Palestinians

Hamas, the Palestinian Islamic party, now controls Gaza. The secular Fatah party has been routed. The result will be an Islamic statelet on Israel's southern border, dedicated to the destruction of the Jewish state. It will exist in legal limbo -- not occupied by Israel but having most of its

In several days of discussions in Jerusalem and Ramallah recently, I was struck by the nature of the debate I witnessed in both places. To my surprise, it wasn't about the stalemate in the peace process or the Arab peace initiative. It was about the conflict between Palestinian organizations in

On April 24, 2007, Wafa' Abdel Rahman, Owen Kirby, and Mohammad Yaghi addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum on the Palestinian social and political environment since Hamas's victory in January 2006 legislative elections. Owen Kirby is the manager of the political pillar of the State Department's Middle East Partnership

On March 17, the Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) approved the formation of a Hamas-Fatah national unity government by an 83-3 margin. This culminated a process that began in early February with the Mecca accord facilitated by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah. Many governments have withheld comment since that accord. One reason

In recent congressional testimony, the new director of national intelligence, Admiral Mike McConnell, warned that Russia, flush with petrodollars, feels "emboldened . . . to pursue foreign policy goals that are not always consistent with those of Western institutions." How true. From the murder in London of KGB/FSB critic Alexander

The following is an excerpt of this article; download the full text in PDF format. Among the many targets hit by Israel during the Israel-Hizbullah conflict were the headquarters of Al Manar, Hizbullah's satellite television station. Also destroyed were relay stations in northern Lebanon used to broadcast two other Lebanese

As recently as December, Palestinian Authority (PA) president Mahmoud Abbas refused to back a proposal for a unity government offered by Palestinian Legislative Council (PLC) member and head of the Independent Palestine list Mustafa Barghouti. That deal was based on the concept of a technocratic compromise under which Hamas officials

On February 14, 2007, Institute senior fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process David Makovsky testified before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Middle East and South Asia. The following is a synopsis of his testimony. Read the complete text of David

This is the second of a two-part examination of the meaning and implications of the Mecca accord. Read part one. The Fatah-Hamas unity agreement reached in Mecca last week has powerful implications for all regional players. The most serious challenge it poses is to U.S. diplomacy. Arab Winners and Losers