Israel

There is no doubt that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is absolutely determined to carry out disengagement despite the political problems within his own party. The demographic issue of ensuring a long-term Jewish democratic majority in Israel and the associated political pressure has fueled his determination to proceed with disengagement. Sharon

The International Court of Justice is expected to rule this Friday, July 9, on the legality of Israel's security fence. The Palestinians strongly oppose the security fence, claiming that the fence negatively affects them. Israel is now seeking to address their concerns through a variety of means relating to the

On June 6, 2004, the Israeli cabinet authorized (by a 14-7 margin) preparations for a possible Israeli withdrawal from Gaza. The authorization called for a final decision to be made about the Gaza settlements by March 2005. In the meantime, Israeli national security advisor Maj. Gen. Giora Eiland is heading

Following Israel's recent raid in Rafah, Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned Israel's actions as "state terrorism" while Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul hinted that strains had emerged in the Turkish-Israeli relationship. In general, Turkey's governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) has lately adopted an alarmingly critical attitude toward Israel

The natural answer to this question is "a Palestinian state." Indeed, during the Oslo process, Israel operated under this very premise. Over the past three and a half years, however, considerable doubts have arisen about whether this is what the Palestinians really want. Of course, the leaders of Hamas explicitly

My initial intention was to give a lengthy presentation of the Israeli disengagement plan. The pace of changing circumstances, however, means that no one can guarantee the chances of the plan's being implemented in the near future. I can only say that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is truly committed to

On Sunday, May 2, Likud members will hold an unprecedented party referendum on Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon's Gaza withdrawal plan. Polls among the 193,000 party members suggest rank and file party members may oppose Sharon's plan by a seven to ten point margin. Should Sharon's plan be defeated, this

Media reportage on yesterday's meeting between President George W. Bush and Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon has focused on Bush's letter to Sharon as a political windfall for the latter. Some analysts suggest that in his letter Bush prejudged the outcome of an eventual final-status deal between Israel and the

Israelis and Palestinians are locked in a stalemate that is worsening over time. The withdrawal initiative by Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon creates an opportunity to transform the situation, but the direction of that transformation remains an unanswered question. Many Palestinians view an Israeli withdrawal from Gaza and an evacuation