In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

09/04/08: From Zero-Sum to Win-Win —Mara Rudman, adviser, Middle East Progress; senior fellow, Center for American Progress. Original Commentary for Middle East Bulletin.
09/04/08: How Progress Is Possible —
08/07/08: How to Deal with Jerusalem —Lt. Col. (Res.) Ron Shatzberg, Project Director, Economic Cooperation Foundation. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Two-State Solution Still Best Option

“In practical terms, we can reach two conclusions: First, a final-status agreement, although its details are known, cannot be secured in the foreseeable future. Second, the time has come to think about other solutions. One of them is a return not to the 1967 borders, but rather, to the reality that prevailed in 1967, when Jordan controlled the West Bank.”
—Major General (ret.) Giora Eiland, “The Jordanian Option,” YNet, September 3, 2008

"On both sides of the green line and, indeed, wherever people think about solutions to the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, a lot of old/new thinking is taking place. … Most of these ideas are patently unrealistic. Discussion of them often reflects despair, not pragmatic strategic thinking. … Precisely because there is no such alternative, other options more readily suggest themselves, ranging from temporary conflict management to three states or entities. Nor does failure today mean that tomorrow we cannot try again to arrive at a two-state solution, which remains the best option for all."
—Yossi Alpher, coeditor of the bitterlemons family of internet publications & former director, Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies, Tel Aviv University, "One State Definitely Not an Option," bitterlemons.org, August 18, 2008

Middle East Analysis

How Progress Is Possible —Hiba Husseini, chair, Legal Committee to Final Status Negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis; former vice chairperson of the Palestine Securities Exchange (1998-May 2005). Interview with Middle East Bulletin.
Perils of an Israeli Transition —The New York Times, Editorial
The Arabs Will Look Differently Upon America —Ron Pundak, director general of the Peres Center for Peace and former architects and negotiators of the Oslo Agreement (bitterlemons.org)

Drift Too Costly

December 5, 2007

Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Syrian President Bashar Assad (AP)

Paul Salem, director of the Carnegie Middle East Center at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, former general director at The Fares Foundation and founder of the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies, Lebanon’s leading public policy think tank, November 26, 2007:

“To be sure, the main failure to elect a president is a Lebanese one and reflects serious loopholes in the constitution and a failure of leadership among Lebanese politicians. However, any breakdown in Lebanon would affect the entire region. It is thus in the interest of the regional and international community to redouble efforts to push the parties to agree on a president rather than tolerate such a period of extended and dangerous drift… In the wake of the Annapolis meeting, the United States and Russia should consider putting together a diplomatic initiative to push parties in the country and the region to overcome the Lebanese presidential hurdle. After all, nudging the parties to elect a president for Lebanon is nowhere near as difficult as addressing the Arab–Israeli conflict or the situation in Iraq; a small expenditure of concerted big-power diplomatic effort would go a long way. But leaving the Lebanese situation to drift could lead to costly consequences that cannot be undone quickly or cheaply.”