Gaza

As Israelis celebrate their momentous sixtieth anniversary -- a date marking ten years of consistent economic growth and industrious expansion -- there remains the underlying question that will go unanswered yet another decade: What will be done with the West Bank and Golan Heights? Despite all of its considerable achievements,...

Shunned by Israeli political leaders, former US president Jimmy Carter met with a Hamas representative in the West Bank and says he will go ahead with plans to meet with the leader of Hamas and the Syrian President in Damascus to promote peace in the Middle East.

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Time is (fortunately) running out on Condi Rice. As our increasingly peripatetic Secretary of State makes here upmteenth photo op diplomatic drive-by to the Middle East, she is putting the finishing touches on a legacy that will add yet one more failure to her excruciating and unending list of diplomatic...

Article 51 of the United Nations Charter guarantees its members "the inherent right to...individual self defense" against "an armed attack." In January of 2006, Hamas was elected to govern the Palestinian Authority. After Israel ended its occupation of Gaza and removed all of its settlers, Hamas threw the Palestinian Authority...

Last week the U.N. Human Rights Council held an emergency session, organized by Arab and Muslim nations, to condemn Israel for its military actions in the Gaza strip. That the council is capable of swift and decisive action is a welcome surprise; that Israel remains the only nation to provoke...

On November 27, 2007, the Israelis and Palestinians wrapped up the latest round of peace talks in Annapolis, Maryland. Once again, the parties agreed to agree to talk about peace.

The parties talked and talked -- again -- about an Israeli evacuation from the West Bank and Gaza, about...

Last Friday, President George Bush called for a $150 billion dollar stimulus package to "jump start" America's flagging economy. The problem, he assured his viewers, was temporary.

"I'm optimistic about our economic future," said the president, "because Americans have shown time and again that they are the most industrious,...

The charming, historic town of Annapolis is quiet again, now that the President, the Israeli and Palestinian leaders and the representatives of 40 other nations have had their one-day conference and headed back to Washington. Those of us who live nearby can drive downtown again and sailboats can cruise alongside...

Television evangelist Pat Robertson's endorsement of former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's presidential bid is disturbing on many levels.

Most troubling was the fact that it was largely covered as a straight news story, as in: "a coup for Giuliani, anxious to buttress his credentials with social conservatives." Such tripe...

Palestinian state, Palestinian state, Palestinian state. Yes, Condi Rice said it three times, fast. Now I challenge the rest of us to stand up and support it. Although she and others continue to say, "Now is the time," in reality this peace agreement is long overdue - like by about...

(For the full post with photos, read the original post at NedLamont.com.)

Earlier this month, I put on my journalistic hat and traveled the polar extremes of the Middle East, from Dubai to Gaza City. I had not worked in the Middle East for almost twenty years, and I...