Peace Process

Establishing the Guidelines for Settlement. The United Nations has been dealing with various aspects of the Arab-Israeli conflict since its inception. There are two basic UN resolutions that have had a direct bearing on shaping the future of the Middle East. First is General Assembly Resolution 181 (1947), the partition

Amid continuing difficulties in the Palestinian-Israeli peace process, focus has shifted to the role of the United States. There is a good deal of confusion concerning what the United States can and cannot do. The evolving role of the United States can be examined through a number of specific and

The Oslo accord is designed to divide the Israeli-Palestinian peace process into as many sub-phases as possible. Based on former Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin's concept of incrementalism, this cautious approach includes a review of the other side's compliance with past obligations before moving to the next sub-phase. Consequently, Israeli Prime

Redeployments and Final Status: In recent weeks, the main focus of the peace process has been on the question of "further redeployments" of Israeli troops in the West Bank, as called for under the Oslo Accords. However, the redeployments—or "strokes," as they are known in Hebrew—are in reality a side

With the world focused on the UN-Iraqi standoff, the fourth annual Middle East/North Africa (MENA) Economic Conference concluded quietly in Qatar earlier this week. As Arab world heavyweights Egypt and Saudi Arabia officially boycotted the proceedings, the MENA summit ended on an ambivalent note: Though viewed as a general success

Against the backdrop of a brewing confrontation with Iraq, Secretary of State Albright travels to the nearby state of Qatar later this week to talk about regional economic development. Despite Albright's presence, many Arab countries—including regional leaders Egypt and Saudi Arabia—have declared that they will boycott the fourth annual Middle

Since the attempted assassination of Hamas leader Khalid Mish'al in Jordan and the release of Hamas founder and spiritual leader Shaykh Ahmed Yassin, many observers have predicted that Hamas may have moderated its message, possibly offering itself as a potential partner for peace. However, since Shaykh Yassin outlined a "temporary

I come before this group at a critical moment in the history of the Middle East. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's recent trip occurred on the heels of two horrific terrorist incidents amidst a fundamental crisis of confidence between Israel and the Palestinians. The situation in the Middle East had

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit this week to the Middle East may be the last chance for the United States to avert a potential drift toward armed confrontation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA), due to the latter's failure to mount a sustained effort to halt terrorism by