Palestinians

President Abbas has long ensured that no new leaders would come to the fore as realistic successors, but while this may have helped him consolidate control over a fractious polity, it is potentially ruinous as a national strategy.

Whether ISIS holds on in Yarmouk or not, its southward expansion is a further sign that fighting the group in Iraq and eastern Syria will not be enough.

In addition to its political importance, the EU decision to keep blacklisting Hamas is legally significant in shaping how donor nations move forward on rebuilding Gaza.

Two leaders of moderate Islam share their visions for a way forward in the face of often violent religious extremism.

Despite international complaints about inadequate donor funding, Fatah and Hamas have been dragging their feet on the most important prerequisite for rebuilding Gaza: establishing PA governmental control on the ground.

On January 29, Ghaith al-Omari, Dennis Ross, and David Makovsky addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Ambassador Ross, the Institute's counselor and William Davidson Distinguished Fellow, recently returned from a regional trip that included meetings with high-level Israeli and Palestinian officials. Omari is a senior fellow at the

Although the prospect of the ICC actually prosecuting Israeli officials is uncertain at best, the PA has torpedoed any chances for near-term diplomacy merely by opening that door, and perhaps invited U.S. financial countermeasures as well.

Conversations with Palestinian, Israeli, and international officials indicate that the simmering stalemate between Hamas and Fatah will not end well.

Incitement by Palestinians and Israelis against each other should be penalized rather than explained away or dismissed.