A Lot to Lose

May 2, 2008
“So what's to lose [from a broken cease-fire agreement with Hamas]? Yes, we would lose the peace negotiations with Abbas. We would lose the chance of reaching an agreement with a moderate Palestinian leadership, because Abbas and Fatah would be finished. But I don't think I need to persuade anyone that those negotiations have utterly no potential or value except to placate the Bush administration.”
--Larry Derfner, “For a Cease-Fire With Hamas,” The Jerusalem Post, April 30, 2008
  • “[W]hat we are facing today is not just the challenge of peace, but we are facing a test of our credibility as a whole: the United States, members of the Quartet, and all members of the international community, Israel, the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority, the Arab and Islamic group, as well.

    It is a test that would leave its indelible impact on the future of the region and on the relationship among its peoples and the international powers that are entrusted in the peace [and] stability of our region ...

    We do recognize, and I presume that you share [with] me this view, that the absence of hope and overwhelming despair would feed extremism. Therefore, we have a common duty to spread genuine hope in order to achieve full transformation toward complete peace …”
    --President of the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas, Annapolis, November 27, 2007


    • Subscribe to Middle East Progress Alerts

    Support Middle East Progress

    In-Depth Coverage

    Original Commentaries

    Setting the Record Straight

    Determined to Reach a Common Objective

    “We knew at the outset that the task would be difficult. We acknowledged that publicly and privately. We knew this would be a road with many bumps— and there have been many bumps—and that continues to this day. But we are not deterred. We are, to the contrary, determined more than ever to proceed to realize the common objective, which we all share, of a Middle East that is at peace with security and prosperity for the people of Israel, for Palestinians, and for all the people in the region. We will continue our efforts in that regard, undeterred and undaunted by the difficulties, the complexities or the bumps in the road.”—George Mitchell, special envoy for Middle East peace, remarks with Prime Minister Netanyahu, September 29, 2010

    Middle East Analysis

    Upcoming Events

    The U.S. Agency for International Development and Conflict: Hard Lessons from the Field

    May 17, 2011, 12:00pm – 1:15pm

    From Afghanistan and Iraq to Pakistan, Somalia, and South Sudan, the U.S. Agency for International Development, or USAID, is engaged daily in trying to help some of the most troubled nations on the planet make a lasting transition to stability, open markets, and democracy. Few areas of the agency’s work are more challenging or more controversial.

    Join us for remarks by, and a roundtable with, the deputy administrator of USAID, Ambassador

    more