Global Policy Forum

The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, may make a unilateral declaration of Palestinian independence from Israel at the UN general assembly this September (2011). British Prime Minister, David Cameron, warned the Israeli head of State, Binyamin Netanyahu, that Britain may support Abbas’ declaration if Israel does not take part in substantive peace negotiations with the Palestinians to create a two state solution to the current crisis in Israel, Palestine and the occupied territories. (The Guardian)

According to this UN Report, the Palestinian Authority has met the criteria to become a state. However, it will continue to have limitations due to the conflict with and occupation by Israel as well as the divide with Hamas over Gaza. The Palestinian Authority is looking to the future and the possibility of asking the General Assembly for membership in September despite warnings from Israel that this would push the peace process back. (The Washington Post)

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel has pledged to push for a one-time-only 90-day freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank. The proposed freeze was negotiated by Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and is supposed to break the impasse in peace negotiations with the Palestinians. However, this deal seems rather one-sided. In exchange for a mere 90-day freeze, Israel will receive 20 fighter jets from the US as well as a promise that the US will veto any future Security Council resolution that recognizes Palestinian statehood in the West Bank, Jerusalem and Gaza without Israeli agreement. While this deal is subject to Israeli cabinet approval, why would they hesitate to accept? (New York Times)

Arab States May Ask UN to Recognize Palestinian State if Settlements Continue (October 15, 2010)

Israel has supposedly approached Washington with a deal to extend the freeze on the building of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories in exchange for the release of Jonathan Pollard, an American who spied for Israel and is jailed in America for life. Binyamin Netanyahu has long pressed for Pollard's release. Palestine is demanding an extension on the moratorium on construction to stay at the negotiating table. The spy deal could provide a sop to the right wing in Israel, enabling the government to re-impose the settlement freeze. (Mail & Guardian Online)

The US-brokered peace talks between Israel and Palestine are being hampered by the standoff on Jewish settlement construction in the West Bank. The US has repeatedly called on Israel to extend its partial moratorium on construction and Palestinians have threatened to quit the talks unless the moratorium continues. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is constrained by right-wing parties in his coalition government who want to resume full construction on land seized by Israel in the 1967 war. According to a recent poll, most Israelis believe Netanyahu is only participating in the talks because of US pressure.(Los Angeles Times)

Palestine, within the West Bank, are developing a peaceful strategy to achieve their national goals laid out by the negotiated peace agreement with Israel - put an end to occupation and create the Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders. The most impressive of the Palestinian initiatives is the "state and institution building program," which is improving infrastructures, economic opportunities and administrative organization. Furthermore, the Palestinian leadership is blocking Israeli manufactured products from Palestinian shops and discouraging Palestinians from working on Israeli settlement construction projects.  (The Guardian)

Israel and Palestine Fail to Agree Before Conference (November 20, 2007)

Olmert Hopes Syria Will Attend Annapolis Conference (November 6, 2007)

Olmert Deputy Urges Talks on Future of Jerusalem (October 8, 2007)

US President George Bush is proposing the tenure of an international summit in an attempt to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. However, the conference would not include representatives from Hamas and Syria, as both refuse to recognize the state of Israel. The exclusion of key players in the summit has led international critics to question the validity of President Bush's motives and to suggest that the US is pushing for a resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to secure Arab backing for a possible US-led war against Iran. (Inter Press Service)

The BBC follows the peace plans and negotiations that came after the Middle East war in 1967, none of which have resolved the central conflict between the Israelis and Palestinians. The Saudi Peace Plan, re-launched by Arab leaders in March, has yet to be renegotiated. Currently, no peace talks are in progress and both the Palestinian Unity Government and Israel have failed to implement previous agreements.

Contrary to Israel's previous position, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni have both spoken of "positive" elements in the Saudi peace proposal that offers Israel full recognition and permanent peace with the Arab states in return for a withdrawal to 1967 lines. The Saudi initiative also proposes that Palestinian refugees have the right to return to their homes in accordance with UN Resolution 194 which has so far largely been ignored by Israel and the Arab League. Separately, Defense Minister Amir Peretz of Israel is to press for better United Nations monitoring of arms smuggling from Syria to Hezbollah forces in southern Lebanon. (International Herald Tribune)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is hopeful about the role of the recently formed Palestinian Unity Government.in the peace process between Israel and Palestine. The 'Diplomatic Quartet' (UN, United States, Russian Federation and European Union) had frozen contacts and withheld monetary contributions to the Hamas Government pending a commitment to 'renounce violence, recognize Israel and accept agreements already signed between Israel and the Palestinians.' Ban says that the sanctions may be lifted following further steps in the peace process. (UN News)

A UN rapporteur on the situation of human rights in the occupied Palestinian territories calls on the Security Council "to assume responsibility for finding a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict instead of leaving it to the diplomatic Quartet? He believes the influential Quartet, including the UN, the European Union, Russia and the United States, acts partially when it imposes economic measures on the Hamas government. According to the UN official, the situation in Palestinian territories has worsened since June 2006, and requires talks between Israel and Palestinians on a permanent status accord. (UN News)

The deployment of UN peacekeepers in Lebanon to monitor the implementation of Resolution 1701 has encouraged Palestinians to raise the possibility of deploying international forces in the West Bank and Gaza to supervise the Road Map or any other peace plan in the Israel-Palestine conflict. (Bitterlemons.org)

The UN-backed International Women's Commission for a Just and Sustainable Palestinian-Israeli Peace (IWC) has urged the Quartet to intervene to stop the fighting in the Middle East. Deploring that "civilians, mainly women and children, are paying the price daily for this vicious cycle of retaliation and counter-retaliation," the IWC calls upon the Quartet to dispatch high-level special envoys "to mediate a truce and the exchange of prisoners, and to lead the parties back to political negotiations that address the root issues of the conflict."

In a major shift in policy, Hamas has agreed to accept a document drawn up by Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails that recognizes Israel's right to exist. The move represents a victory for Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who had threatened to call a referendum on the issue that might have removed Hamas from power if the party continued to reject the document. Both parties hope for the restoration of desperately needed international aid following the move. While a step forward, progress in the peace process remains unlikely until the violence subsides. (Guardian)

This Haaretz article argues that Israel has more to gain from talking to Hamas than from maintaining its current policy of refusing to engage in dialogue. The author claims that Israel made a mistake in ignoring the National Conciliation Document, drawn up by Palestinian prisoners as a basis for conciliation between their rival factions but that marked a flexibility yet unseen in the Hamas government. Starting a discourse with Hamas, while difficult, would not be as drastic a policy change as is suggested by the 'Israeli tribal camp' he suggests.

This Washington Post article sees a unique and unexpected opportunity for progress between Israel and the Hamas-led Palestinian authority. It argues that while the two governments may well be "mortal enemies", both sides currently depend on the other to achieve their immediate goals. While Hamas needs "implicit Israeli acquiescence" to create some level of stability, Israel needs Hamas' help in creating a calm environment if its ambitious withdrawal plan is to be accepted. The article warns that this small window of opportunity could close depending on the pragmatism of the two sides and on the reaction of the US.

This article questions the fate of the Road Map and of the wider peace process in the aftermath of Hamas' victory in the Palestinian parliamentary elections. The US and EU - which outlined the peace plan along with Russia and the UN - consider Hamas a terrorist organization and refuse to include the Islamist group in the peace process. Israel also refuses to recognize the results of the elections given that Hamas' founding charter calls for Israel's destruction. Some argue that the Road Map was doomed to fail as neither Israelis nor Palestinians ever intended to implement it. (TomPaine)

The Palestinian militant group Al Aqsa Martyrs Brigade believes that Palestinians should stop attacking Israel from Gaza if Israel completely reverses its 38-year occupation: "If there is no Israeli occupation, there is no need for resistance." However, some ambitious groups, including Hamas, say the struggle should continue. According to Ziad Abu Amr, a Gaza City representative to the Palestinian legislative council, "these militants' expectations and ambitions have increased. They are trying to get a bigger piece of the cake." (Christian Science Monitor)

Although Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian factions have taken important steps to create an environment 'conducive to peace talks,' neither side has taken sufficient note of the demands of civil society. This opinion piece argues that these demands are crucial to a resolution to the conflict. If both sides want to capitalize on the political 'window of opportunity' and avoid another deadlock in peace talks, they need to build a broad consensus and gather popular support for crucial issues such as final settlement. (Daily Star-Lebanon)

This Toronto Sun article warns against optimism about peace in the Middle East, stressing that Palestinians will unlikely give up their armed struggle in return for "a wretched mini-state." As Israeli Prime Minister Sharon and Palestinian Authority leader Abbas renew the "peace process," Israel continues its expansion of illegal settlements. As long as the US refuses to pressure Israel to compromise its demands, a Middle Eastern peace remains unlikely, reducing Abbas to "merely the latest US-imposed overseer in the Arab world."

The election of Mahmoud Abbas as Chairman of the Palestinian Authority has raised new hopes for resuming the so-called "peace process." This article calls on Israel to back the "elected, moderate leader who aspires to renew the diplomatic process" and has high hopes for Sharon's new government and its "disengagement plan." But questions remain as to how Abbas will handle Sharon's unilateral withdrawal agenda without compromising the demands of the Palestinian people. (Ha'aretz)