Political Geography: Arabia / Topic: Conflict Resolution

Author:: Robert Satloff
Publication Date:: 03-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: President Clinton's trip to Geneva on Sunday to meet Syrian leader Hafiz al-Asad begins the last leg of the administration's eight-year marathon effort to broker an elusive Syrian-Israeli peace agreement. The stakes, however, are higher than just Clinton's peacemaking legacy. While most observers believe that Syria and Israel are just a whisker away from peace, the two countries are also not much further away from conflict and perhaps war. Within days, the countdown to one of those outcomes will be clear.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Geneva, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, Arab Countries, and Syria

Author:: Marshall Breger and George Weigel
Publication Date:: 03-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: Historically the Vatican's view of Israel and Zionism was negative. The Vatican explicitly told Herzl that that the Jews were meant to wander, and if they set foot on Palestinian soil the Christians would be there to convert them. The main concern of the Catholic Church regarding the Holy Land has long been to maintain the status quo of the Catholic holy places. For many years, the Church supported the creation of Jerusalem as an entity independent from the surrounding states—a corpus separatum. But in the 1970s, the Vatican spoke instead of international guarantees for the holy places, an idea that remains Vatican policy today.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, Jerusalem, Arab Countries, and Vatican city

Author:: Alan Makovsky, Cengiz Candar, and Efraim Inbar
Publication Date:: 03-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The emergence of close Israeli-Turkish relations is one of the significant strategic developments in the post-Cold War Middle East. These ties are likely to flourish as long as Israel and Turkey remain pro-Western, anti-Islamic fundamentalist, and compatible in military inventory. Turkish-Israeli ties should be described as a "strategic relationship," not as an alliance. Turkey and Israel are not obligated or likely to go to war if the other is attacked. They also have somewhat differing threat perceptions regarding Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Iraq, Iran, Turkey, Middle East, Israel, Arabia, Arab Countries, and Syria

Author:: Ephraim Sneh
Publication Date:: 03-2000
Content Type:: Policy Brief
Institution:: The Washington Institute for Near East Policy
Abstract:: The recent delay in talks between the Israelis and Palestinians is the result of an unnecessary crisis initiated by Palestinian Authority (PA) chairman Yasir Arafat. The motivation behind this tactic is the idea that you can squeeze more out of the Israelis through crisis than you can at the negotiating table. This artificial stalemate is designed to achieve more for the Palestinians, but ultimately it will not. Such political maneuvering is a mistake. The current dispute regarding the transfer of 6 percent of West Bank territory concerns implementation of one aspect of last year's Sharm al-Sheikh agreement, and this technicality has no real meaning with regard to final status. The Israelis are willing to discuss such issues, but Palestinian eagerness to stonewall the talks pertaining to them draws both parties away from the most important concerns.
Topic:: Conflict Resolution, Security, and Diplomacy
Political Geography:: Washington, Middle East, Israel, Palestine, Arabia, and Arab Countries

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