All Policy Analysis by David Makovsky

Last week, the Israeli cabinet approved modified routing of the security fence, the first officially sanctioned changes since the cabinet approved construction in October 2003. The modifications, prompted by an Israeli supreme court decision last summer made to avert Palestinian hardship, are characterized by four major adjustments: (1) revised routing

The attached PDF contains papers on U.S. policy and the Middle East Peace Process, authored by David Makovsky, Robert Malley and Steven Spiegel. They are first contribution to the United States Institute of Peace's (USIP) research project on "Arab-Israeli Futures." These papers offer a range of policy options for the

Now that the Israeli government has voted to withdraw from the Gaza Strip and the northern West Bank, the key challenge is to stop those who oppose any peace agreement. Despite Friday’s lethal bombing in Tel Aviv by Islamic Jihad, the chief among these groups remains Hamas, the Islamic rejectionist

In his campaign speeches, Mahmoud Abbas repeatedly emphasized issues that would have been alien to his predecessor and longtime mentor, Yasser Arafat. He focused, for instance, on restoring rule of law and ending the fouda -- or chaos -- that has engulfed Palestinian life. He opposed corruption and vowed to

The first round of West Bank municipal balloting occurred on Thursday, December 23. Voting was held in twenty-six locations, ranging from Jericho to smaller towns and villages. This was the first round of local voting since 1976. The results—a Fatah victory but Hamas gains—have important implications for the next Palestinian

As the Palestinians seek to sort out the post-Arafat succession, ostensibly the first order of business is presidential elections. The Palestinian Authority (PA) has said it would hold presidential elections on January 9, 2005. However, making the election successful may require prior commitment to a cease fire, which in turn

A transfer of power within the Palestinian Authority, coupled with the Israeli disengagement from Gaza, presents both challenges and opportunities for reviving Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations. The preconditions of past peace treaties between Israel and its Arab neighbors have demonstrated the necessity for calm on the ground and strong leaders who

Yasser Arafat was the revolutionary who could not live without a revolution. Nobody can take from this iconic leader the fact that he spearheaded and embodied Palestinian nationalism, bringing the cause to the world's attention. He was also the symbol of defiance, once called "the stone we throw at the

Few people can remain indifferent to Yasser Arafat. For many Palestinians, he has been their symbol of defiance, who raised the Palestinian cause to the international stage, and brought his people to the gates of Jerusalem. For President Bush and for the Israelis, Arafat's persona as a terrorist has been

Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat has bestrode the Middle Eastern terrain for so many decades that it is hard to imagine the landscape beyond his death. Beloved by some for bringing the Palestinian issue to world attention and hated by others for his embrace of terrorism, Arafat has defined the Palestinian

Two major developments have occurred within the past week in the Israeli-Palestinian arena. First, Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon achieved an initial victory on October 26, when the Knesset voted in favor of disengagement from Gaza—a significant step that has already created both opportunities and challenges. The vote was the

Whoever wins the U.S. elections in November, George Bush or John Kerry will shortly have to deal with another Middle East issue apart from Iraq, namely Israel's withdrawal from Gaza. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is bringing the issue of Gaza disengagement for the first of several Knesset votes beginning

David Makovsky, a senior fellow and director of the Project on the Middle East Peace Process at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, says despite right-wing opposition, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to remove the roughly 7,600 Jewish settlers in Gaza will go ahead. "I think taking down