Engaging the Arab States

The Jordanian Predicament

At the end of the War of Independence – the outcome of the Arab rejection of the Partition Plan – 600,000 Palestinians became refugees in Arab states, especially Jordan. Until 1988, the Palestinians were not included in the global agenda and negotiations on the future of the West Bank were carried out directly between Israel and Jordan. Many Israeli political leaders at the time regarded Jordan as the Palestinian homeland, and cited the growing Palestinian population there as validation of this view.

Clinton clarifies settlement stance

In the final stop on her visit to the Middle East and Pakistan, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton met with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak yesterday. After commenting on her statement in Jerusalem over the weekend that the U.S. considered Israel's movement on settlements "unprecedented," she assured Arab leaders that the Obama administration is not reneging on demands to halt settlement building.

Obama: Peace between Israel and Jordan shows peace always possible

Monday marked the 15 year anniversary of the signing of the peace accord between Israel and Jordan. President Obama marked the milestone, saying it proves that peace is always possible.

The White House released the following statement:

Report of Israel-Iran secret meeting

According to the Israel Atomic Energy Commision Spokesperson Yael Doron, Israeli and Iranian representatives participated in a nuclear non-proliferation conference in Egypt this past September. Iran has denied that the meeting took place; however Egypt's foreign ministry confirmed the report.

Ha'aretz reports:

An Israeli View: Damage survey

In the course of the past two weeks, we have witnessed three key developments in Palestinian-Israeli relations.

One is, at least initially, an internal Palestinian and Arab issue: apparent progress in Egypt's efforts to bring about Fateh-Hamas rapprochement, create some form of unity government and set a date for Palestinian elections. If this prolonged initiative finally reaches fruition in the days ahead, it could have far-reaching ramifications for efforts to launch a new peace process between Israelis and Palestinians and for Israeli-Palestinian relations in general. One way or another, this dynamic will have to be revisited in the weeks ahead.

Jordan's King Abdullah makes plea for two states

In an interview with Ha'aretz, King Abdullah II of Jordan made a case for achieving a two-state solution rather than continuing with the status quo.

Economic Self-Interest for Peace

It has become accepted wisdom that the economic development of the Palestinian Authority (PA) is a necessary precursor to a peaceful resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. After all, under present economic conditions, if the Palestinians were to exchange the reality of occupation for one of statehood, then nothing tangible will have changed. If nothing changes in the day-to-day lives of the Palestinians, then the conflict will go on.

Building Momentum for Mid-East Peace: Bring Back the Multilaterals

The first phase of the Obama administration's efforts at progress on the Arab-Israeli dispute is over, and let's be honest: it's not what the administration hoped would happen when it embarked on its campaign to bring the parties to the table. In a prelude to negotiations, the Israelis were supposed to freeze settlements, but the Netanyahu government only talked privately about going part of the way. The Palestinians were to increase security measures to prevent violence against Israel and decrease incitement.

Israel and the Gulf States: A Thaw in Relations?

INSS Insight No. 133, September 29, 2009

As part of the attempt to jumpstart Israeli-Palestinian discussions, the American administration has in recent months expended significant effort on persuading different Arab nations, headed by the Gulf states, to make certain gestures towards Israel. While in geopolitical terms the Arab-Israeli arena and the Persian Gulf arena are separate, the Persian Gulf states are nonetheless directly or indirectly involved in the Arab-Israeli conflict and are influenced by Israeli-Palestinian relations.

Obama Pivots and Re-loads on Mideast Peace

Much of the analysis following this week's tripartite meeting in New York reported a victory for Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, a failure for Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas and a blow to President Obama's efforts to advance Mideast peace and security.  But the process is just beginning; it's far from over.