William B. Quandt, a leading historian of Middle East diplomacy, says that modest progress is possible toward an eventual Palestinian-Israeli agreement based on the U.S.-backed peace plan known as t…

David Makovsky, senior fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says that, with the scheduled withdrawal of Israeli settlers from Gaza, there is a “sense of a looming showdown” betwee…

Severe political constraints on Israeli and Palestinian leaders cloud the prospects for progress in direct talks due to start later this week, says CFR’s Steven A. Cook.

Vladimir Putin’s Middle East trip was an effort to explain policies on Iran and Syria that have put it at odds with Israel and many Arab states, says CFR’s Stephen Sestanovich.

Conditions in Iraq remain “very unpredictable, very dangerous,” says Rachel Bronson, Olin Senior Fellow and Director of Middle East and Gulf Studies at the Council on Foreign Relations. That’s the re…