Elliott Abrams discusses how Israel should handle pressure for a Palestinian state.

Robert Danin says the Palestine Papers are not a triumph of transparency and good government for the Palestinian Authority but are instead a potential victory for enemies of peace in the Middle East.

Robert Danin says a "bottom up" effort by Palestinians reflects a thoroughly reconstructed Palestinian approach towards peace with Israel.

Leslie H. Gelb challenges misperceptions about Israel's efforts toward peace in the Middle East.

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.

Elliott Abrams says the current special envoy to the Middle East does not understand the problem there.

Leslie H. Gelb says that while Israel will likely take Obama and Clinton's $3 billion offer in exchange for a settlement freeze, a peace deal would depend on a dramatic step not by the Israelis, but by the Palestinians.

Elliott Abrams and Michael Singh argue that President Obama's new proposal to Israel is a step backward in the effort to establish an enduring peace in the Middle East.

Robert Danin says Benjamin Netanyahu must clarify his plan for Israeli-Palestinian peace.

To break the Israeli-Palestinian impasse, the U.S. should present a two-state "vision" for each side to vote on, says expert Sari Nusseibeh. Failing that, Palestinians should press to be absorbed into Israel and given civil rights, even without the right to vote.

Mohamad Bazzi discusses the Shiite influence in Lebanon.

The end of Israel's ban on settlement building creates political problems for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and a dilemma the Obama administration in part brought on itself, says Mideast expert Michele Dunne.

Daniel L. Byman, senior fellow for foreign policy at the Brookings Institution's Saban Center for Middle East Policy, discusses his Foreign Affairs article, "How to Handle Hamas: The Perils of Ignoring Gaza's Leadership" with students, as part of CFR's Academic Conference Call series.

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Elliott Abrams criticizes the Obama administration for making settlement construction the central issue in Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations.

If Israelis and Palestinians can't reach an accommodation on settlement construction, talks will end and credibility on all sides--including that of the Obama administration--will suffer, says CFR's Robert Danin.

Charles A. Kupchan argues that the Palestinians will achieve statehood by taking what they can get--not what they want--from Israel.