The outgoing Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said Israel may have to withdraw from the West Bank if it wants peace with Palestinians, making Tzipi Livni's job of building a new government coalition with hard-liners much more difficult. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Rights groups report a sharp increase of attacks by West Bank settlers on Palestinians, as well as rising right-wing violence against left-leaning Israelis. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Amid low expectations for an agreement before the expiration of the Bush administration's target for an accord by the end of 2008, voices are growing on both sides advocating abandoning talks on Palestinian statehood if they miss the mark yet again. Advocating a single binational state of Jews and Arabs is the alternative strategy most often mentioned as gaining cachet among Palestinians, though even backers of that goal concede that it is more of an ideal than a realistic goal. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The prospect of Israeli-Syrian peace has been given a boost by French President Nicholas Sarkozy's visit to Damascus. A face to face dialogue between the two longtime enemies is likely to wait until new administrations are in place in both Jerusalem and Washington.

Still, the profile of the indirect Israeli-Syrian peace talks received a major upgrade as Mr. Sarkozy offered to mediate a treaty that could shift the balance of power in the Middle East away from Iran and in favor of the US and its allies. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Flush with oil revenue, Iraq has budgeted $50 billion so far – as much as the United States – to rebuild the country. This month, the US Government Accountability Office predicted that the Iraqi government could end the year with a $79-billion budget surplus. But Iraq has been slow to spend its money. By March, the latest month for which data is available, it had spent only 2.7 percent of its budget, according to a quarterly report released last month by the US special inspector general for Iraqi reconstruction. By contrast, the United States has spent nearly all of the money it has appropriated for Iraq development. The slow pace of reconstruction frustrates Iraqis, who are struggling with staggering unemployment, power outages, water shortages, and streets choked by sewage and trash. See story from Christian Science Monitor

In Gaza, Hamas's year in power is felt everywhere. While Gaza suffers under an Israeli blockade, it has been changed from a lawless territory to one that is relatively safe. But by most Western standards of governance, Hamas has failed. Hospitals lack medicine. Raw sewage streams into the sea. Drinking water is in short supply. People continue to die almost daily in the ongoing conflict with Israel. All the exits to Gaza are shut. Even the glimmer of a cease-fire with Israel does not arouse much hope that any improvement is around the corner. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Mobile phone service in Gaza Strip and the West Bank could spur investment – and bolster prospects for peace but plans are on hold until Israel releases the necessary cellular frequencies. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Saying "now is precisely the right time to launch" negotiations between the Israelis and Palestinians, President Bush told the Annapolis peace conference that the choice now is stark: between peace based on two democratic states, and extremism and violence. Mr. Bush was host to only the second occasion in history where Arabs and Israelis have formally sat together to discuss Middle East peace. He said peace can be achieved only if all the interested parties – the Israelis and Palestinians, as well as the Arab states and the international community – play their part.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

In the wake of the Mideast summit, there are signs of a softening of the U.S. hard line with respect to Syria.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

After Annapolis, there will be hurdles for Israeli and Palestinian leaders and observers warn that Palestinian President Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Olmert may be too weak to keep peace efforts on track.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

Although technically unified, Jerusalem is a city divided into Arab and Israeli enclaves.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

New voices temper Palestinian rule as US and European diplomats are now talking to moderate ministers in the once-isolated Hamas-led government.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

Hizbullah's growing threat may drive Israel to fashion a peace deal with Syria.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

The threat of a Palestinian civil war is slowly subsiding, following a power-sharing deal reached in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, that should pave the way for the leading Hamas party to work in sync with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, who belongs to rival Fata.  But that doesn't necessarily mean that the chances of a Palestinian peace with Israel are quickly ascending, nor that the international community's marginalization of the Hamas-led government will come to an end.  The Quartet, which includes the US, the United Nations, the European Union, and Russia, has not indicated thus far that it would relax the sanctions it put in place a year ago for dealing with a Palestinian Authority (PA) under the leadership of Hamas, the Islamist militant group that calls for Israel's destruction. To be an accepted player, the international body said, Hamas should first renounce terrorism, accept previously signed peace agreements, and recognize Israel's right to exist.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

A UN-sponsored group called the Alliance of Civilizations, created last year to find ways to bridge the growing divide between Muslim and Western societies, released a first report that says the conflict over Israel and the Palestinian territories is the central driver in global tensions. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The Hamas's leadership has not been popular with many Palestinians as a poll shows that a third of Palestinians want to leave the territory because of violence and economic woes. See story from Christian Science Monitor

A UN-sponsored group called the Alliance of Civilizations, created last year to find ways to bridge the growing divide between Muslim and Western societies, released a first report that says the conflict over Israel and the Palestinian territories is the central driver in global tensions. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The Hamas's leadership has not been popular with many Palestinians as a poll shows that a third of Palestinians want to leave the territory because of violence and economic woes. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Once dismissed as a lame duck after his Fatah party was routed in January elections, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas is angling to reemerge as the linchpin in the peace process with Israel. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Although a calm continues to hold, some Israeli analysts and military officials believe that the war that started July 12 with the capture of two of its soldiers has created a much more dangerous enemy as the conflict has deepened ties between Lebanese guerrillas and Palestinian militants each with ties to Syria and Iran. The result may be the further entrenchment of Hizbullah within the Palestinian territories and among militants connected to the ruling Hamas party. That could lead to future coordinated attacks on Israel more sophisticated in nature than the Palestinians have so far demonstrated. See story from Christian Science Monitor

With dozens of Palestinian officials held in Israeli jails and five cabinet ministers behind bars, the government is operating in absentia. Barely able to function, its problems are further exacerbated by severe travel restrictions and a financial crunch.   See story from Christian Science Monitor

Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert say that, in principle, they're ready to meet with each other. In practice, political observers say, such a summit meeting is not around the corner.  But the two leaders are heading toward a common turning point, born of new realities that have become apparent after a long, war-riddled summer: from Gaza in June to northern Israel and Lebanon in July and August. Both sides appear to be moving toward a realization that the conflict might be more manageable if they forgo a go-it-alone approach. And yet, both sides are grappling with their own internal struggles that might weigh down diplomatic efforts to resume the Israeli-Palestinian political process.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

Israel prepared to lift its air and sea blockade of Lebanon yesterday in a step toward fulfilling the UN resolution that brought a tenuous cease-fire to a month of war.  Israeli officials said the growing number of peacekeeping troops - currently about 5,000 - constitute the critical mass necessary to enforce a weapons embargo meant to hinder Hizbullah from rearming.  See story from Christian Science Monitor

With Israel's confrontation with Hizbullah and Lebanon lurching closer to all-out war, winds of anger are blowing through the Middle East that are likely to strengthen the political hand of radical Islamists from Egypt to Saudi Arabia. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The current conflict in Lebanon is the latest episode in the long recent history of conflict in the region involving Israel. See story from Christian Science Monitor

As the fighting between Israel and Hizbullah passes the one-month mark, it has grown from a skirmish into a swirling conflict with a geopolitical impact that could rival the iconic wars of modern Middle Eastern history. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The current conflict involves a battle for world and regional sympathies as much if not more than the actual military objectives. And many experts believe that Israel will end up losing as long as Hizbullah merely survives. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Moderate voices vie for clout within Hamas as a recent poll shows most Palestinians prefer negotiation with Israel to letting it act unilaterally. See story from Christian Science Monitor

A rarely seen Hamas faction is emerging as an unlikely moderate and influential force within the Islamic militant party now running the Palestinian Authority. See story from Christian Science Monitor

At a time when the Palestinian West Bank and Gaza are teetering on the brink of a collapse, Israeli growth - 6.6 percent GDP rise in the first quarter of 2006 - has returned to the torrid pace set before the outbreak of the Palestinian uprising. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Defining his new centrist party's position amid dwindling numbers in the polls, acting Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans to unilaterally evacuate some West Bank settlements and set Israel's final borders within the next four years if he wins national elections later this month. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Israel's decision to freeze money transfers to the Palestinian Authority (PA) spurred an Iranian call for Arab and Muslim countries to step into the financial vacuum and prop up the newly elected Hamas-led government. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The Palestinian vote was a win for democracy - but also for a radical group the US rejects. See story from Christian Science Monitor

As they tried to evacuate an unauthorized West Bank settlement outpost, Israeli forces clashed with hundreds of settlers and their supporters in scenes reminiscent of last year's Gaza pullout but marred by far more violence that injured more than 200 people. The decision to dismantle the settlement is one of the first steps Acting Prime Minister Ehud Olmert has taken to show that he is following in the footsteps of incapacitated Premier Ariel Sharon. See story from Christian Science Monitor

In the wake of Hamas's parliamentary landslide, government embezzlement and graft have moved to the top of the Palestinian domestic agenda. This week, the Palestinian Authority's attorney general announced 50 investigations that account for about $700 million stolen from the government treasury. While the inquiries are being credited to President Mahmoud Abbas, observers say it was the ruling Fatah Party's loss in last month's Palestinian parliamentary vote that sparked a push for investigations into the corruption long thought to be endemic within the PA. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Israel is facing a political realignment that could reverberate through the entire Middle East for years to come. The health crisis that has removed Prime Minister Ariel Sharon from the political scene has created a political vacuum that Israelis compare to the assassination of former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin in 1995. See story from Christian Science Monitor

As Arabs absorbed the news of Israel's ailing Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, there was little public optimism that any change in Israel's government would boost prospects for a lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians. See story from Christian Science Monitor

A group of respected Palestinian leaders and intellectuals has formed an independent list to run in January's elections for the Palestinian Legislative Council. The new "party" presents a potential challenge to the two major forces of political life here: Fatah, the ruling Palestinian faction, and Hamas, the Islamic Resistance Movement. The names topping the new list are well-known: Salam Fayyad, the respected finance minister and former World Bank official - a man seen by the international donor community as one of the most reliable and capable people in the Palestinian Authority (PA) - and Hanan Ashrawi, a former minister and Palestinian spokeswoman who has lobbied for an improved human rights record and respect for the rule of law in areas under the PA's control. See story from Christian Science Monitor

After the personal intervention of US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Israel and the Palestinians have reached agreement on opening border crossings linking the Gaza Strip with Egypt, Israel and the West Bank. For weeks, agreement had been blocked by the Palestinians' demand for full control of the crossings and Israeli security concerns. See story from BBC

Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's decision to leave the Likud party and start a new centrist one, the rightis-Likud is the result of what might be summarized as an inevitable split between pragmatists and purists. While the purists are holding fast to their dreams of having a "Greater Israel" that includes the West Bank and Gaza, the pragmatists - many of whom are joining Sharon - have come to view a Palestinian state in those territories as an inescapable conclusion. See story from Christian Science Monitor

When a devastating earthquake rattled Iran two years ago and killed tens of thousands of people, the Islamic nation welcomed aid offered by every country - even the United States - except Israel. After another temblor decimated parts of Pakistan, the second largest Muslim nation in the world agreed to accept help from the Jewish nation, setting the stage for boxes marked with the Star of David to begin heading east as soon as this week. In a region where small gestures can mark the start of something much larger, Pakistan's decision to take Israel's aid is a political tremor that could shake up the Middle East landscape. See story from Knight Ridder

The violence which has accompanied the transition to Palestinian control of Gaza resulted in the cancellation of the scheduled See story from BBC

The high hopes of just a few weeks ago that the United States would aggressively reengage in resolving the Israeli- Palestinian conflict are beginning to dim.

The "window of opportunity" that opened after the death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat and Israel's withdrawal from Gaza has not closed yet, experts say. But concern is growing in some quarters that the engine that has driven forward movement in the past - close US involvement - is not revving up. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Alongside the surprising alacrity with which Israel left Gaza after 38 years of occupation, some Muslim and Arab nations - most officially at war with the Jewish state - are showing a keenness to view disengagement as a step toward relations with Israel. But uncertainty remains and was underscored when Israel's High Court of Justice rejected a July 2004 International Court of Justice ruling that the barrier through the occupied West Bank was illegal. See story from Christian Science Monitor

As Israel prepares for the final stage of the Gaza withdrawal, expected to be complete by Sept. 15, 2005, Palestinians and Israelis have yet to agree on key elements of the new Gaza economy - who controls the borders and what is allowed to come and go. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The death of Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat a year ago, widely rumoured to have been from AIDS or poisoning, remains a mystery after publication of the medical findings of the French hospital in which he died. See story from The Australian

Coupled with last fall's death of Yasser Arafat, Israel's so-called disengagement plan to shut down the settlements and uproot their nearly 9,000 Jews has the potential to transform the war-weary region and create a new atmosphere for negotiations. "If it works, you have a chance to use this as a platform to rebuild peacemaking," said Dennis Ross, a former U.S. envoy to the Middle East who was instrumental in brokering several regional peace deals. "It might not produce peace, but it may be the end of the war." More than any other move Israel has taken in recent years to end decades of conflict, the plan to abandon all its Gaza Strip settlements and four in the West Bank has sparked an emotional internal debate that has some questioning whether the gambit will save the Jewish nation or begin a process that will destroy it. See story from Knight-Ridder

A $6 billion high-speed rail line linking the West Bank with the Gaza Strip could make a Palestinian state without contiguous borders viable according to a new report. The railroad, which would cross into Israeli territory but not stop in it, is essential because it will provide the backbone for a new infrastructure for the state. The report offers a 10-year plan to improve all sectors of Palestinian life, including health, education, security and the economy, looks beyond conflict resolution and explores the necessary elements for a successful Palestinian state. See story from Jerusalem Post See press release and link to Rand Reports

As expected, Mahmoud Abbas was elected as head of the Palestinian authority and there have been significant developments in the path toward a peaceful resolution of the problem. Israel has resumed its pullout from Gaza and for the first time in four years, Israeli and Palestinian officials met to mutually discuss peace possibilities. See ongoing full coverage of the situation from the BBC

Syria is indicating with increasing frequency a willingness to resume peace negotiations with archenemy Israel after more than four years of deadlock. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Israel's plan to withdraw from occupied Gaza will prevent a Palestinian state emerging and freeze peacemaking and this plan has U.S. approval according to an Israeli official. See story from Reuters

Israel will not follow the U.S.-backed "road map" peace plan and could remain in much of the West Bank for an extended period after it withdraws from the Gaza Strip, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in a newspaper interview. See story from Guardian

Israel agreed last week to pay settlers in the Gaza Strip who voluntarily leave $200,000 to $500,000. The security cabinet voted 9 to 1 to offer advances for those who leave voluntarily and set compensation parameters ranging between $200,000 and $500,000 depending on house size, family size, and years of residence. The settlers have a mixed reaction to these initiatives. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Among Palestinians from all walks of life, there is a quiet but growing sentiment that their intifada, or uprising - which broke out four years ago today - has largely failed as an armed struggle, and lost its character as a popular resistance movement. Moreover, many Palestinians fear that what has been, in effect, their military defeat at the hands of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has left them without leverage to extract political and territorial concessions that would help lay the groundwork for their hoped-for state. See story from Los Angeles Times

The Palestinian Authority is now approaching its tenth anniversary. After a promising start, the economy and government is now in shambles because of the four-year intifada. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The Bush administration has signaled approval of growth in some Israeli settlements in the West Bank in a policy change aimed at helping Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. See story from Reuters

The U.N. General Assembly overwhelmingly adopted a resolution Tuesday demanding that Israel comply with a world court decision and tear down the barrier it is building to seal off the West Bank. A defiant Israel vowed to continue construction. The 150-6 vote was opposed by Israel and the United States, which argued that the resolution was unbalanced. Ten countries abstained. The four other countries that opposed the resolution were Australia, Marshall Islands, Micronesia and Palau. See story from Associated Press

Amid the devastation wrought by nearly four years of conflict with Israel, a subtle but significant transformation is under way in the lives of many Palestinian women. Normally confined to domestic chores and child care, they're now playing central roles in the survival of families in which husbands have found themselves without work. The crisis has emboldened women to assert themselves in new realms, from finding part-time work and taking control of family finances to political involvement. The newfound freedoms are even bucking the rising influence of fundamentalist Islam in the public lives of Palestinians. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Egyptian plans to bring stability to Gaza - if and when Israel withdraws from 21 settlements in the Gaza Strip - are running up against resistance. While the Palestinian Authority is welcoming renewed Egyptian involvement in the Strip - Egypt ruled Gaza from 1948 to 1967 - Hamas and other Palestinian opposition factions so far have rejected Cairo's plans to dispatch 200 military advisers to train the Palestinian security forces. See story from Christian Science Monitor

By endorsing three aspects of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's unilateral approach to dealing with the Palestinians - Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, permanent retention of some Israeli settlements in the West Bank, and an end to the "right of return" of millions of Palestinian refugees to homes and lands they held in Israel before 1948 - the Bush Administration has upended two decades of US policy. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Seeking to reassure the Arab world after an unsettling series of incidents, US President George Bush reaffirmed the traditional US position that a territorial settlement between Israel and the Palestinians must be the result of negotiations, not of unilateral action by Israel. See story from Christian Science Monitor

Israel's Housing Ministry has spent millions of dollars on unauthorized construction in the West Bank. See story from Associated Press

As Arabs and their leaders widely condemn Israel's assassination of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin and anger continues to spill into the streets, many are bracing for a violent backlash and moderates are raising their hands in frustration. See story from Inter Press Service

Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said he had ordered a plan drawn up for the evacuation of 17 settlements in the Gaza Strip, which he said eventually could lead to the relocation of almost all of the 7,500 Jewish settlers currently living in Gaza. See story from Washington Post

It has been nearly a quarter century since Israel physically uprooted a settlement built beyond its pre-1967 borders. But Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, a chief draftsman of Israel's drive to settle lands occupied during the 1967 Six Day War, says he is now prepared to up stakes throughout the Gaza Strip - part of his plan to unilaterally disengage from the Palestinians. But Mr. Sharon's proposal to create peace without partners could implode from the pressure on it by nearly all sides. Although the 7,500 Israeli settlers in Gaza are a small contingent relative to the more than 200,000 in the West Bank, Sharon faces outrage from the pro- settlement right-wing parties; their withdrawal from government could trigger new elections. He faces skepticism from the Israeli left, which says Sharon is just trying to distract attention from his mounting legal woes. And he faces resistance from the US, which can't decide what to do with a plan that ignores reciprocal formulas built into Washington's moribund road map plan for peace. See story from Christian Science Monitor

The Middle East - a region long known for its rancorous politics - is trying something new: pragmatism and moderation. Two caveats must come early in any discussion of regional improvements. The success of the US attempt to remake Iraq is by no means guaranteed. And the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is moribund. But in recent weeks, Libya has said it will abandon plans to pursue weapons of mass destruction. Iran has promised to allow international inspections of its nuclear facilities. Syria has announced that it is again willing to talk peace with Israel. See story from Christian Science Monitor

As expected, Mahmoud Abbas was elected as head of the Palestinian authority and there have been significant developments in the path toward a peaceful resolution of the problem. Israel has resumed its pullout from Gaza and for the first time in four years, Israeli and Palestinian officials met to mutually discuss peace possibilities. See ongoing full coverage of the situation from the BBC

 Israel Palestine Links

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