By Jonathan Spyer*

Deeply embedded in Palestinian nationalism is the notion that Israeli Jewish identity is analogous to that of communities born of European colonialism, which are not seen as having legitimate claim to self-determination. No reconsidering of this characterization took place during the period of the peace process of the 1990s. Hence, the short period of acceptance of the "two-state solution," was a departure by Palestinian nationalism from its more natural stance, and the current trend of return to the "one-state" option is a return to a position more in keeping with the deep view of the conflict held throughout by this trend.

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By Barry Rubin

So sang the Rolling Stones. But which side has time working in its favor? That’s one of the Middle East’s most intriguing and controversial questions.

Recently, Israeli leaders and well-wishers–sincere and hypocritical alike–have spoken in panicky terms that time isn’t on Israel side and it’s either peace in a few months or the Biblical flood.

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By Barry Rubin

Almost exactly 20 years ago I was getting into a taxi around 2am at the Algerian airport. I had agreed to share the cab with two Angolan radio journalists exhausted after their long, roundabout flight via Paris to head off to the Palestinian National Council (PNC) meeting I was covering as a reporter.

The driver wanted over $100 and we were angry at what seemed a rip-off. But assured by Algerian officials that the hotel was far away–it was–we agreed and off we sped through the night. About 45 minutes later, suddenly, in the middle of the night in the middle of nowhere, we hit an army roadblock.

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By Jonathan Spyer

In recent weeks, a number of prominent Fatah figures have suggested that their movement might abandon its commitment to a “two-state solution” to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and return to the pre-1988 demand for Israel’s replacement by a single state in the area between the Jordan and the Mediterranean.

They claim that Israeli policy in the West Bank is forcing them to reconsider their commitment to partition. In fact, though, what used to be known as the “democratic, secular state,” and is now called the “one-state solution,” has been the end-goal of modern Palestinian nationalism for the greater part of its history. Its reemergence into prominence should come as no surprise. It is the natural product of Palestinian nationalism’s characterization of the conflict.

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By Jonathan Spyer

A fourth round of indirect talks between Syrian and Israeli representatives was concluded in Istanbul this week and as the Turkish mediators kept themselves in shape conveying messages between the hotel rooms of the two countries’ delegations, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was keen to stress the urgency of the hour.

The time was approaching, the prime minister said, when gestures would no longer be enough. Rather, it would soon be time for the Syrians to make their choice between the “Iranian grip” and their partnership in the “axis of evil,” and rejoining the “family of nations” in pursuit of peace and “economic development.”

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By Barry Rubin

Hamas celebrated its first anniversary of power in the Gaza Strip amidst massive misinterpretations regarding the situation there.

Ironically, Hamas’s victory and survival has less to do with Israel than the rotten strategy of Yasir Arafat. He ruled the Palestinian movement for 35 years by establishing a weak, anarchic, corrupt, and factionalized structure which he played like a violin. After Arafat’s death, Fatah paid the price by collapsing in the Gaza Strip, first electorally then militarily. Having proved a failure in government, Fatah then showed itself a failure as an opposition.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

What else would one expect from Hamas, whose charter states that the, “… final goal of Hamas is that the flag of Allah will fly over every inch of Palestine,” and “There is no other solution to the Palestinian problem than Jihad (Holy war)…”? From today’s BBC:

Israel has declared that a rocket attack by Palestinian militants on the southern town of Sderot was a “grave violation” of a six-day-old truce. …

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By Jonathan Spyer

Israel’s announcement of a willingness for peace talks with Lebanon is one of the early fruits of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s recent visit to the region and her unexpected visit to Lebanon. French President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent visit to Lebanon and upcoming visit to Israel is also crucial here.

In the wake of the recent Doha agreement, the US is keen to bolster the position of Lebanese Prime Minister Fuad Saniora and the March 14 movement of which he is a part.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

A headline today from Ha’aretz would surprise a lot of people. It reads, “Poll: 77% of Israeli Arabs would rather live in Israel than in any other country in the world.” Perhaps even more important, the poll found that Israeli Arabs and Jews want to make, “concerted efforts to coexist peacefully.” Here are some snippets:

A recent opinion poll conducted by Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government found that 77 percent of Israeli Arabs would rather live in Israel than in any other country in the world.

The survey of 1,721 Israelis, both Arab and Jewish, also showed that 73 percent of the Jews and 94 percent of the Arabs want Israel to “be a society in which Arab and Jewish citizens have mutual respect and equal opportunities.”

The Kennedy School said in a statement that the poll produced a number of results it termed surprising, pointing to a higher level of co-existence than might have been anticipated. …

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

How long did we hear the “international community” and Palestinians piss and moan about Israel’s occupation of Gaza? Israel gave peace a chance in 2005 by pulling all its settlers and soldiers out of Gaza. What has the Jewish state gotten in return expect proof that the Palestinian leadership’s mantra is, “It’s never enough; we want ALL of Israel!” From the AP:

… Israel’s blockade was imposed in an effort to pressure Hamas to stop attacks from Iranian-backed militants, who have been bombarding southern Israel with rockets and mortars for seven years.

The rate of fire increased after Israel pulled its troops and settlers out of Gaza in 2005 and stepped up further last year after Hamas wrested power from forces loyal to moderate Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, whose government controls the West Bank. …

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by Daniel Pipes*

Two religiously-identified new states emerged from the shards of the British empire in the aftermath of World War II. Israel, of course, was one; the other was Pakistan.

They make an interesting, if infrequently-compared pair. Pakistan’s experience with widespread poverty, near-constant internal turmoil, and external tensions, culminating in its current status as near-rogue state, suggests the perils that Israel avoided, with its stable, liberal political culture, dynamic economy, cutting-edge high-tech sector, lively culture, and impressive social cohesion.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

In an article from the AP entitled, “Despite peace, Belfast walls are growing in size and number,” walls are called “peace line[s],” and the statement is made, “for dozens of front-line communities of Belfast, fences still make the best neighbors.” Hmmm…

Israel defends herself and is labeled an “apartheid state:”

Since construction of the [West Bank] fence began, the number of attacks has declined by more than 90%. The number of Israelis murdered and wounded has decreased by more than 70% and 85%, respectively, after erection of the fence.

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by Jonathan Spyer

Whatever the Israelis offer, Syria won’t give up its alliance with Iran, which allows it to punch above its weight in the region.

With attention in the Middle East focusing on the US congressional hearings regarding a possible Syrian nuclear programme, the Syrian newspaper al-Watan made a surprising announcement last Wednesday. According to the newspaper, Israel, via Turkish channels, had in the previous 24 hours expressed its willingness to exchange the entirety of the Golan Heights area for peace with Syria.

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By Andrew L. Jaffee

In an excellent editorial published today, the Washington Post’s op-ed staff joined Barack Obama in harshly criticizing former President Jimmy Carter for meeting with Hamas terrorists, and for advocating that “someone” engage in diplomacy with a group sworn to the destruction of Israel:

… [Hamas foreign minister] Mr. Zahar lauds Mr. Carter for the “welcome tonic” of saying that no peace process can succeed “unless we are sitting at the negotiating table and without any preconditions.” Yet Mr. Zahar has his own preconditions: Before any peace process can “take even its first tiny step,” he says, Israel must withdraw to the 1967 borders and evacuate Jerusalem while preparing for the “return of millions of refugees.” In fact, as Mr. Zahar makes clear, Hamas is not at all interested in a negotiated peace with the Jewish state, whose existence it refuses to accept: “Our fight to redress the material crimes of 1948 is scarcely begun,” he concludes. …

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by Asaf Romirowsky*

The Palestinian narrative sees Israel’s 1948 War of Independence as the al Naqba — “the catastrophe.” The birth of a sovereign Jewish state is perceived to be the root of all evil because this supposedly solidified how the small Jewish community robbed the Palestinians of their land.

That is the recurring mantra found in Arab historiography — a hypersensitive focus on discrimination and inequality. In general, Arab scholars tend to ignore the huge corpus of materials found in the archives on the war and zoom in on what are legitimate or illegitimate claims, using U.N. resolutions as the be all and end all.

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