This survey conducted by INSS provides a good backdrop to the speech from Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu to the nation tonight. The speech will address the two-state solution and potential either solidify or fragment the Likud-led coalition. Moreover, as the United States continues pressuring Israel to freeze all settlement activity, in direct contradiction to […]
Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem points out several obvious but oft-overlooked truths in an interview with Foreign Policy. Firstly, he notes that keeping Syria on a state-sponsors of terror list while asking the Assad regime to assist in combating terrorism in Palestine. His point, most likely, was that Syria is too important for the United […]
The votes have been counted, the results have been reported, and the triumphant victory speeches have been delivered. Now the real work begins. As the pro-March 14 celebrations are dying down around Lebanon- as well as Washington and Riyadh- the nation’s politicians are gearing up for the next battle. Saad Hariri and his Sunni and […]
What Middle Eastern city held today a gay pride parade attended by thousands and protected by the municipal police? No, not Riyadh. Today marked the 11th annual gay pride parade in Tel Aviv as the streets filled with supporters and activists attempting to express support for the Israeli gay community. Parade attendees decorated floats and flew flags […]
The U.S. House of Representatives passed today the Foreign Relations Authorization Act for Fiscal Years 2010 and 2011 (H.R. 2410) that includes extensive support for Israel and may foreshadow coming debates between the White House and Congress. Even though the bill would regulate the State Department and ensure Congressional oversight of various programs, authorization bills do […]
A new report claims that Special Envoy George Mitchell delivered to the Palestinian Authority the U.S. peace plan, which includes a deal that would swap Israeli land for the large Jewish settlement blocs in the West Bank. The plan resembles policy advocated by Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman, who urges the annexation of Arab land in northern Israel […]
Not about Lebanon, but regionally relevant and interesting: From Stratfor By George Friedman June 8, 2009 Amid the rhetoric of U.S. President Barack Obama’s speech June 4 in Cairo, there was one substantial indication of change, not in the U.S. relationship to the Islamic world but in the U.S. relationship to Israel. This shift actually […]
Two days have passed since Lebanon’s parliamentary elections, and everything is still all quiet on the Middle Eastern front. The Western-backed March 14 coalition retained a majority in Lebanon’s 128 seat parliament. Both Hizballah and its Shia ally Amal had strong showings in their districts, but it was not enough to put its March 8 […]
Former Israeli Ambassador to the U.N. Dore Gold’s latest piece for the Jerusalem Center for Public Affairs explores historical legislation governing settlements and questions whether settlement growth, including natural, really remains the crux of disagreements between the United States and Israel. He asserts that due to the small amount of land occupied by settlements, the […]
A new INSS report from Avner Cohen discusses the need for the Knesset to enact legislation admitting to an Israeli nuclear program that resulted in nuclear weapons capabilities. Even though the international community largely accepts that Israel already developed nuclear weapons, Israel refuses to confirm nor deny the claim. Instead, the country prefers a policy […]
The Washington Post President Barack Obama to permit “natural growth” in settlements, the generally left-wing newspaper wrote in an editorial today. The Obama administration recently called for an end to all settlement activity, but Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu insists on maintaining natural growth in existing settlements. The newspaper asserts that Obama can accept the […]
See a post from FPA Global Films blogger Sean Patrick Murphy on a 2004 movie regarding the Gaza Strip. The footage was taken prior to the Hamas coup on the Gaza Strip following the IDF pullout and seems to show how Hamas handily won the 2006 elections while maintaining support in the Strip. From the […]
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