Policy Analysis

Introduction On May 14, 1989, the Israeli government announced its proposal to hold elections in the West Bank and Gaza Strip as a mechanism for initiating negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians. Although many rushed to dismiss the initiative, it has become the focal point of efforts aimed at advancing

Executive Summary Faced with pressure from the uprising leadership in the territories, by gains of rival Islamic and leftist groups and by Jordan's disengagement from the West Bank, Yasser Arafat is seeking approval for a Palestinian declaration of independence at the Algiers PNC meeting. But will the PLO actually achieve

The superpower summit meeting in the Mediterranean will no doubt be dominated by talk of Eastern Europe. But while in the neighborhood of the Middle East, President Bush and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev should also take a few minutes to discuss Moscow's readiness to cooperate in advancing the Arab-Israeli peace

Though the impact of the Soviet Union’s “new thinking” has been less dramatic in the Middle East than in other regions of Third World conflict, its effects are nonetheless beginning to be felt. An important development in this regard has been signs of decreasing Soviet support for Syria, the Arab

Hungary recently became the first Warsaw Pact country to restore full diplomatic relations with Israel after having severed them during the 1967 Middle East war. Budapest's decision illustrated the dramatic changes within Hungary and focused attention on another issue: When will the Soviet Union follow suit? After all, it was

In the last decade, Syria has forcefully opposed U.S.-supported peace initiatives for Lebanon and the Arab-Israeli conflict. Syria’s inflexibility has persuaded many observers that little can be done to influence its president, Hafez al-Assad. In fact, much can be done once his vulnerabilities are understood. In this Policy Paper, Patrick

The foreign hostages in Lebanon are living reminders of the challenge posed to the West by Hezbollah, the Iranian-backed movement of fundamentalist Lebanese Shi’ites. Hezbollah has conducted its operational campaign with a great measure of strategic and tactical savvy. Yet its ideologues understand and represent its struggle as a war

Keynote addresses by John Kelly and Dennis Ross. With Leslie Gelb, Joseph Sisco, and Samuel Lewis.

The American government is intent on trying to bring the parties in the Arab-Israeli dispute closer together, to talk, to negotiate and to resolve differences. President Bush has reaffirmed this commitment on several occasions and Secretary of State James Baker described our goals eloquently in his speech on "principles and

Executive Summary If implemented, Israel's proposal for elections in the West Bank and Gaza could create new opportunities to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Elections could produce Palestinian representatives with whom Israel is willing to negotiate and, if conducted in a democratic manner, they could also bolster each side's confidence in

In the summer of 1982, as Israeli troops and artillery laid siege to Beirut, the international community wasted no time in demanding that the United States act to restrain its ally. Now, seven years later, with Syrian troops inflicting what is by all accounts a much more devastating horror on

The Palestinian uprising in the occupied territories has undermined the status quo that Israel has tried to preserve in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. In so doing, the uprising has created an opportunity for the parties to resume the peace process and re-examine a number of basic premises. Like the situation after

Executive Summary Israel's proposal for Palestinian elections stems from a realization that the status quo is not tenable and a fear that the intifada could escalate to a more violent pattern of confrontation. Despite continued controversy over its details, the elections proposal indicates several new elements in Israel's position: recognition

The PLO's steps toward recognizing Israel, rejecting terrorism, and advocating a two-state solution are not a public relations ploy. But, by the same token, the PLO has not been transformed overnight. As a result, U.S. policy toward the PLO should be geared toward pressuring and maneuvering the organization into completing

The unrestricted use of chemical weapons during the last stages of the Iran-Iraq war shocked the international community. In a belated response, the world’s industrialized countries, led by the United States, have initiated a campaign to halt the proliferation of chemical and biological weapons. International efforts have concentrated on stopping

Foreign Minister Eduard Shevardnadze's recent trip to the Middle East demonstrates conclusively that the Soviet Union plans to be a major player in the region's diplomacy. The United States needs to find out whether Moscow intends to be a peacemaker as well. To do so, Washington must begin to seize

What a difference a decade makes. The last time a Soviet foreign minister traveled to the Middle East, his sole objective was to undermine the Arab-Israeli peace process. Now, ten years later, Moscow's chief diplomat is helping to assemble a regional coalition in favor of a negotiated settlement. Back in

For more than a decade, U.S. policymakers have sought, at least indirectly, to supplement their efforts to promote political reconciliation between Israel and the Palestinians with economic support to improve the socio-economic conditions in the West Bank and Gaza. U.S. efforts have been premised on the assumption that economic progress

Executive Summary The proliferation of chemical and biological weapons in the Middle East is an accomplished fact. It is too late to prevent the spread of either type of weapon. This poses a potential threat to the United States and to its allies in the region. Fortunately, there are operational

Faced with pressure from the uprising leadership in the territories, by gains of rival Islamic and leftist groups and by Jordan's disengagement from the West Bank, Yasser Arafat is seeking approval for a Palestinian declaration of independence at the Algiers PNC meeting. But will the PLO actually achieve independence from