December 8th

Giving up is not an option In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Opinion) - December 8, 2010 - 1:00am Introduction The Administration has mercifully, and honestly, admitted that the time has come to abandon its policy of seeking a settlement freeze as a path to negotiations.  It will pay a political price and will be blamed and endure the gloating of its critics. However, at the end of the day, the US government will be the one that everyone else will look to for providing answers and driving policy.  The two-state solution is the unchanging American policy because it is in our own national strategic interest. » Read more

October 12th

No to a third intifada In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Jerusalem Post (Opinion) - October 12, 2010 - 12:00am Whether or not a solution to the crisis over settlements is achieved in the coming weeks, it’s becoming increasingly clear that the direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations are in serious trouble. Haaretz quoted unnamed Western officials as saying the talks are “going nowhere.” And the most cautious, sober and measured member of the senior PLO leadership, Yasser Abed Rabbo, who is a member of the negotiating team, has been moved to declare that “there will be no serious political process with Netanyahu’s government.” » Read more

September 29th

Separating gimmickry from reality on settlements In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - September 28, 2010 - 12:00am Israel’s temporary, partial settlement construction moratorium has finally expired without being renewed in any way. This is in spite of repeated American entreaties to the Israeli government to extend the moratorium and repeated Palestinian warnings that negotiations could not continue if building resumes. As things stand, the issue is unresolved and poses a serious threat to the future of negotiations, with the United States urgently looking for a compromise and the Palestinians putting off any final decision for at least another week. » Read more

September 22nd

Beyond optimism or pessimism: the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks In Print by Hussein Ibish - Common Ground News Service - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am Washington, DC - While the build up to the renewed Israeli-Palestinian negotiations – the first direct talks in almost ten years to be brokered by the United States – was largely greeted with an excess of pessimism on the part of many observers, the fact that they have been resumed is, on its own, something of an achievement for US President Barack Obama and his administration. Indeed, it took almost a year of intensive diplomacy in order to get to these direct negotiations to get them going. » Read more

Netanyahu’s subtle, insidious, unworkable demand In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - September 21, 2010 - 12:00am Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has recently been reiterating the demand he has focused on since regaining power that Palestinians and other Arabs recognize Israel as not only a “Jewish state” but specifically as “the nation-state of the Jewish people.” This demand has been flatly rejected not only by the Palestinian leadership, but more recently by the Arab League. » Read more

September 11th

How the Palestinian Authority is fighting Hamas attacks In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Washington Post (Opinion) - September 11, 2010 - 12:00am The Sept. 8 editorial "The Hamas murders," on the drive-by attacks against Israeli settlers in the West Bank by Hamas, was exceptionally unfair to the Palestinian Authority. Demanding that the authority "fight terrorism," the editorial ignored the fact that the shootings occurred in an area under full Israeli security control. » Read more

September 8th

Legitimize Hamas and kiss the PLO goodbye In Print by Hussein Ibish - NOW Lebanon (Opinion) - September 6, 2010 - 12:00am With the resumption of direct Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, numerous voices in the United States have been urging the inclusion of Hamas in international diplomacy, a focus on Palestinian unity, or some formal American outreach to the Palestinian Islamist group. » Read more

September 2nd

The Future Palestinian State Takes Root In Print by Hussein Ibish - The Wall Street Journal (Opinion) - September 1, 2010 - 12:00am Many contentious issues could bedevil the Israeli-Palestinian negotiations that began Wednesday, but on one subject both sides can largely agree: The state-building program launched last year by Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Salam Fayyad has made measurable progress. While the terrorist group Hamas rules in the Gaza Strip, Palestinians in the West Bank are trying to build the framework of a future state. » Read more

Contested Settlement In Print by Hussein Ibish - Foreign Policy (Analysis) - September 2, 2010 - 12:00am » Read more

June 17th

The Significance of the Second Palestine Investment Conference In Print by Ziad Asali - The Huffington Post (Blog) - June 17, 2010 - 12:00am Almost everything about the second Palestine Investment Conference held in Bethlehem in early June, which I had the honor of attending as a member of President Barack Obama's official delegation, was encouraging. » Read more