1967 borders

The Prospect for a Breakthrough

Although the Obama administration's efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations have not, as yet, produced tangible results, the prospect for a breakthrough in negotiations may be closer today than it has been in many years. Notwithstanding the inherent skepticism about the prospect of real progress, the conversion of certain regional and international developments have altered the political dynamic and created a new set of opportunities for a negotiated settlement.

Hamas leader will accept Palestinian state in '67 borders

Ynet reports that Hamas Prime Minister, Ismail Haniyeh, sent a postcard to Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon saying "We said that we will not place stumbling blocks in front of any effort to achieve an independent Palestinian state in the 4 June 1967 borders with Jerusalem as its capital."

Winning Back Israel

During his recent meeting with Egypt's President Mubarak, President Obama expressed cautious optimism about the progress being made in the Arab-Israeli peace process. While both presidents noted that there was "movement in the right direction," eight months of American direct engagement in the Arab-Israeli conflict has produced few tangible results.

An Israeli View: Obama is deep into phase II

The roadmap seemed to have been stillborn in 2003 when it was introduced by the Quartet after extensive negotiations with Israel and the PLO. The principal obstacle to implementing it back then was leadership on all sides: US, Israel and the PLO.

Interview with Col. (res.) Dr. Ephraim Lavie: Fatah's success is dependent on "renewal... of the political process with Israel"

The Pulse recently interviewed Colonel (res.) Dr. Ephraim Lavie. He is Director of the Tami Steinmetz Center for Peace Research, Head of the Konrad Adenauer Program for Jewish-Arab Cooperation and a research fellow at the Moshe Dayan Center for Middle Eastern and African Studies.

Pulse: In your opinion, what were the main accomplishments of the Fatah convention?

Lavie: Fatah's sixth general convention achieved significant goals in rebuilding the movement both from an organizational aspect as well as an ideological one. First of all, the internal elections for the Central Committee and the Revolutionary Council finally tipped the scales in the power struggle between the old and mid-generation of leaders.

Hamas Again Accepts a Palestinian State on The 1967 Lines

The Wall Street Journal reported on Friday that Hamas Chief Khaled Meshaal told Jay Solomon and Julien Barnes-Dacey in an interview that "We along with other Palestinian factions in consensus agreed upon accepting a Palestinian state on the 1967 lines. This is the national program. This is our program.

An Israeli View: Test Hamas intentions separately

On June 25, Hamas leader Khalid Mishaal gave an important speech, one seemingly designed to follow up on major policy pronouncements regarding the Middle East delivered earlier by US President Barack Obama and Israeli PM Binyamin Netanyahu.

Khaled Mashal's Response Speech

INSS Insight No. 117, July 1, 2009

Adopting the current fashion inaugurated by President Obama with his June 4 Cairo address, Hamas political bureau chief Khaled Mashal joined the list of political leaders delivering major policy speeches in the Middle East. On June 25, Mashal delivered a response to the speeches of Obama and Prime Minister Netanyahu. His address presents Hamas' comprehensive, updated political approach, thus also deciding the internal debate within Hamas between the so-called moderates and the so-called radicals - in favor of the moderates.

A Palestinian View: A fundamental difference of understanding

In recent weeks we have witnessed an exchange of public statements between former Israeli PM Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas regarding the Annapolis negotiations process. The exchange is reminiscent of the post-mortem that followed the failure of the Camp David final status negotiations between Ehud Barak and the late President Yasser Arafat.

An Israeli View: A Critical absence of urgency

On the thirteenth anniversary of the assassination of Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin, at a memorial ceremony on Mt. Herzl in early November 2008, then-PM Ehud Olmert delivered one of his last speeches in office. He sought to leave the mark of his vision regarding the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the solution required by the state of Israel.