All Policy Analysis by David Makovsky

Just last summer, the seven-year-old Israeli-Palestinian peace process seemed on the verge of success. Palestinian Authority (PA) Chairman Yasir Arafat and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Barak met with President Bill Clinton at Camp David and came close to agreement. But Arafat walked away from a deal at the last moment

The formation of a national unity government in Israel today, by a vote 72 to 21, is a triumph for Ariel Sharon. First, he seized the initiative. After his landslide victory a few weeks ago, Sharon did not engage in classic Israeli bargaining tactics in dealing with his Labor Party

While the main purpose of Secretary of State Colin Powell's first foray into the Middle East was to discuss Iraq, he also visited Israel and the Palestinian Authority and injected a dose of what some would call "evenhandedness" — giving each both something to be pleased about and something to

There is a growing belief in some foreign policy circles that four months of violence and Ariel Sharon's landslide victory in Israel last week are further proof that former president Bill Clinton's proposals for a Middle East peace failed miserably, and that the Bush administration should absolve itself of the

The deadline has now passed for Ehud Barak to step aside in favor of rival Shimon Peres in Israel's prime ministerial face-off next Tuesday, February 6, against Likud leader MK Ariel Sharon. Analysts have already written off this election for Barak, as Sharon's lead in the polls has barely budged

The formative years of Ehud Barak's career in the military were as a phenomenal soldier and as the head of Israel's sayeret matkal, the country's elite commando force. With a reputation as strong as it is secret, the sayeret is often obliquely called by its nickname, simply ha'yehida — "the

Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak’s surprise resignation Saturday night has plunged the country’s already battered political system into further turmoil, and so far, his gambit seems to have failed. Barak’s move was clearly designed, at least in part, to utilize a provision in Israeli law that would sideline his once

An exchange between Ahmad Samih Khalidi, Palestinian writer and peace negotiator, and David Makovsky, senior fellow at The Washington Institute for Near East Policy and a former editor of the Jerusalem Post. AHMAD SAMIH KHALIDI 6th November 2000 Dear David, Surveying the wreckage of the Oslo agreement, I am struck

Israeli prime minister Ehud Baraks decision yesterday to preempt his opponents and announce his willingness to hold early elections must be seen in the context of his interest in reviving the peace process. The vote for early balloting was driven by both animus toward the failed Camp David summit and

Bombing and Truce The truce reached today should be interpreted very cautiously, given both today’s terror bombing in Jerusalem, which killed two Israeli civilians, and the two previous failed ceasefires recently brokered by the United States in Paris and Sharm el-Sheikh, respectively. Palestinian Authority (PA) leader Yasir Arafat was due

On October 13, 2000, David Makovsky, senior fellow at The Washington Institute and former editor of the Jerusalem Post, addressed the Institute's Special Policy Forum along with Robert Satloff. The following is a rapporteur's summary of his remarks. Read a summary of Dr. Satloff's remarks. The Grand Deal on peace

With talks completed between senior Israeli and Palestinian negotiators at a northern Virginia hotel, following Monday evening's tête-à-tête between Ehud Barak and Yasir Arafat, this week has marked the beginning of the Clinton administration's last big push to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace. As the countdown to January 20, 2001 proceeds, the

A decision whether to revive the Israeli-Palestinian peace talks at a reconvened Camp David Summit may be made next Wednesday, but as it stands now, the prospects seem very uncertain. President Bill Clinton is scheduled to hold separate meetings with Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak and Palestinian Authority chairman Yasir

In the aftermath of Camp David II and with the start of the Knesset summer recess yesterday, there appears to be a 40-90 day "window" for Israelis and the Palestinians to determine whether a diplomatic breakthrough is still possible or whether the parties will move in alternative directions. Political Standing

The seeds of failure at Camp David were planted before the summit began. Palestinian Authority Chairman Yasser Arafat was not willing to make the concessions necessary for an agreement, and the reason he was unwilling was that he had not adequately prepared his public. Indeed, the collapse of the summit

We may not know exactly what compromises will be made in the peace talks, but we can be fairly sure about Yasser Arafat's goal at Camp David: to move as far and as fast as possible toward an independent Palestinian state. We can also assume we know President Clinton's goals--a

Domestic political considerations will be an important factor in Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak's moves at Camp David. Although he would like to have one for a myriad of reasons, politically Barak does not need a deal. To the contrary, failure to reach an agreement could even bring his "big

Syria’s old power structure is giving way, and new faces are emerging. Bashar al-Asad is well on his way to becoming president. A new generation has also begun to take positions of power in the Ba‘th party hierarchy, the military, the cabinet, and the security organs. Although the old guard

U.S. secretary of state Madeleine Albright completed her round of talks with both Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) today, failing to announce the immediate convening of a U.S. summit. At the end of her discussions, she said she would report to U.S. president Bill Clinton on Thursday, and that

As violence rocked the West Bank and Gaza, Israeli prime minister Ehud Barak was scoring a significant parliamentary victory Monday. By a 56-48 margin, the Knesset approved transfer of three Palestinian villages on the outskirts of Jerusalem, including Abu Dis, from partial to full control by the Palestinian Authority (PA)