Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta , on a visit to Israel and Palestine before heading to Egypt, publicly upbraided the Likud government of Israel for having become isolated diplomatically in the Middle East in the wake of the Arab Spring, and warned direly that brute military force would not be enough to provide for Israel’s […]
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Israel/ Palestine
Palestine UN Vote and American Decline (Cole at Truthdig)
My column, “Palestine Vote Showcases the Decline of American Power,”, is out at Truthdig. Excerpt: “The United States, castigated by its critics as recently as a decade ago as a “hyper-power,” is now so weak and isolated on the world stage that it may cast an embarrassing and self-defeating veto of Palestinian membership in the […]
Mahmoud Abbas goes to the UN
President Mahmoud Abbas of the Palestine Authority will give a major speech on Friday at the United Nations in conjunction with his planned request to the UN Security Council that Palestine be admitted as a member state to the United Nations. If 9 of 15 current UNSC members vote for the measure, Abbas can take […]
Palestinians seek UN Moxie
Palestine Authority President Mahmoud Abbas gave a major speech Friday making it clear to the Palestinians that the PA will seek membership in the United Nations at this year’s General Assembly meeting. The Palestinians (or more precisely the Fateh faction that controls the ever-shrinking Palestinian parts of the West Bank) are not going to the […]
Helman: The Palestinians Seek UN Recognition
Ambassador Gerald B. Helman writes in a guest column for Informed Comment: The Palestinian Authority has stated its intention this Fall to seek some action at the United Nations to advance its claim to statehood now. According to press reports, the PA’s initiative at least in part would be a reaction to what it sees […]
Turkey, Egypt and Israel
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan arrived in Cairo on Tuesday morning, being greeted at the airport by thousands of cheering Egyptians. Even though two dramatic moments envisaged by Erdogan’s staff– a side trip to Gaza and a speech in Tahrir Square in downtown Cairo– have been cancelled, the visit is nevertheless an important one. Erdogan […]
Turkey Crisis Provokes Israeli Army Anger at Lieberman
The crisis between Turkey and Israel deepened on Monday, allegedly provoking severe tensions between the Israeli officer corps and the far right-wing Minister of Foreign Affairs, Avigdor Lieberman. There was also disarray among the officers over an allegation by one general that the Middle East might be moving toward comprehensive war, an assessment that was […]
Israeli Likud Gov’t Buffeted by Turkish Suit, Massive Protests
The far right wing government of Binyamin Netanyahu in Israel is being buffeted both internationally and domestically. In both instances, the discontent is being produced by right wing policies, which argue for the goodness of hierarchy, the legitimacy of inequality, and express a preference for the use of force to settle problems. Turkey has decided […]
Is the Arab Spring Coming to Palestine?
Marwan Barghouti, a jailed Palestinian leader who was important to the “Second Intifada” or Palestinian uprising against Israeli occupation, has called for “million-person marches” in support of the Palestinian bid for membership in the United Nations this September. Barghouti supported the Oslo peace process in the 1990s, but turned to violence against Israeli security forces […]