David Makovsky

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Israeli soldiers on a tank at an undisclosed location near the border fence with the Gaza Strip, in southern Israel on May 21. (Abir Sultan/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock)

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For Israelis, it’s still Oct. 7. It is not just the shock and the horror of that day. The hostages are a daily reminder of a continuing trauma. President Biden has focused on a deal that gets the hostages released and sets in motion a process that leads to the end of the war in Gaza. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says the war can only end with Hamas’s military destroyed, it no longer being in control of Gaza and with the hostages returned.

The two share the same basic objective, but neither has offered a clear enough explanation of when and how the war can end.…  Seguir leyendo »

Israeli soldiers patrolling Gazan-Israeli border, April 2024. Amir Cohen / Reuters

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Until last month, the war between Iran and Israel was largely fought in the shadows. The Iranians decided to take it out of the shadows, openly attacking Israeli territory directly, from Iranian soil, for the first time in the Islamic Republic’s history. Some observers have argued that Iran’s April 13 drone and missile assault on Israel was a symbolic gesture. Yet given the quantity of drones and missiles fired at Israel and their payloads, Iran clearly meant to inflict serious damage.

Israel’s defenses were nearly flawless, but it did not repel Iran’s attack entirely on its own. Just as Iran’s assault was unprecedented, so was the direct military intervention of the United States and a number of its allies, including some Arab states.…  Seguir leyendo »

The Emirati, U.S. and Israeli flags are pictured attached to an airplane of Israel's El Al upon its arrival at the Abu Dhabi airport in the first commercial flight from Israel to the United Arab Emirates on Aug. 31. (Karim Sahib/AFP/Getty Images)

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Some observers seem to assume that the recent agreement to normalize relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates means the end of efforts to achieve a reasonable, two-state outcome to the Israel-Palestinian conflict. Some Israelis may hope that improving relations with Arab states would obviate the need for further negotiations with the Palestinians.

Yet the Palestinians are not going anywhere, and the reality is that Israel cannot retain its core character as both a Jewish and democratic state if it ignores the Palestinian issue. Fortunately, those who still seek a two-state solution have no cause for despair. The Emirati-Israeli breakthrough could be a much-needed bridge to overcoming the current impasse.…  Seguir leyendo »

An Israeli soldier stands behind a Palestinian flag and a placard held by a protester during a Feb. 20 demonstration against Jewish settlements in the West Bank city of Hebron. (Hazem Bader/Agence France-Presse via Getty Images)

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Rarely has there been a time when less attention has been paid to the Israeli­-Palestinian conflict than today. Given the threat from the Islamic State, the humanitarian catastrophe in Syria, proxy conflicts between Iran and Saudi Arabia, and Egypt’s struggles with radical Islamists, it is hard to find anyone in Washington or the Arab capitals who is thinking about the Israelis and Palestinians. But the problem is not going away.

For the past five months, there have been more than 100 individual Palestinian terrorist attacks against Israelis. As the risk of escalation grows, both sides are becoming even more doubtful that there will ever be peace.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The final communiqué of the G-8 summit meeting next week in Northern Ireland will invariably mention Middle East peace, perhaps supporting Secretary of State John Kerry’s efforts to revive peace negotiations. In any case, any statement will be promptly forgotten when the summit ends. Nevertheless, Europe can help Kerry.

It’s worth remembering that just before the G-8 meeting two years ago, President Obama delivered a landmark speech on the Middle East, one that included an important expression of tough love. Here was a president of the United States, the traditional patron of Israel, saying that the baseline for territorial negotiations should be land exchanges based on the boundaries that existed before the 1967 war — a call that was echoed earlier this year by an Arab League delegation.…  Seguir leyendo »

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As the conflict in Syria rivets international attention, Iran’s nuclear program continues apace. Unfortunately, while the Iranians install the next generation of centrifuges — machines that can produce enriched uranium three to four times faster than before — the “P5+1” negotiations on Iran’s nuclear program have ground once again to a halt.

While economic pressures impose a cost on Iran, so far they have failed to alter its nuclear program. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei may acknowledge that sanctions are “brutal,” but he also seems to feel that Iran has endured worse. In light of President Obama’s objective of preventing the Iranians from acquiring nuclear weapons, something has to give.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The White House announcement that President Obama will not bring a peace initiative on his upcoming trip to Israel and the West Bank reinforces the sense that he sees the visit as an opportunity to reset ties with both the Israeli and Palestinian peoples at the start of his second term.

There is, of course, value in bolstering public support for intergovernmental relations. It is hard to conceive of any sort of breakthrough between Israeli and Palestinian leaders so long as the public on both sides are so skeptical of progress.

Yet if the White House focuses on people, and not just on governments, and points to significant statements that leaders on both sides have made, the result could be real progress.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The baseline figure for the total Gaza/West Bank area is 6,195 square kilometers (about 2,392 square miles), which is the relevant area won by Israel in the 1967 war. It includes the northwest portion of the Dead Sea, one-half of No Man’s Land, and all of East Jerusalem, except Mount Scopus.

Although negotiators understand the importance of ensuring territorial contiguity for a future Palestinian state—a key principle in determining the swaps suggested here — these maps do not currently include a proposal for contiguity between Gaza and the West Bank. However, the parties have discussed a variety of options for such a corridor, including sunken roads and tunnels.…  Seguir leyendo »

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Just a few weeks ago, Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Washington had the makings of a confrontation amid U.S. dissatisfaction over peace policy. Then Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas signed a power-sharing arrangement with Hamas. Although Washington cannot easily demand that Netanyahu make major concessions on peace as Abbas joins forces with a group sworn to Israel’s destruction, the Israeli prime minister should still arrive this week with a plan for renewed peace talks.

Concerns about the Palestinian unity government are understandable. The Abbas-Hamas deal jeopardizes important gains in the West Bank of the past four years: the exemplary economic stewardship of Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, who oversaw 9 percent annual growth at a time of global economic recession; and the security cooperation between Israel and the PA, which has led to an unprecedented calm after several years of bloody violence.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The announcement Friday that Middle East peace talks would be launched Sept. 2 was not exactly met with an outpouring of enthusiasm. Yet progress on security and other issues suggests there is reason to believe peace talks can produce results.

There has been a surge in cooperation between Israel and the Palestinian Authority (PA) ever since Hamas ousted security officials and the mainstream Fatah Party from Gaza more than three years ago. I recently spent five weeks in the region, where I met with more than four dozen Israeli and Palestinian officials, including President Mahmoud Abbas. Cooperation is increasingly evident in several areas.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The Post asked former officials and policy experts whether there is a divide between the Obama administration and the Jewish state. Below are responses from Elliott Abrams, David Makovsky, Aaron David Miller, Danielle Pletka, and Hussein Agha and Robert Malley.

The current friction in U.S.-Israel relations has one source: the mishandling of those relations by the Obama administration. Poll data show that Israel is as popular as ever among Americans. Strategically we face the same enemies -- such as terrorism and the Iranian regime -- a fact that is not lost on Americans who know we have one single reliable, democratic ally in the Middle East.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The Post asked foreign affairs analysts and other experts for their take on what the candidates should discuss in the first debate. Here are thoughts from: David M. Walker, Karen Donfried, Michael O'Hanlon, Patrick Clawson, Ronald D. Asmus, Stephen P. Cohen, David Makovsky, Michael Rubin, Nancy Soderberg, Danielle Pletka and Michael J. Green.

David M. Walker, former comptroller general of the United States, president of the Peter G. Peterson Foundation.

The conditions that led to our current financial turmoil are also present in connection with the federal government's finances. Unfortunately, the stakes for the government are even higher and no one will "bail out America" if we don't get our fiscal house in order.…  Seguir leyendo »

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The scathing interim report issued this week by an Israeli panel that reviewed the decisions leading to the country's war with Hezbollah last summer may spell doom for Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's leadership. Calls for his resignation have mounted even within his own party. However, the real story is that the causes of last year's war still exist -- and may spark another conflagration.

The first underlying issue is the failure to enforce U.N. resolutions. Israel resorted to military action last July largely because the United Nations and the international community did nothing to implement U.N. Security Council Resolution 1559 (passed in 2004) or Resolution 1680 (passed in 2006), which made clear that Hezbollah should disband and be disarmed.…  Seguir leyendo »