judeh held in Washington D.C. in April, discuss the King's reform agenda and regional issues ...

Several analysts offer realist assessments of the potential pitfalls of ousting Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad. Hilal Khashan, professor of political science at the American University of Beirut, called it a "doomsday scenario" which would exacerbate geopolitical and sectarian tensions. The article explains that on the Israeli front, the Assad regime has "reliably not attempted" to take back Golan in forty years. Turkey will be concerned about the unrest spreading to ...

Israel is witholding tax transfers to the Palestinian Authority (PA), which account for about 70 percent of its budget. The U.S. State Department said it would continue its assistance for now and assess its position based on the new Palestinian government's policies. Representative Gary Ackerman (D-NY), ranking member of the House Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia, stated, “I don’t think there is any will on the part of the ...

Writing at Foreign Policy, former Israeli ambassador to the U.N. Dore Gold argues that the recent Fatah-Hamas unity deal makes permanent peace with Israel, less, not more likely.  Gold states that the reconciliation is part of Mahmoud Abbas's push for recognition of Palestinian statehood at the U.N. General Assembly in September but says such efforts suffer from a "fundamental misconception."  Gold reiterates that the General Assembly has no power or ...

The New York Times reports that the agreement reached by Fateh and Hamas to form a unity government was influenced by regional changes created by the Arab Spring. Specifically, unrest in Syria may deprive Hamas of its external headquarters; while, a new Egyptian regime may open the Gaza-Sinai border. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas has argued that unity was needed to give legitimacy to Palestinian Authority's push for statehood before the ...

The Pew Research Center published a poll on Egypt's political outlook on Tuesday, offering the "first credible" statistical insight of the political trends in post-revolutionary Egypt. Researchers conducted personal interviews with 1,000 Egyptian adults between 24 March and 7 April. Generally, the poll shows a highly favorable view of the military, and split support for the Muslim Brotherhood, the April 6 Movement and Ayman Nour's Al-Ghad party. The ...

Turkish President Abdullah Gul, in a New York Times op-ed, argued that a comprehensive agreement between Israel and the Palestinian authority is necessary for regional security and democratic consolidation in the wake of the Arab Spring. Gul's presumes that a reliable peace and stable regional democracies are complimentary, given that the "plight of the Palestinians has been a root cause of unrest and conflict in the region and is ...

Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women's Issues Melanie Verveer will travel to Egypt, Israel and the West Bank from April 15th through April 22nd.  During her visit,  the ambassador will meet with government officials, political party representatives, civil society leaders and the media to discuss the need for inclusion of women in the political process and their role as peace builders.  She will also meet with business leaders, youth organizations and women's ...

The IMF and World Bank will present reports at a Palestinian Authority donors conference in Brussels this week in which they pronounce Palestinian institutions ready for statehood. This underscores Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad’s running two-year promise to pronounce a Palestinian state by September of this year at the UN General Assembly. In spite of progress, the report cites the repercussions of stalled negotiations as an obstacle to continued growth. Israeli ...

On Tuesday, Israeli President Shimon Peres called on the international community to support a democratic transition in Syria along with the democratic youth movements across the broader Middle East.  He also stated that Israel was ready to give up the Golan Heights, as part of a peace deal with Syria, if the country would break ties with Iran and Hezbollah.  He called for a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict ...