Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave these remarks to the UN General Assembly on November 29, 2012 following the UNGA's vote to grant Palestine observer status.

After decades of fueling hunger for oil in the United States, Europe, and China, Blake Clayton says that the Middle East itself has developed a voracious appetite for energy.

UN Ambassador Susan Rice gave this statement explaining the United States' vote on Palestine's non-member observer state status, on November 29, 2012.

UN General Assembly draft resolution A/67/L.28, according Palestine non-member observer state status in the United Nations, passed by a vote of 138 to 9 on November 29, 2012.

Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi has taken extensive new powers for himself. CFR's Ed Husain highlights three underlying issues at the core of Egypt's power struggle.

A profile of Hamas, the Sunni Muslim Palestinian extremist group based in the Gaza Strip.

Steven A. Cook says, "This is a critical moment in Egypt's transition; Morsi and his colleagues would do well to recognize that, rescind the decrees, and commit themselves to the democratic process. At this point, it is the only way for the Brothers to burnish their revolutionary credentials."

The State Department released this statement following Egyptian President Mohamed Morsi's decrees of November 22, 2012 that grant him broad powers.

"Israel needs a Palestinian partner if it is ever to enjoy peace and be the secure, prosperous, democratic, Jewish state it deserves to be. But such a partner will not just emerge; Israel, as the stronger party, actually needs to help the process along," writes Richard Haass.

Thanks to the rift between Turkey and Israel, Ankara's days as a power broker in the Arab-Israeli conflict are over, says Steven A. Cook.

Israel must accept that negotiating with Hamas is the only way forward, says Ed Husain.

Elliott Abrams says, "The next three to six months in the Middle East will make Obama administration officials look back to 2012 with nostalgia as a quiet time when they were able to focus on the campaign. The coming year will be much tougher—starting now."

Robert Danin, Senior Fellow for Middle East and Africa Studies, discusses the conflict in Gaza with CFR.org's Toni Johnson.

Listen to CFR senior fellow Robert M. Danin discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas and its implications for the U.S. and the region.

Throughout the Middle East, Micah Zenko finds blistering criticisms of U.S. foreign policy alongside serious misunderstandings about the limits of American power.

The Gaza conflict has been brewing for a while, and although Egypt and others are working to deescalate it, there are no guarantees, says CFR's Steven Cook.

Steven A. Cook says Gaza's radiating instability proves once again that Palestine is at the center of the region's problems.

Leslie H. Gelb says all parties involved share some responsibility for the crisis in Gaza. But Hamas is by far the biggest villain.

The IAEA Board released the Director General's quarterly report on progress of the NPT Safeguards Agreement with Iran, on November 16, 2012. The report provides an update on the nuclear situation in Iran since the last report of August 2012.

Steven A. Cook says leadership in the Middle East is up for grabs as the Syrian war intensifies, the Arab Spring changes regional power dynamics, and Israel's airstrikes and Hamas rockets again roil Gaza. Last year, Turkey was the assumed role model for the region. But it has fallen down on the job.