A Regional Order Contested
Extreme instability has prompted a fundamental reconfiguration of the contemporary Middle East; as the old order crumbles, a new one has yet to emerge
Tag: Israel-Palestine conflict
Can Israel Survive Netanyahu?
Following Benjamin Netanyahu’s reelection Israel is a land of contradictions, democratic and wealthy yet with dangerous demographic divisions
Rethinking the Two States
For scholar and diplomat Daniel Levy, this much is clear: until Israel loses its sense of impunity, the peace process goes nowhere
When the Shake-up Comes
Activist and former advisor to the PLO negotiating team Diana Buttu discusses what she calls the death of Oslo and her hopes for a radical new future
No-Peace Solution
Peace did not prevail because certain ambiguous provisions contained in the Camp David Accords enabled Israel to deliberately evade its obligations and frustrate the entire peace process
The Players of Camp David
An insider Israeli view on the personalities and ideas that drove the history-making Camp David Accords
Reflections on Camp David at 40
How the Camp David Accords became a limited Egyptian–Israeli peace effort that ultimately transformed Arab–Israeli relations across the Middle East
Half Right and Still Waiting
Parsing the successes of the Israeli–Egyptian peace treaty against the failure of Camp David’s other framework agreement sheds light on the pillars of a successful security relationship, and the unique sticking points of the Palestinian–Israeli conflict
Asymmetry, the Spoiler
For twenty-five years since the Oslo Agreement, Palestinian–Israeli negotiations have been characterized by a starkly uneven power dynamic. To reach a final solution, today’s negotiators must commit to leveling the playing field
The Oslo Accords: A Closer Look
Former Palestinian foreign minister Nasser Alkidwa takes a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of the Oslo Accords, the lessons learned, and the way forward
Oslo and Camp David: One and the Same?
What we have learned from the Oslo Accords needs to influence a future agreement so that a lasting Camp David-like peace can be reached between Israelis and Palestinians
Developing the Concept of Palestinian Autonomy
How the Camp David Accords, as well as a little-known series of negotiations called the “Autonomy Talks,” came to serve as the basis for Palestinian self-rule during the Oslo negotiations
The Case for the One-State Solution
With the two-state solution on life support, it’s time to revisit solutions once discarded as radical—namely, the one-state option
Oslo’s Mangled Legacy
After the PLO suffered a legitimacy crisis in the early 1990s, the organization was forced to survive by entering the Oslo talks. Despite initial success, it has since endured failures
Mirroring the Other
Fauda, Netflix’s hit TV series on Israeli undercover operatives in Palestine, presents Palestinian and Israeli characters that have nuanced emotions and desires; yet the show still otherizes Arabs and justifies Israel’s actions in the West Bank and Gaza.
Civil Society for the Displaced
To meet the challenges of massive human displacement in the Middle East and North Africa, civil society actors need a common platform where they can advocate. The MENA Civil Society Network for Displacement or CSND sets out to be that.
Faith That Peace Will One Day Come
Former United States president and architect of the Camp David Accords Jimmy Carter discusses the 1978 conference that changed the Middle East and the prospects for peace today.
A Long View of the Middle East
Middle East historian James Gelvin speaks to Cairo Review editors Sean David Hobbs and Leslie Cohen about Middle Eastern current affairs, including where Syria is headed, and whether America’s moment in the Middle East has passed.
Delusions of a Deal
Donald Trump claims he is the master of deal-making, but will his much-touted “Deal of the Century” be favorable to the Arabs and Palestinians?
Jordan at the Crossroads
Jordan’s economic, demographic and geographic characteristics have left the country vulnerable to mass protests and external pressure that can only be overcome by a comprehensive reform program.
What’s Next for Gaza
The crisis in Gaza and possible Israeli policies which could create real change on the ground.
Trump’s Jerusalem Move Reignites Arab Youth
A look at the state of Arab Youth protest at the American University in Cairo, Egypt and the greater Middle East.
Lord Balfour’s Burden
A century ago, the Balfour Declaration paved the way for the creation of a Jewish homeland in Palestine. The President of the State of Palestine asks the United Kingdom’s government to apologize for a document that set off a century of suffering and dispossession for the Palestinian people.
A European Call for Palestinian Independence
Europe’s role in the Middle East has evolved from colonial overlord into a partner for peace between Jews and Arabs. European leaders should no longer delay in showing equal respect to Palestinian and Israeli national aspirations: they should recognize Palestinian statehood now.
Global Palestine
The Arab World should accept responsibility for its leading role in achieving peace in Palestine, but global leaders should remember that the “Palestinian question” remains central to both regional and international relations.
Waiting for Uncle Sam
For decades, the United States has billed itself as an “honest broker” in the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks. Ten principles for renewing confidence in U.S. leadership, and the Arab-Israeli peace process.
Trump’s Toughest Deal
President Donald Trump has boasted “We will get this done” on peace in the Middle East. Negotiations between wary Israeli and Palestinian leaders might need a provocative jolt in order to stop the slide toward a “one-state reality.”
A Century’s Legacy of Conflict
Understanding the lessons of a conflict deeply steeped in history is essential to resolving it. The strength of facts on the ground, the futility of “might makes right,” and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict’s persistent role in the region’s instability are all part of a legacy that must be acknowledged to achieve peace.
Beyond “Land for Peace”
Peace negotiations between Palestinians and Israelis in the last quarter-century were never designed to support the establishment of a two-state solution. Brokers of the conflict should look beyond the “land for peace” formula and return to some of the finer details of UN General Assembly Resolution 181 on the partition of Palestine.
Political Space for Israel’s Palestinians?
As the Israeli state ramps up exclusionary policies against its Palestinian citizens, the Palestinian community is increasingly resorting to protests and grassroots activism to produce results.
Made in Palestine
Expansion of Israeli settlements, restriction on access to water, and land confiscation are displacing Palestinians from agricultural livelihoods they have known for centuries. But olive tree growers and backyard gardeners are refusing to surrender their heritage. This is a story of farmers under occupation.
1967 War’s Real Legacy in Egypt
The defeat in the 1967 war with Israel deeply altered Egypt’s position in the Arab World.
Five Ghosts That Haunt the Arab World
To understand the messy state of the Middle East today, look toward its past.
Ripples of the 1967 War
By crushing the Arab armies, Israel paradoxically resurrected the Palestinian national movement. But fifty years after Israeli forces captured the West Bank and Gaza Strip, the bitter struggle over Palestine continues, and continues . . .
Myths of the Six-Day War
Were Arab leaders determined to launch an attack on Israel? Were Israeli leaders willing to seek peace after their stunning military victory? New scholarship easily challenges the falsehoods long prevalent in Western circles.
Hanan Ashrawi: “We Are Seriously Worried”
The Trump administration has suggested dropping the two-state solution and moving its embassy to Jerusalem. Influential Palestinian leader Hanan Ashrawi speaks out.
Trump’s Threat to Arab-Israeli Peace
U.S. policy threatens to undo not only the two-state solution, but stable relations with Israel’s Arab neighbors.
Israel-Palestine Clarity on the F-Train from Brooklyn
Popular sentiments in the U.S. and the Middle East have started to play a more significant role in determining what happens in this conflict that is almost a century old.
Israelis, Palestinians: Desperately Seeking Leadership
Small majorities of both people still cling to the idea that a negotiated two-state solution could happen. What is lacking is leadership.
Fantasies of a Middle East Envoy
Veteran U.S. policymaker Dennis Ross argues that the U.S.-Israeli relationship is “doomed to succeed.” But a hardheaded look at the political, demographic, and ethnic changes in both countries suggests otherwise.
Keeping Hope Alive
A two-state solution is the only equitable resolution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. Former U.S. diplomat and policy director at Americans for Peace Now Lara Friedman explains why.
Condemn Terror and Get Beyond the Moral Vacuum
There are tens of thousands of more terrorists operating in the world today than there were in September 2001 when the global war on terror was launched. Something is not working here.
The BDS Debate Goes Mainstream
Critics of Israel’s most egregious and often illegal policies—occupation, colonization, mass incarceration, assassinations, and direct and indirect siege of Palestinian civilian communities—now also call for measures to deter or punish it.
Historic Shifts in World’s View of Israel-Palestine
Palestinian rights are popping up in more venues around the world, with a regular public focus on countering and even sanctioning Zionist actions such as expropriating and colonizing occupied Arab lands.
Time for a Sensible International Effort on Israel-Palestine
An American-Russian-French-European peace initiative, with the active participation of the moribund Arab League and expressions of support from Iran, Turkey, and other key players, is achievable and worth attempting.
How Can a Two-State Solution Calm Our Troubled Region?
“As the wider Middle East continues to be gripped by a relentless wave of extremist terror, Israelis and Palestinians have an opportunity to restore hope to a region torn apart by intolerance and cruelty.” —Ban Ki-Moon, UN Secretary-General
Israel-Palestine Peace Is a Priority, Not a Sideshow
Resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict, and the wider Arab-Israeli conflict, should be seriously grasped as a global priority.
We Cannot Afford a Two-Year Peace-Making Pause
Putting on hold now for two years serious diplomacy aimed at reaching a permanent peace agreement will only allow attitudes of militancy and murder to continue their upward trends.
The Ugly Order of Free-For-All Killings in Israel-Palestine
It is a crime against rational language and thought to speak of “restoring calm” and “reducing the violence” in a situation where the Israelis are the occupiers, tormentors, colonizers, and mass killers of mostly defenseless Palestinians who are largely leaderless and unprotected by international law.