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In-Depth Coverage

Original Commentaries

07/02/09
The U.S. Pullout from Iraqi Cities  —
06/25/09
Understanding the Situation in Iran  —Geneive Abdo, fellow, The Century Foundation; former Iran correspondent, The Guardian (1998-2001)
06/23/09
Solving the Problem of the Old City  —Michael Bell, former Canadian ambassador to Egypt, Israel and Jordan; co-director, Jerusalem Old City Initiative, University of Windsor. Interview with Middle East Bulletin.

Setting the Record Straight

Potential Partner for Regional Stability

“As long as the current radical regime is in power in Damascus, there won’t be any negotiated peace even of the most superficial variety because the conflict is indispensible to the Syrian dictatorship. And the most probably type of change in Syria—though its likelihood is still low—to a radical Islamist regime would make any such peace even less likely.”
—Barry Rubin, director, Global Research in International Affairs Center, IDC Herzliya, “Peace on the Borderline,” The Rubin Report, May 31, 2009versus
  • “The al-Asad regime in Syria continues to play the dangerous game of allowing or accepting extremist networks and terrorist facilitators to operate from and through Syrian territory. ... However, unlike Iran, Syria’s motives probably stem from short-sighted calculations rather than ideology. It is possible that over time Syria could emerge as a partner in promoting security in the Levant and in the region.”
    —General David Petraeus, commander, U.S. Central Command, testimony to the House Armed Services Committee, “The Afghanistan-Pakistan Strategic Review and the Posture of U.S. Central Command,” April 2, 2009

    • Middle East Analysis

    Upcoming Events

    WATCH: Prospects for a Two-State Solution: Understanding Challenges and Creating Opportunities

    Featured panelists:

    Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank (2002-2005)
    Ghaith al-Omari, advocacy director, American Task Force on Palestine; advisor, Middle East Progress; former advisor to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas

    Discussion moderated by:

    Brian Katulis, Senior Fellow, Center for American Progress, advisor, Middle East Progress

    When: Friday, March 20, 2009
    Program: 9:00am to 10:30am

    WATCH HERE

    Israel Releases 199 Palestinian Prisoners

    August 18, 2008

    The Israeli ministerial committee that oversees prisoner releases approved today the cabinet decision to release 199 Palestinian prisoners as a gesture of goodwill to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. This move comes a month after the Israeli government exchanged with Hezbollah five Hezbollah terrorists, including the killer Samir Kuntar, and 199 bodies of Lebanese combatants and infiltrators, for the remains of Israeli soldiers Ehud Goldwasser and Eldad Regev.

    In June, Middle East Bulletin spoke with Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz, former head of the Israeli Civil Administration in the West Bank (2002-2005), and Lieutenant General (Ret.) Orit Adato, former commissioner of the Israeli Prison Service. Both highlighted the importance of the release of Palestinian prisoners.

    Paz, speaking about the Hezbollah exchange, said:

    “[W]hat we are seeing now is madness. We have one partner, Mahmoud Abbas and the Palestinian Authority (PA), with whom we are negotiating for peace. We are not supporting Abbas by freeing his people from prison. Instead, we are rewarding terrorist organizations – Hamas and Hezbollah – by freeing prisoners according to their demands. In the prisoner swap with Hamas, Israel will likely release Fatah prisoners including Fatah leader Marwan Barghouti.

    “What is the political logic? By acting this way we not only encourage future kidnappings of soldiers but also reinforce the conception that Israel only understands force. In the long run, it undermines our partner and the chances of reaching peace. To make the picture more balanced, we have to initiate prisoner releases in cooperation with the PA and demonstrate that this concept wrong.”

    Adato asserted that Israel “would be wise … not to wait to address the issue only as part of a final agreement at the end of a process but to use it to move the process itself in the right direction. We need a strong leadership that can face the public and make difficult decisions, including the release of some Palestinians from Israeli jails, from a position of strength at a time of strength rather than a position of weakness (like the exchange of Israeli POWs).”

    To read their full interviews go to:
    Dealing with the Challenge of Prisoners, interview with Brigadier General (Ret.) Ilan Paz
    A Deeper Look at Prisoner Exchanges, interview with Lieutenant General (Ret.) Orit Adato

    Access the full story >>