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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

The Status of Jerusalem

June 3, 2009, 1:30-2:30 PM

As Israelis and Palestinians consider reopening negotiations, the final status issues—such as Jerusalem, refugees, security, and borders—loom on the horizon. For over a decade, Palestinians, Israelis, and others have been working on creative solutions to these seemingly intractable challenges.

Middle East Progress at the Center for American Progress presents three experts who have been looking at the issue of Jerusalem, the city at the heart of the conflict. The discussion focuses on the multiple challenges Jerusalem poses to any resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian and broader Arab-Israeli conflict and how they might be resolved.

Introduction:

Rudy deLeon, Senior Vice President, National Security and International Policy

Featured Discussants:

Ambassador Michael Bell, co-director of the Jerusalem Old City Initiative at the University of Windsor, and former Canadian ambassador to Jordan, Egypt and Israel
Marshall Breger, professor of law at the Columbus School of Law, The Catholic University of America, co-author of Jerusalem’s Holy Places and the Peace Process and consultant to the Jerusalem Old City Initiative

Discussion Moderated by:

Ambassador Daniel C. Kurtzer, S. Daniel Abraham Professor in Middle Eastern Policy Studies at Princeton University’s Woodrow Wilson School and former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Egypt

More on the status of Jerusalem and the future of the Old City:
Solving the Problem of the Old City: An Interview with Michael Bell
Middle East Bulletin
June 23, 2009

The Missing Peaces: How to Govern Jerusalem and Strike an Israeli-Syrian Deal
Michael D. Bell and Daniel C. Kurtzer; Prem G. Kumar
Foreign Affairs, March/Apr 2009