Director of Programs at the Middle East Institute
Director of Programs at the Middle East Institute and author of The Truth about Camp David: The Untold Story about the Collapse of the Middle East Peace Process
PROFILE
Clayton Swisher
Guest
FROM Clayton Swisher
To the Point
Another Roadblock to Peace in the Middle East Two weeks ago in Mecca, Saudi Arabia brokered a "unity government" deal between the Palestinian factions, Islamist Hamas and secular Fattah. That was good news for Palestinians exhausted by bloody fighting between the two, but bad news for peace between the Palestinians and Israel--and for Condoleezza Ric e, who left a three-way summit today empty handed. Is peace among the Palestinians killing hopes for peace between the Palestinians and Israel? Did Secretary Rice jump too soon in hopes of a much-needed diplomatic breakthrough?
To the Point
Israel, the Palestinians and anti-Americanism in the Muslim World Last week UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said the Israeli-Palestinian issue "carries a powerful symbolic and emotional charge... like no other conflict in the world." There was a sense of optimism, when President Mahmoud Abbas said the Palestinians would form a "unity government" to negotiate the end of the economic and political blockade imposed by Israel and the western powers. But with Hamas and Fatah bitterly divided over recognizing Israel's right to exist, there may be no "unity government" with which to negotiate. We update the Palestinians' internal struggles and look at the mood in Israel after the bombing of Lebanon. We also get some history of the Israeli-Palestinian issue and why it's the source of so much anti-Americanism around the world.
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To the Point
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To the Point
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