Martin S. Indyk, a Mideast expert and former diplomat, expresses disappointment at the lack of specifics in President Bush’s comments at the Annapolis conference.

Political analyst David Makovsky says chances for success by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in putting together a package that warrants holding a Middle East conference remain uncertain.

Nathan J. Brown, an expert on Arab and Palestinian politics, says despite the major split in Palestinian ranks between Fatah and Hamas, it is “unlikely in the extreme” that some kind of peace arrangement can be worked out between Israel and the Fatah faction led by President Mahmoud Abbas.

Anthony H. Cordesman, an expert on Middle East strategic issues, says Hamas’ seizure of Gaza raises broader Middle East questions about al-Qaeda and Hezbollah in Lebanon.

David Makovsky, an expert on Middle East diplomacy, says Israel’s Prime Minister reacted positively to the recent Riyadh Arab League declaration and is interested in negotiating with Saudi Arabia.

Former ambassador Martin S. Indyk says Secretary Rice’s decision to mediate between the Israelis and Palestinians marks a major change in the Bush administration’s approach to the Middle East.

Robert Malley, an expert on Middle East policy, says the recent agreement between Fatah and Hamas should be encouraged as the best way to bring about an agreement with Israel.

Henry Siegman, a leading expert on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, says Prime Minister Ehud Olmert’s recent speech reflected a “surprisingly radical change in tone,” but in substance “it’s quite true there was very little new.”

Khalil Shikaki, a leading Palestinian political expert, says recent polling among Palestinians shows most support Hamas’ refusal to recognize Israel in advance of negotiations, but a great majority indicate they would back a peace agreement setting up a two-state situation.

Rashid Khalidi, an expert on Palestinian politics, says the announcement that Fatah and Hamas factions have agreed on a unity government could help end the economic crisis in the Palestinian areas and lead to serious political talks about an end to the conflict.

Steven Simon, a leading Middle East expert, says the crisis over the abduction of an Israeli soldier by Palestinian militants may drag on for some time because of the "two new and essentially weak governments." He says Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert will not negotiate a prisoner exchange and the Hamas leadership is fractured and unlikely to turn over the prisoner unconditionally.

CFR Mideast expert Henry Siegman says the fate of the kidnapped Israeli soldier could have a major impact on the future of the Palestinian government.

Judith Kipper says the economic boycott of the Hamas government has created a major crisis in the Palestinian territories: "The situation is extremely dangerous because the humanitarian despair is really, really drastic, particularly in Gaza: people are hungry and dying." She says both Israel and the United States miscalculated when they sought to cut off the newly-elected Hamas government from international aid.

Ziad J. Asali, president and founder of the American Task Force on Palestine, a group dedicated to setting up a state of Palestine alongside that of Israel, says that the call two weeks ago by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas for a referendum by Palestinians on whether to proceed with negotiations for a two-state solution with Israel has energized many Palestinians who had earlier believed he was too weak.

Steven Cook says Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' call for a two-state negotiated solution was "a shrewd move" becuase it puts pressure on the Hamas-led PA government, but also serves to constrain Israel's actions.

Nathan J. Brown, a leading expert on Palestinian politics, says Israel and Hamas need a period of “quiet diplomacy”, away from the spotlight, to try to sort out a way of co-existing.

Henry Siegman, CFR's expert on Israeli-Palestinian affairs, says that despite the refusal of Israel's government or the United States to deal with Hamas he believes there is a strong potential for Hamas to transform "in the direction of moderation and responsibility and away from violence and terror."

Matthew Levitt, an expert on terrorism and the author of a new book critical of Hamas, says it is unlikely Hamas is going to change now that it controls the Palestinian government. "Being the government, I don't think, is going to moderate Hamas in the least," says Levitt, who is deputy assistant secretary for intelligence and analysis at the Treasury Department, and who wrote his book while serving as senior fellow and director of terrorism studies at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.

Rashid Khalidi, an expert on Palestinian politics, who is the director of Columbia University's Middle East Institute, says Hamas' overwhelming victory in the Palestinian legislative elections was due largely to the "ineptitude" of Fatah, the party that had run Palestinian affairs for many years.

Dennis B. Ross, who was the chief U.S. Middle East peace negotiator in the administrations of George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, says it is crucial for the United States "to maintain a strong consensus internationally that there will not be relations with a Hamas-led government...unless Hamas is prepared, in fact, to change itself."