The dire consequences of revenge and retribution
When will ordinary Israelis and Palestinians realize that revenge does not offer a cure to the endemic conflict, but is a curse that will continue... Read More
Israel and the two-state dilemma
Israel insists on seeing its conflict with the Palestinians in ideological terms, stymieing all attempts to reach a workable settlement.
Saudi Arabia’s act of strategic defiance
The Saudi decision to execute Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr at this particular juncture was a strategic act of defiance meant to challenge Iran and... Read More
Israel Firsters
For the past few months Israelis and Palestinians have experienced a wave of terrorist attacks mainly on civilian targets. Peace education may have an answer.
No peace and quiet for Israel until the occupation ends
Palestinian activists are faced with knowing that their unarmed resistance, whilst it has attracted international civil society support, has failed to exercise any leverage over... Read More
In the grip of powerful illusions
The resumption of peace talks will go nowhere unless Israelis and Palestinians change their prejudiced perception and resistance to and fear of change, and finally... Read More
Israel’s occupation is morally indefensible
Israel’s occupation cannot be defended on moral grounds or in terms of national security. Israel can defend itself and prevail over any of its enemies... Read More
The inevitable conflict – empowerment of terrorism through appeasement
There is a need to unravel the many intertwined factors that affects governments’ decisions to negotiate or not with terrorist groups as part of their negotiating strategy... Read More
Why bombing Syria is the right decision, but not enough
The decision to intervene in Syria and to more actively fight the so-called Islamic State was right. Something needs to happen now to prevent this... Read More
Conflict and intervention – the role of multilateralism
There are five good reasons for the major powers – especially the US – to commit themselves to consensus decisions on multilateral intervention achieved through... Read More
Syria – conflict resolution?
For the moment, military options seem to be “the order of the day”. Therefore we must work for formal negotiations among governments with interests in... Read More
Abandoning the Quartet in favor of the Arab Peace Initiative
The Quartet must be abandoned in favor of the Arab Peace Initiative, which has been gaining momentum in recent months absent any other viable alternative... Read More
How the ideological siege undermines the peace process
The readily accepted the narrative of the Netanyahu government that there is no negotiating partner, and that the Palestinians are out to destroy Israel and... Read More
Broken states never heal themselves
Broken states never heal themselves and can only be put back together with the prolonged involvement of outsiders working together to end the violence, impose... Read More
Delicate dilemma – why the US must sustain Israel’s security
The present volatile situation in the Middle East is such that the US needs Israel more than ever if it is to keep secure its... Read More
Why have past Israeli-Palestinian negotiations failed?
The more prominent reasons behind the collapse of prior Israeli-Palestinian negotiations include disagreement on rules of engagement, a failure to delink the conflicting issues, a lack... Read More
A conducive geopolitical environment for Israeli-Palestinian peace
Due to unfolding regional events, the shifting geopolitical dynamics within the Arab states, the changing nature of the bilateral relations between Israel and the Palestinians,... Read More
America’s default setting – part two
Berlin and Brussels should be spearheading efforts to pull together a diplomatic approach – to accompany US/Russian military actions – to gaining some level of... Read More
Time to end the Israeli occupation
Dismissing Palestinian resistance as a criminal act is only legitimising Israeli offensives in the name of self-defence. And in the pursuit of this self-defence, Israel... Read More
Yemen – where humanity is flaunted
There are wide-spread fears that the recent attacks against hospitals in Afghanistan and Yemen could weaken, and perhaps destroy, the prohibitions and restraints in war which... Read More
How to fight “Facebook Terrorists”
Whilst social media is not one of the causes of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, its features make it an effective, tactical tool that can be used... Read More
Before it is too late
The mutual acrimonious charges and counter-charges by Israeli and Palestinian leaders do nothing but instigate ever more violence. If Netanyahu and Abbas really want to... Read More
A parallel crescent to stop Iran in its tracks
Regardless of the Iran deal, Tehran’s quest to become a nuclear power will not change. Iran is determined to maintain its dominant role over the... Read More
The absence of real commitment to peace
Peace is becoming ever more elusive as both sides continue to hold onto what appear to be irreconcilable positions when in fact Israeli-Palestinian coexistence is... Read More
Cold War-style hostility in Syria?
Russia has a very clear goal in Syria – to back Assad and keep him in power. Unlike the West – which clearly said that... Read More