عملية السلام

I am appearing here tonight at what can only be described as an interesting time. There has been an election in Israel and there is a new prime minister, Ehud Barak, who won with a remarkable mandate. It is fair to say that the Israeli electorate perceived that the country

Campaign: Israel's elections were primarily a referendum on Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyhahu's leadership, and the verdict was clear: "Anybody but Netanyahu." This was also the sentiment during the campaign, especially when the three prime ministerial candidates (Yitzhak Mordechai, Ze'ev "Benny" Begin, and Azmi Bishara) from the three smaller parties dropped

After three years of a foreign policy that found Israel increasingly isolated, Ehud Barak's landslide victory in Israel's elections Monday should inaugurate a new "era of good feelings" between Israelis, Americans and Arabs. But once the honeymoon wears off, Israel's negotiating partners shouldn't expect Mr. Barak to make substantive concessions

Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir Arafat's decision to postpone a unilateral declaration of independence (UDI) from the long-threatened May 4 deadline is due in no small part to his intense interest in the upcoming Israeli elections. He and his closest advisers, with the encouragement of Egyptian and Jordanian leaders among others

Palestinian Statehood: "Arafat knows that if he declares the establishment of a Palestinian state unilaterally, it will mean the annulment of the Oslo accords." ---Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu speaking to the Likud Central Committee at Tel Aviv's Cinerama Hall, broadcast on Israel Television's Channel 1 Network on December 27, 1998

In the run-up to Israel's May 17 election, the issue of Jerusalem is returning to the political center stage. Just last month, the European Union -- via a letter to the Israeli Foreign Ministry by the German ambassador to Israel, Theodor Wallau -- sparked a mini-furor by reaffirming an idea

Election Background. Over the last thirty years, Israeli elections have primarily focused on the Arab-Israeli conflict. Although this issue remains important not only vis-a-vis the Palestinians but also Lebanon, this election has so far focused more on Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu's leadership. The Wye accords de-ideologized Israeli politics. The

The issue of what will happen on May 4, 1999, likely will be central to President Bill Clinton's meeting with Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Yasir Arafat tomorrow. There is a widespread view that the Oslo accords between Israel and the Palestinians will terminate on May 4, and Palestinian Liberation Organization

Palestinian leader Yasir Arafat arrived in Washington today, and if it were not for the National Prayer Breakfast brouhaha, most of the city would hardly have noticed. Although much is going on in the Middle East, from the Jordanian succession drama to the Israeli election campaign, perhaps the most intriguing