Abbas\’ call Saturday for early elections in the Palestinian Authority triggered fierce street fighting between Fatah and Hamas, which won the last election in January. Despite a hastily arranged cease-fire Monday, the two factions remain on the brink of civil war.
Disappointed by cease-fires so often in the past, but casting an eye to a better future, Israelis greeted this week\’s cease-fire announcement in the Gaza Strip with a mixture of skepticism, fear and hope.
After rejecting a new European peace initiative, Israeli leaders are gearing up for more international efforts to restart the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process on terms unfavorable to Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is bringing a hawkish party into his coalition, guaranteeing him the support of 78 members of the 120-seat Knesset and possibly one of the most stable governments in Israeli history.
Olmert\’s perceived blunders have given the Israeli right a new lease on life. They believe the war has dealt a lethal blow to Olmert\’s plans for a major unilateral withdrawal from the West Bank.
After the Lebanon and Gaza experiences — sustained rocket attacks on Israel in the wake of unilateral pullouts — will Olmert still want to adopt last summer\’s Gaza model of withdrawal without agreement, or will he seek a different formula, such as bilateral arrangements with moderate Palestinian leaders or the introduction of international forces to keep the peace after Israel pulls back?
Fighting in the ongoing Israeli-Hezbollah standoff has been confined to two of the Middle East\’s smallest countries, but the outcome could have major strategic implications for the region as a whole.
Beyond the immediate escalation, the recent Palestinian attack on an Israeli army outpost near the Gaza border raises serious questions about Israel\’s security and foreign policies.
A 16-month cease-fire by several terrorist factions is faltering after members of a Palestinian family were killed in an explosion on a Gaza beach, providing the sternest test yet of the new security doctrine Israel forged after last year\’s Gaza withdrawal.
Fighting between small groups of Hamas and Fatah members on the streets of Gaza shows signs of intensifying. Both sides have mobilized large forces in Gaza and the West Bank, and some Palestinian observers are predicting civil war.
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