Two new books lament the outsized role of the military in Israeli national security decisionmaking, blaming the generals for favoring force over diplomacy.

If there's one indisputable fact about this most polarizing of figures, it's that he is hard to get rid of -- and every retreat, even his most recent withdrawal from political life, lays the groundwork for an eventual counterattack.

Israeli authorities in the West Bank have long worried about stopping Palestinian terrorism.

A pair of recent articles in this magazine highlighted two sides of Israel's current dilemma: the country does need to end the occupation, but Israelis also remain deeply skeptical of Palestinian intentions, and with good reason. Only one thing will break the paralysis of the Israeli center: if the Palestinians accept Israel's basic legitimacy.

Peace negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians have failed miserably.

The greatest danger to Israel comes not from without—in the form of Palestinian intransigence—but from within.

Israeli settlements—and the military occupation needed to defend them—present a central obstacle to peace and to the creation of a viable Palestinian state.

Robert Danin argues that by adopting a publicly confrontational approach, the Palestinians risk undermining the goodwill and security that Fayyad's nation-building program has so painstakingly created.

Two recent books on the Israeli settlements explore their corrosive effect on Zionism and Israeli society.

Robert M. Danin argues that Hamas and Fatah have unified, but not yet reconcile.

Two recent books cast doubt on the value of the existing laws of war when it come sto safeguarding civilians in an age of unconventional conflict.

The Israelis and the Palestinians will never find peace if they are left to negotiate on their own. As has been the case throughout history, great-power leadership is the missing ingredient. Washington must lead the way in enforcing a final-status settlement.

Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has now initiated a third, pragmatic stage of Palestinian nationalism by building institutions and counting down to statehood.

For decades, Israel has maintained an "opaque" nuclear posture -- neither confirming nor denying that it possesses nuclear weapons. The time has come for Israel to reconsider the policy of nuclear ambiguity.

Hamas is central to Israeli security and Palestinian politics, yet the international community refuses to work with it. This is a mistake.

Rather than pursuing a final-status deal now, Israel and the Palestinian Authority should agree to establish a Palestinian state within temporary armistice boundaries.

The January war in Gaza overshadowed the fact that Hamas is in the midst of an unprecedented ideological transformation -- and it's time for the West to pay attention.

If it hopes to bring peace to the Middle East, the Obama administration must put Palestinian politics and goals first.

Israel should pull back settlements and give up its '67 gains in order to secure its '48 victory.

The real key to Washington's pro-Israel policy is long-lasting and broad-based support for the Jewish state among the American public at large.