via LobeLog
by Mitchell Plitnick
I’m always pleased when something surprises me in the realm of Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy. It doesn’t happen often. Today’s announcement that Secretary of State John Kerry has apparently succeeded at bringing Israel and the Palestinian Authority back to the table was one such surprise.
The announcement [...]
via Lobe Log
by Mitchell Plitnick
Who is John Kerry trying to fool?
His repeated trips to the Middle East have produced no change in the status quo and prevented neither the resignation of the US’ golden boy in Palestine, Salam Fayyad, nor Turkish Prime Minister Trecip Erdogan’s planned visit to Gaza. But he [...]
via IPS News
by Robert E. Hunter
President Barack Obama spent three days in the Near East, a whirlwind visit like a genie from the Arabian Nights, kicking up dust and making his presence felt. But what did he achieve?
Two substantive matters stand out: $200 million promised to the King of Jordan to [...]
via Lobe Log
by Mitchell Plitnick
All was not as it seemed during President Barack Obama’s appearances in Jerusalem and Ramallah, where he addressed audiences of Israelis and Palestinians. On the surface, it looked like Obama was swearing fealty to Israel, and pledging unconditional US support for any and all Israeli actions. But a [...]
via Lobe Log
by Marsha B. Cohen
US President Barack Obama has arrived in Israel.
Greeted by Israeli President Shimon Peres and Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu (who wore a blue tie that almost exactly matched Obama’s), the US president was quickly ushered to view an Iron Dome battery set up at the airport. [...]
via Lobe Log
by Mitchell Plitnick
As President Barack Obama’s first trip to Israel approaches, one senses desperation from the Ramallah headquarters of the Palestinian Authority. Obama’s scheduled stop in the West Bank has all the trappings of an empty gesture masking the real goal of creating coordination between the President and Israeli [...]
via Lobe Log
The vote in the United Nations General Assembly on the Palestinian application for non-member status is a foregone conclusion. They’re going to win and it’s not really going to matter much, at least in the short term. Nonetheless, the decidedly warped world of diplomacy around the Israel-Palestine conflict has managed to [...]
En Español
The Latest
From IPS News
- Rising Temperatures Drive Human-Wildlife Conflict in Zimbabwe
- Women Organize to Fight Coastal Erosion in Southeastern Brazil
- More Diversified Trade Can Make Middle East & Central Asia More Resilient
- Afghan Women Struggle with Soaring Mental Health Issues
- Solomon Islands: A Change More in Style than Substance
- The US a Direct Partner in the Israeli War
- US Senators Threaten Criminal Court & Advise Israel to Nuke Gaza
- From Dorms to Demonstrations
- Chronicle of a Catastrophe Foretold
- Ocean Action on Global Agenda as Negotiations to Save Biodiversity Deepen
- Online fundraising for IPS Inter Press Service at Razoo