Peace Process

Recent events suggest that seismic forces may be developing within HAmas that may have a decisive impact on the course of Israeli-Palestinian relations.

On June 12, 2006, David Makovsky appeared on the PBS program NewsHour with Jim Lehrer along with Hisham Melhem; they were interviewed by NewsHour senior correspondent Margaret Warner. The following is a transcript of of the program. MARGARET WARNER: And for more now, we’re joined by Hisham Melhem, Washington bureau

Ehud Olmert's first visit to Washington as Israel's prime minister may not produce dramatic announcements, but a lot will be riding on his private conversations with President Bush. Olmert will be presenting his concept of "consolidation," which, if implemented, could lead to Israel's evacuating more than 60,000 settlers from 72

On May 16, 2006, David Makovsky and Dennis Ross discussed Ehud Olmert’s “consolidation plan” and his agenda for his first visit to Washington, D.C., as prime minister of Israel. David Makovsky is director of the Institute’s Project on the Middle East Peace Process. Dennis Ross, the Institute’s counselor and Ziegler

During the early morning hours of May 7, militants from Hamas and Fatah engaged in a bloody clash near Khan Yunis in Gaza that left three fighters dead. Reporting on this incident -- one of the deadliest intra-Palestinian confrontations in recent history -- indicates that Hamas activists responded to the

On May 12, 2006, Dan Meridor, former Israeli minister of finance, justice, and strategic affairs, addressed The Washington Institute’s Soref Symposium. The following is a rapporteur’s summary of his remarks. The last several years have witnessed two parallel movements in Israeli and Palestinian societies. From the Israeli side, there was

In March 2006, while campaigning for the post of Israeli prime minister, Ehud Olmert surprised many by pledging, if elected, to dismantle the majority of Israel's West Bank settlements. Dubbing his plan "convergence," he outlined a strategy that would involve evacuating Israeli settlers from most of the West Bank. Olmert's

Last week, one of the world's deadliest terrorist organizations--the Islamic Resistance Movement, aka Hamas--announced that it has formed a cabinet and is now poised to take effective control of the Palestinian Authority, which governs Gaza and the Palestinian population of the West Bank. This comes two months after the group

Matthew Levitt exposes the real Hamas: an organization that threatens peace and security far beyond the borders of the West Bank and Gaza.