Steven L. Spiegel

Professor of Political Science, UCLA

The mind-boggling complexities of the current Israeli-Palestinian situation may offer the U.S. a possible opportunity for a diplomatic coup. Here's how.

Amb. Marc Ginsberg

Fmr. U.S. Ambassador to Morocco & White House Middle East Adviser

What lies behind this latest round of attacks and counter-attacks? Hard to say why Hamas decided to take on Israel's leadership on the cusp of a national election when anything short of unremitting Israeli retaliation would undermine Netanyahu's "security first" campaign platform.

Democracy Now!

Independent, weekday news hour, anchored by award-winning journalists Amy Goodman and Juan González

The situation has escalated since Saturday when Palestinian militants fired at an Israeli military vehicle near the Israel-Gaza border. After Palestinian militant groups agreed to an informal truce on Monday, Israel broke two days of quiet with Wednesday's attack.

Natan Sachs

Fellow at the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution in Washington D.C.

After the strike on Ahmad Jabari, the question now is what form this new round of fighting will take, and whether it can produce a longer-term quiet or lead to a far worse situation in both Gaza and southern Israel.

Micah D. Halpern

Columnist, social and political commentator

An Egyptian circus is now performing in Gaza. They plan on being there for an entire month. It may be the hardest audience this circus has ever tried to entertain.

David Mednicoff

Director, Middle Eastern Studies, UMass-Amherst

While two American leaders were trying to out-do one another on how well they could manage policy towards the Middle East, a far-away leader was actually leading a shift in that policy.

Daoud Kuttab

Palestinian journalist

Discussions about pan-Arab issues these days undoubtedly include the name of the Gulf country Qatar, repeated in various contexts, often negative. Qat...

Ahmed Shihab-Eldin

Emmy-Nominated Producer/Host, @HuffPostLive

Gaza will no longer be "livable" by 2020 unless urgent action is taken to improve water supply, power, health and schooling, according to a recent UN report. And Qatar's Emir is stepping it up.

Gabriel Schivone and Daryl Meador

Author of forthcoming In DREAMs and Genocide Denial: U.S. Immigration and the Destruction of Guatemalan Life

The Estelle's voyage, while thwarted by Israel, demonstrates that international civil society continues to stand beside Palestinians all the way, from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.

Jacob Wheeler

Co-creator, "The People and the Olive" documentary

Traveling around Palestine between the middle of October until mid-November, one notices the terraces and fields filled with families gathered to pick and picnic under the shades of their olive groves.

Michael Madormo

Teacher, Friends School - Ramallah, Palestine

My students and I couldn't help but ask the obvious question: If Palestinians controlled their own borders, could these students have taken the SAT exam on October 6th along with American college hopefuls around the globe?

Anav Silverman

International Correspondent in Jerusalem

Southern Israel has been dealing with a rain of rockets recently, as days and nights have been punctuated by a growing number of sirens and rocket explosions.

Jack Rosen

Chairman, American Council for World Jewry; Chairman, American Jewish Congress

A year and a half ago, when the so-called Arab Spring began and dissent came to Syria, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was a defender of S...

Hani Almadhoun

Washington, DC-based blogger from Gaza

This is somehow the new model in the Middle East: put the moderates in charge and let them reason with the ultra-conservatives. I am watching this with mixed feelings.

Alon Ben-Meir

Senior Fellow, NYU's Center for Global Affairs

In the final analysis, Israel's security rests on peace with the Arab states and its formidable military prowess must now be used to secure that peace -- however elusive it may seem.

Ben Barber

Journalist, photographer, consultant

Netanyahu does not deserve or need overt U.S. backing right now. Not until he fulfills the promise of Israel's founder David Ben Gurion and the wishes of a majority of Israelis and gives the West Bank over to Palestinian rule.