The bid for Palestinian statehood at the UN sets President Mahmoud Abbas on a collision course with Hamas, the United States, and Israel. It is crucial to get back on track to a negotiated settlement, say experts.

Preventing future violence between Israel and the Palestinians will require a regional strategy, active U.S. diplomacy, and increased cooperation from Arab governments. But Iran, too, must ultimately be part of any solution.

After a long delay, the United States adds its voice to those calling for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip.  In the longer term, analysts hope prospects for restarting peace talks will have improved once the guns fall silent.

President Bush’s Mideast trip focused as much on Iran as his plan for peace between Palestinians and Israelis. But he added insight on their shared future. 

Israeli-Palestinian issues may be the least of President Bush’s worries on a presidential trip meant to bolster the Annapolis peace process.

The Bush administration is convening a conference in Annapolis to try to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Skeptics, however, abound.

Tony Blair, in his new role as Middle East special diplomatic envoy, seeks to set the region’s economy on its feet. With problems abounding, it’s a tall task.

A year after Israeli operations against Hezbollah and Hamas shook the region, the consequences appear grim, though peace initiatives are trying to coalesce. 

With the Hamas rout of Fatah on the Gaza Strip last week, the land claimed by Palestinians now falls under the sway of three separate entities, leading to new problems and talk of at least some opportunities.

The purge of Fatah from the Gaza Strip by the militantly Islamic Hamas movement raises new questions about how Israel and the rest of the world should deal with the Palestinians.

Recent Mideast diplomacy has produced no breakthrough, but a new offer from Israel—an Arab-Israeli peace conference in Jerusalem—has injected some light into the picture.

A Palestinian unity government has renewed hopes for the Mideast peace process, though many experts remain pessimistic.

Secretary Rice agrees to wait and see if a new Palestinian unity government can meet international conditions for further talks, including recognition of Israel's right to exist.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s latest round of Mideast diplomacy hopes to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Yet little evidence exists to support the idea that either party to the conflict currently shares that hope.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert this week invited Palestinian leaders to return to the bargaining table. But he and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas may lack the necessary political capital to change the current tenor of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

The Palestinian Authority is about to get a new government. The move could spell good news for the region, and might just strengthen Washington’s quest to build a coalition to contain Iranian designs.   

Violent clashes between rival groups appear to have derailed Palestinian unity talks and could escalate into civil war. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice—in the region to appeal for moderation—has gained little traction.  

Talks aimed at forming a Palestinian national unity government remain stuck on the issue of recognizing Israel, though both sides say they intend to continue trying for an accord this week.

While the war raged in Lebanon, the other theater in the Arab-Israeli conflict, Gaza, was often overlooked. Though a cease-fire has stopped the fighting in the north, violence continues in Gaza. But Palestinian officials may form a "national unity" government as a result.

Israeli forces enter Lebanon as back-and-forth missile attacks between Hezbollah and Israel escalate. EU and UN officials have called for the deployment of international peacekeepers to defuse the crisis.