Richard N. Haass argues,"Any [Palestinian] 'victory' at the UN would come with a heavy price tag."

European leaders feel they have a right and duty to solve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Palestinian plan to ask the UN for statehood in September has provoked intense anxiety in Jerusalem and Washington.

Stewart M. Patrick says President Obama's address to the United Nations General Assembly this year will be his most challenging yet.

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.

Steven Cook, Hasib J. Sabbagh Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations discusses the prospects and implications of the Palestinian bid for UN recognition of statehood. Cook cautions that "an American veto or American opposition to this declaration of statehood is likely to roil already intense and uncertain and unstable political environments throughout the region."

Palestinian President Abbas's plan to seek statehood status at the UN next week has spurred new crisis-diplomacy efforts, but political pressures on all sides could make a deal hard to come by, says analyst Ziad Asali.

The Washington Post's Colum Lynch analyzes the Palestinian quest for UN state recognition, which highlights the role of the international organization despite its inability to resolve the Israeli-Palestine conflict.

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.

Elliott Abrams comments on the UN report on the Mavi Marmara flotilla incident.

Elliott Abrams says that especially in light of the Arab Spring, demands for free elections for Palestinians should be greater.

Elliott Abrams argues that after thirty months of Obama Middle East policy, the popularity and prestige of the United States have declined and negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians appear to be dead in the water.

Elliott Abrams discusses a recent letter from a group of American leaders urging President Obama to adopt a Middle East policy far more critical of Israel.

Elliott Abrams says that in a week of drama between President Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas was notably absent from the scene.

In light of the region's latest agitations, former ambassador Hajrudin Somun reviews the history of Western proposals to draw and redraw Middle East borders.

Jeffrey Goldberg analyzes the issues between Palestine and Israel in the wake of the September UN vote on Palestinian independence.

Leslie H. Gelb says that President Obama's speech on the Middle East was sensible, courageous, and fair, but it has been challenged for reasons good and bad in a region unable to transcend its ancient grudges.

Elliott Abrams discusses President Obama's suggestion that Israel return to its 1967 borders.

Writers for the Economist argue that President Obama will have a difficult time trying to convince Palestinians that they should direct their arguments and conduct negotiations for statehood through Washington as opposed to through the United Nations in September.

Robert Danin argues that President Obama, in his speech on the Middle East, provided an American response to the Middle East uprisings that was bold and ambitious, but his plans for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement lacked a clear way forward.