Background Basics
U.S. Administration Efforts Toward Middle East Peace, March-July
Top-Down Track
Proximity Talks
Special Envoy for Middle East Peace George Mitchell is concluding his sixth round of talks this week, which have included meetings with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Arab League Secretary General Amr Moussa, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed al-Nahayan, Qatari Prime Minister Sheik Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani and French Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner. Plans for proximity talks were announced in March, but the first round did not begin
Review of Where Negotiations Last Ended
When Israelis and Palestinians renew negotiations, one of the main questions will be where negotiations on the core issues should begin. Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas wants negotiations to start from the point where they ended in his discussions with former Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert as part of the Annapolis process, while Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not want to, as these were offers and no agreement was made.
Below is an overview of where negotiations left
Guide to Preparing International Summits
Do your homework
Preparation in advance of the summit is essential in working with conflicting parties. In preparation for the 1979 Camp David summit, President Carter corresponded extensively with Israeli and Egyptian officials while greatly utilizing the full range of executive resources to gain a complete understanding of the parties’ interests. After the conclusion of the Gulf War Secretary of State James Baker made eight trips to the region in preparation for the Madrid Peace
Ten Lessons to Guide Arab-Israeli Peacemaking
From Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace by Daniel C. Kurtzer and Scott B. Lasensky.
Negotiating Arab-Israeli Peace is the product of a United States Institute of Peace study group that included William B. Quandt (University of Virginia), Steven L. Spiegel (UCLA) and Shibley Telhami (University of Maryland and the Brookings Institution). Its conclusions draw on more than 100 interviews and consultations with diplomats, political leaders and civil society figures involved in Arab-Israeli peacemaking in the

