It is too simple, however, to see this as a one-way Hamas drive for unity. Instead, it appears that the organisation is also looking to pin any blame for failure on Fatah.

Tags: Fatah, Gaza Strip, Hamas, Israel, Jerusalem, King Abdullah, Mahmoud Abbas, Palestine, Saudi Arabia

Video: Palestine Latest – Settlements and Blockades but No Reconstruction
After The Obama-Abbas Meeting: A Palestinian Stuck between Washington and Tel Aviv
Video and Full Transcript of Obama-Abbas Meeting (28 May)

Much has changed in US foreign policy since the Bush Administration pulled its ambassador from Damascus in 2005 to protest Syria’s suspected involvement in the assassination of the former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Since the advent of the Obama Administration, not only the hopes of change in US-Syrian relations but the quest to unblock the Palestinian-Israeli peace process has brought the prospect of dialogue.

The latest signal came on Thursday when two Democratic Congressmen, Senator Edward E. Kaufman of Delaware and Representative Tim Waltz of Minnesota visited Syrian President Assad. According to Syria’s official Arab News Agency, talks focused on “the necessity to remove obstacles that hinder relations and to promote stability in the Middle East”. Specifically, the exchange points to a visit to Damascus by President Obama’s envoy George Mitchell in June.

The Kaufman-Waltz visit is the fourth by US officials or legislators since January. Three days after the hard-line statement of the new Israeli Foreign Minister, Avigdor Lieberman, “Peace will only be in exchange for peace.”, Democratic Representative Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts and Republican Bob Inglis of South Carolina, met Assad.
Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Add new tag, Arab News Agency, Assad, Avigdor Lieberman, Benjamin Netanyahu, Bob Inglis, Bush Administration, Cairo, Damascus, Daniel Shapiro, Edward E. Kaufman, Gaza, George Mitchell, Golan Heights, Iranian, Iraq, Israeli, Jeffrey Feltman, Jordanian, King Abdullah, Lebanese, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Middle East, Obama Administration, Palestinian, Rafik Hariri, Stephen Lynch, Syria, Syrian, the United States, Tim Waltz, Turkish, Washington

My colleague Scott Lucas wondered for weeks whether the Obama Administration has a Plan A for the Middle East before, last Friday, he finally wrote of an American “grand design”.

With respect, I differ. The President and his advisors not only have a Plan A. They are ready with a Plan B and a Plan C.

Obama put Plan A for a two-state Israel-Palestine outcome and general Arab-Islamic agreements to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The Israelis made clear, and let the press know they had made clear, that this was not acceptable. So Plan B is working groups with the Israelis while encouraging regional leaders, such as Jordan’s King Abdullah, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to maintain the call for an Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

Then there is Plan C. The Associated Press reported last week that the Obama Administration may set a deadline of the end of 2009 on talks with Iran if they are not producing result.

The immediate reading was that Washington might be siding with Tel Aviv on the need for an eventual showdown with Iran. The reality could be more nuanced: the Obama Administration may use Tehran’s uncompromising position to pull Arabs and Israelis together for a regional process including Israel-Palestine. Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Arab, Benjamin Netanyahu, Egyptian, George Mitchell, grand design, Hosni Mubarak, Iran, Islamic, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian peace process, Israelis, Jordan, King Abdullah, Middle East, Obama Administration, Palestine, Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Scott Lucas, Syria, Tel Aviv, The Associated Press, Turkish, two-state, Washington

The cat’s out of the bag- President Obama is clearly bowing to this child. Just where do his loyalties lie? To the American people? Or to five-year-olds?

Tags: Barack Obama, bow, bowing, child, Children, King Abdullah, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, Obama, photo

Latest Post: Video Alert – Obama Does Not Bow to Saudi King

Related Post: Obama Bows Down to Saudi King! The Controversy Continues

During Thursday’s meeting of the most developed economies in London, President Obama bowed before King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia. While some, on blogs and radio discussions, were making fun of the President by suggesting that he was about to clean the floor, others added that it was unacceptable for Americans who are proud of their revolutionary past to see their President bowing down in front of a dictator.

Might President Obama have kissed King Abdullah’s hands? Why not? The only visual source, unfortunately, does not give a clear point of view. However, one thing we do know is that a younger Muslim always shows utmost respect to an older Muslim in public and is expected to kiss the latter’s hands. Hmm, we should think more about it…

And now, it is time for Conservapedia to take some action. As we have been keeping a curious eye on Conservapedia it was, to be honest with you, upsetting not to see this included as additional ‘proof’ of Obama’s ‘Muslim’ faith! Now, they have a new point to argue for…

LATEST UPDATE: Obama Bows Down to Saudi King! The Controversy Continues:

Ali did get the Internet, or at least the right-thinking portion of it, moving.

His challenge, “It is time for Conservapedia to take some action,” has been met. Our favourite on-line encyclopedia has updated its entry for Barack Hussein Obama, “Never before in the history of the U.S. has a president displayed such shocking deference to a foreign official.”

Tags: bow, bowing, Conservapedia, G20, King Abdullah, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, London, Obama, Saudi Arabia, video

Latest Post: Reading Israeli Intentions
Latest post: Israel’s Other War: US Rejected Aid for Attack on Iran
Latest post: “Alive in Gaza” Now On-Line

1:02 a.m. As we get some downtime, it looks like Israeli action is hovering between a show of force before stopping in place, declaring “victory”, and pressing ahead into the cities. I still think the decision will hinge on what Tel Aviv gets out of its bilateral talks with Egypt tomorrow — an Egyptian commitment to patrol the borders and possibly southern Gaza is enough to satisfy Israel that it has achieved some of its objective, an Egyptian rejection is likely to spur Tel Aviv to a more aggressive display of force.

1 a.m. Talks in Cairo today (unsurprisingly) “inconclusive”.

Israeli navy has fired about 25 shells into Gaza City in last hour. Aerial bombardment continues. Gazan death toll now 890

12:25 a.m. Now here’s a story I haven’t seen anyone report. From an Israeli human rights website:

In a hearing on two court petitions submitted by human rights groups in Israel, the High Court [on Friday] ordered the state to explain the delay in permitting evacuation of wounded persons in Gaza and the reason for barring electricity supply for Gaza’s crumbling infrastructure.

The Government has been given until Tuesday to provide the explanation.

12 midnight: We’ve posted a separate special analysis pausing and reflecting on Israel’s next move.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Amital Liebovich, Amos Gilad, Amos Yadlin, Egypt, Gaza, Hamas, Isabel Kershner, Israel, Israeli Defense Force, Jabaliya, Jabalya, Jabilya, Jerusalem Post, Jordan, Khan Yunis, King Abdullah, New York Times, Palestine, Taghreed El-Khodary, Twitter, white phosphorous, white phosphorus, Zaytun, Zeitoun