Abbas Calls for Elections, but Will They Be Held?

by Yousef Munayyer Before the recent speech by Palestine Liberation Organization Chairman Mahmoud Abbas at the United Nations General Assembly in September, it was reported that he would call for international assistance and protection for Palestinian parliamentary elections. Indeed, Abbas… Continue Reading

Palestinians Won’t Buy Economic Peace

by Mitchell Plitnick On Sunday, the Trump administration said that it would release the economic component of the “deal of the century” in late June. That statement is a walkback of an earlier pledge to release the whole plan after… Continue Reading

Is Kushner’s Plan a Peace Plan?

by Paul R. Pillar First son-in-law Jared Kushner has been tantalizing onlookers so long with a yet-to-be-announced plan for resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict that it is hard to remember when the tantalizing began. The process has appeared to be an… Continue Reading

The Obsolete Palestinian Authority

by Paul R. Pillar The unique entity known as the Palestinian Authority (PA), created 25 years ago as a supposedly transitional structure, is well past its sell-by date. The anniversary earlier this year of the Oslo Accords, which established the… Continue Reading

Saudi Diplomatic Offensive: Forget Khashoggi, Thwart Qatar

by James M. Dorsey As Saudi crown prince Mohammed bin Salman tours friendly Arab nations in advance of the Group of 20 (G-20) industrialized nations summit in Argentina, Saudi diplomacy aims to achieve two goals: put the killing of journalist… Continue Reading