Background Basics on Middle East Peace Process
- Understanding the Arab League Follow-Up Committee
- Background Basics | Oct 13, 2010
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Official Name: League of Arab States’ Follow-Up Committee on the Arab Peace Initiative
Members: Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Morocco, Palestinian Authority, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the Secretary General of the Arab League
Origins and Mandate: Members of the Arab League adopted the Arab Peace Initiative at the 2002 Beirut Summit. The document mentioned the need to form a separate, smaller committee to gather support for the plan. Later, two groups were formed to that end: the follow-up
- Efforts Toward Middle East Peace Post-1991 Madrid Conference
- Background Basics | Sep 28, 2010
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In October 1991, the United States and Soviet Union co-sponsored a peace summit in Madrid that included representatives from the European Community, Egypt, Israel, Lebanon, Syria and a joint Jordanian-Palestinian delegation. The Arab Maghreb Union, Gulf Cooperation Council and UN were observers to the talks. The conference served as the starting point for a series of negotiating tracks between Israel and the surrounding Arab countries.
Israeli-Palestinian Track
Concurrent to the official bilateral talks, Israelis and Palestinians began unofficial - U.S. Administration Efforts Toward Middle East Peace, March-July
- Background Basics | Aug 20, 2010
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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 - Examining Jerusalem’s Complexity
- Background Basics | May 11, 2010
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Jerusalem poses unique challenges to reaching a sustainable and secure peace agreement between Israelis and Palestinians. Below are relevant background basics that discuss issues that are critical to discussions about the city.
Review of Where Negotiations Last Ended
An outline of where Ehud Olmert and Mahmoud Abbas left off in their discussions on the core issues during the Annapolis process.
Old City Sketchbook
An overview of demographics, governance, infrastructure and services, and religious holy sites in the Old - Review of Where Negotiations Last Ended
- Background Basics | Apr 27, 2010
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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
- Administration Efforts Toward Middle East Peace Since September
- Background Basics | Mar 23, 2010
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The administration has been combining “top-down,” “bottom-up” and regional efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In November, this led to Israel’s announcement of a 10-month moratorium on settlement construction in the West Bank. On March 8, Senator George Mitchell announced the advent of proximity talks between Israelis and Palestinians that have since been thrown into question. While much activity has occurred out of the public eye, the following is a snapshot of the administration’s public efforts since President
- Overview of Recent State-Building Efforts
- Background Basics | Feb 2, 2010
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In August 2009, the Palestinian Authority (PA) issued “Ending the Occupation, Establishing the State,” a program which identified specific goals for strengthening Palestinian institutions to establish the foundation for a Palestinian state. In January 2010, the PA published a document titled “Palestine: Moving Forward, Priority Interventions for 2010” which delineates 201 priority projects for the PA in 2010. All of these projects are meant to be implemented in the West Bank and Gaza; however, recognizing that the PA
- Understanding the Settlement Moratorium
- Background Basics | Dec 1, 2009
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On November 25, the Israeli cabinet approved a plan to halt settlement construction in the West Bank for ten months. The freeze applies to new home construction, but not building currently in progress or building in East Jerusalem. The moratorium allows for construction of a finite number of public buildings, such as synagogues and schools; only 28 such public building projects will be allowed by Israel during the moratorium.
Following Netanyahu’s announcement, U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace
- Middle East Investment Initiative Overview
- Background Basics | Nov 24, 2009
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The Middle East Investment Initiative (MEII), a partner organization of Middle East Progress, is an independent, non-profit organization founded by the Aspen Institute in 2005 to strengthen the economies of the Palestinian territories and other countries in the region, recognizing that a strong economic base is critical for social and political stability. Working in partnership with the Palestine Investment Fund (PIF), the U.S. Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and CHF International, MEII uses innovative
- A Short Biography of Rabin
- Background Basics | Nov 3, 2009
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Yitzhak Rabin was born in Jerusalem in 1922. At the age of 18 he joined the Palmach, the strike force of the Haganah, the pre-1948 defense organization of the Jewish community. He became the chief operating officer of the Palmach in October 1947 and a brigade commander during the 1948 war. Following the war, he served as a member of the Israeli delegation to the armistice talks with Egypt in Rhodes, Greece. Rabin joined the