Authors: Elliott Abrams and Michael Singh World Affairs Journal
Explanations for the lack of progress in the peace process between Israel and the Palestinians fail to acknowledge one fact: the Palestinians’ repeated rejection of increasingly attractive Israeli offers, write Elliott Abrams and Michael Singh. The reason behind this lies in demographics, evolving regional dynamics, political realities and increasingly asymmetric means of warfare--all of which are tilting the Palestinian people away from a two-state solution with Israel.
Steven Cook asks if Palestinian leadership is going to use violence against Israel as a means to strengthen domestic support and gain a political advantage.
Listen to CFR's Steven A. Cook discuss the Israel-Palestinian conflict in light of the release of the Goldstone Report, which was recently completed by the UN Fact Finding Mission on the Gaza Conflict, as part of CFR's Religion and Foreign Policy Conference Call series.
At a time of renewed scrutiny of U.S. policy toward the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, veteran Middle East expert Robert Malley, who served as special assistant for Arab-Israeli affairs for President Bill Clinton, calls for rethinking Israeli-Palestinian talks to address concerns of Palestinian refugees and Israel's right wing.
Prompted by the "complete failure" of the President's Israel strategy, Elliot Abrams asks, "can anything else possibly go wrong for the Obama administration's Middle East policy?"
Thomas Friedman argues that it is time for the Obama administration to take a "radically new approach" towards Israel and Palestine by halting the peace process altogether.
Expert Rashid Khalidi says it is crucial for Palestinian rivals Hamas and Fatah to reconcile to effectively negotiate a two-state solution with Israel or face a troubling status quo.
The January war in Gaza overshadowed the fact that Hamas is in the midst of an unprecedented ideological transformation -- and it's time for the West to pay attention.
Elliott Abrams argues, "In Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's speech today he took one major step toward the Obama administration, by endorsing a Palestinian state. In every other way, he resisted President Obama's pressure."
Tim McKirk says to be a Christian in Gaza is difficult and requires discretion. Gaza once had a thriving Christian community, but now it is down to 2,500.
Peter Beinart argues that in the Palestinian territories, "it's best to stop worrying so much about what Hamas says and try to create a situation in which we can better influence what it does."
Elliott Abrams argues, "we are not on the verge of Israeli-Palestinian peace; a Palestinian state cannot come into being in the near future; and the focus should be on building the institutions that will allow for real Palestinian progress in the medium or longer term."
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Special operations play a critical role in how the United States confronts irregular threats, but to have long-term strategic impact, the author argues, numerous shortfalls must be addressed.
The author analyzes the potentially serious consequences, both at home and abroad, of a lightly overseen drone program and makes recommendations for improving its governance.
Two experts argue that despite myriad development strategies, only one can succeed in alleviating poverty in India: the overall growth of the country's economy. More
