The study investigates the basic orientations and specific attitudes of Israeli Prime Minister Benyamin Netanyahu's to the Arab World, the Palestinian Arabs, and the Palestinian Arabs who are Israeli citizens. It is found that there is no significant difference in his view of the three groups when thinking of his aspirations, even if he has different tactics from those of the other Israeli leaders. His goal is complete Israeli sovereignty over all Palestinian soil and the removal of all Palestinians with the least damage. Nevertheless, Netanyahu realises that to introduce changes on local, regional and international levels makes a success of his policies a hard task. Therefore, he is seen to be the most equivocal Israeli politician, whose strategy is to run forward to avoid facing responsibilities. Another factor leading to his failure is, according to President Clinton, he overestimates his importance by acting like the president of a super state. He follows an eccentric rule in reading reality: 'imagine that your situation is so and so, even if it is just fantasy. Work on this basis, making use of the means of contact and the system of the state. This will come true in reality'. Such a rule may achieve some gains in the short run, but they will soon turn out to be illusory.

In the aftermath of February 2009 elections Netanyahu forged a coalition government of extreme religious and right-wing parties on one hand, and the Labour Party on the other. He believed the coalition would allow him to evade political responsibilities, and grant him the role of mediator between the extreme right (Liberman) and the left (Barak). He does not demonstrate power or wisdom, but merely weakness. The irony is that he criticised his opponents in the election campaign for having left Israel in a position of weakness and humiliation. Finally, however, his most obvious weakness is the adoption of the rule: 'What counts is what the Jews do'.

This study makes clear Israel’s contradictory attitude to the peace perspective based on a two-state solution. It is doomed to failure, even for those who believe in its efficiency and promote it in the international meetings. The study refers to a number of facts in connection with settlement activity which took place in the West Bank during the years (2001-2005), in which the annual average growth of the population of Israel came to 1.8%. The political and strategic repercussions of settlement activity are discussed, by exploring the stance of the government in justifying the settlement policy in what it calls 'objective' reasons, such as meeting the needs of the natural population growth. The Israeli government concedes that there are other reasons, such as satisfying the demands of the right-wing parties in the cabinet in order to maintain the coalition government. Another is the reservations of some with regard to the Israeli army's role in the evacuation of settlements.

The army is the only Israeli authority capable of performing such a task. According to the study – it is beyond the official political framework, as it acts effectively in the settlements. In its turn, the US administration does not pay due attention to ending Israeli settlement activity, seeing no reason to disturb relations with its ally. Furthermore, the US administration lacks flexibility and does not possess the tools to force Israel to stop the settlement activity. Finally, the Palestinian Authority has no significant influence on settlement, according to the study. It concludes that the issue has long-term repercussions that will affect the peace process and, more importantly, the implementation of the two-states-for-two-peoples proposition. This confirms the falsity of the Israeli peace claims.

The Justice and Development Party (the AKP or White Party) which rules today in Turkey, is the first to achieve two consecutive victories in general elections in more than 50 years. Firstly, it won the November 2002 elections, two years after the formation of the party. Secondly, in the latest July 2007 elections, it won 47% of the vote to form a government without a coalition. These results have not been witnessed in Turkish political history since the Democratic Party, started by Adnan Mandaris, which led political life in the 1950s.

The AKP party brought back to politics the meaning lost with the advent of the secularist parties, which ruled after Najmuddin Erbakan was forced to leave the post of Prime Minister in 1997, less than a year of taking over. In fact, it is not only a party like the other secularist or traditional Islamic parties, but also wisely combines political values derived from Islamic standards – which may be considered conservative – with real politics by means of programmes and political tools.

A seminar was held at the Middle East Studies Centre in Amman, Jordan, entitled "The Arabs and the Vatican: Challenges and Horizons for the Pope's Visit to the Region". It was attended by a number of prominent political, intellectual and expert figures and chaired by Mr Jawad Al-Hamad, the MESC director.

At the opening of the seminar, it was stressed that relations between the Vatican and the Arabs have been controlled by political and diplomatic, but not religious, factors, bearing in mind the focus of the historical relation on the stance against the Arab-Israeli conflict. The only areas of interaction were the statements supporting or not supporting Israel.

Four topics were discussed in the seminar. The first was "The History, Challenges and Levels of the Relationship: A Critical Reading". The second was "The Dimensions of the Pope's Visit to the Region: Political, Local and Regional Complexities". The third investigated "How the Visit Was Utilised by the Arabs and the Israelis: Gains and Losses". The fourth was "How Jordan Can Map out the Future Relationship between Arabs and the Vatican in Order to Change Its Attitude towards Their Causes".

The seminar was concluded by iterating the significance of Muslim-Christian relations in Jordan and the entire Middle East region. Such a relation has been distinguished for centuries, but without the Vatican having a positive role in enhancing it. Therefore, it is our duty as Arabs to maintain this relationship, since we are responsible for standing up for our causes as well as persuading others to support them

The Israeli war on Gaza (27 December 2008 – 18 January 2009) represents a turning point for the Palestinian political map and the pan-Arab and international perspectives. Therefore, this war – with its consequences for the Palestinian politicians and their local, pan-Arab and regional relations – has had an influence on the Palestinian split. The war and its results are directly or indirectly present in the Palestinian local dialogue, which has witnessed various stages and diverse sessions since the political split between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.

On Wednesday 8 April 2009, the Middle East Studies Centre celebrated its eighteenth anniversary. The ceremony was attended by prominent Jordanian political and academic figures. A number of friends of the MESC, the Jordanian Engineers' Association and the Al-Jazeera Bureau in Amman were honored for their efforts in supporting intellectual and academic research in the country. The ceremony was concluded by a dinner in the honor of the guests.

Othman Budeir, the chairman of the board of the Electricity Company, accompanied by a number of prominent national figures, inaugurated the centre's exhibition about the eighteen years of activities and publications. After that, Jawad Al-Hamad, the centre director, welcomed the guests and referred to major changes in the Arab world and the surrounding areas such as Iran and Turkey. He announced the ceremony to be a starting point for mapping out future landmarks in the progress of our nation. He expressed his aspiration for a colorful vision of a glorious, powerful nation for generations to come.

Then several intellectuals, researchers and politicians made contributions. Professor Ahmed Said Nofel, a political sciences pscholar at Al Al-Bayt University, praised the centre's integrity and objectivity over the last eighteen years.