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Editorial
Abstract :Palestinian Politics Has Lost Direction
Palestinian politics has been
suffering from an obvious lack of vision for a long time.
Internal deep disputes for more than 16 years, as well as wide
public criticism of the PNA's decision to postpone the
discussion of Goldstone's report on war crimes at Gaza against
the Israeli leaders by the PNA representative, both may be
considered as evidence to the confusion from which the
Palestinian leadership suffers.
This confusion is due to
different factors, including the relationship with the USA,
security coordination with Israel, the personal interests of
some prominent figures in the Palestinian leadership, the
refusal of the outcomes of political pluralism by the Fatah
movement as in the elections of 2006, failure to contain the
Arab and Islamic support for the Palestinian cause and to
protect Palestinian vital interests.
This deviation from national
Palestinian interests to personal or factional interests has
become the political behavioral style of Palestinian leadership.
It seems that the moment of truth
has come to change the failed leadership after 16 years of
missed chances. It is the responsibility of civil society, the
intellectuals, the political and social forces as well as the
resistance factions in the Palestinian and Arab communities to
take action. Otherwise things are going to get worse for
Palestinian internal and external politics.
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Research & Studies
Abstract :Piracy Reformist Movement in Iran: A Future Preview
The study examines the
accomplishments of the reformist government on the national and
international levels. On the national level, the complicated
nuclear agenda was the most obvious which the reformist
government could politicise. It also managed to contain the
international reactions as well as avoid the losses following
the sudden uncovering of secret nuclear activities in 2002. On
the international level, foreign relations were the most
obvious, where the reformist government in President Muhammad
Khatemi's term adopted and excelled in applying the "elimination
of tension" slogan. The study also discusses the future preview
of the Iranian reformist movement.
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Abstract : Turkish-Israeli Relations: Between Tension and Stability
Turkish-Israeli relations have
witnessed tension and stability. The roots of these relations,
especially the Ottoman stance towards an Israeli presence in
Palestine, are explored. This will set a number of indispensable
facts which answer several questions with regard to the issue.
Scientific methodology and reliable information are the basis
for this study.
The conference held by Jews in
the Swiss city of Basel in 1897 was the beginning of the
establishment of Turkish-Israeli relations. Apart from the
details of the conference, it can be argued that the
recommendations were a serious call to the Turkish Ottoman
nation at the time to take precautions against those people. The
reason is that the participants were plotting to bring the
Ottoman empire to an end – which they managed to achieve in
about a quarter of a century. Not only this, they overruled
Turkey itself, as they established secularism led by Mustafa
Kamal Ataturk (1881-1938), leaving a strong, organized community
of Dunma Jews. In fact, that did not come out of the blue; they
had been planning for it for centuries.
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Reports And Articles
Abstract :
Obama’s Initiative for Peace in the Region: Opportunities and Trends
This article discusses the peace
process in Middle East and the importance of success. The newly
elected president Barack Obama deals with the peace process from
a different perspective. The new approach of the U.S.
administration prioritises the peace process. Achieving peace
between Arabs and Israel will lead to better U.S. national
security and more effectively protect U.S. interests in the
region.
The article sets out the
background of Arabic demands for a just and comprehensive peace
in the region in accordance with resolutions of international
legitimacy, and the Arabic peace initiative which offers formal
recognition of Israel and normalization of relations only when
Israel fulfills it is commitments, without evasion or
equivocation. Recently the Arab States expressed a unified
position to the U.S. administration regarding this issue.
The author argues that Israel is
not serious about the peace process and always adopts a policy
of prevarication and obstruction. Tel Aviv prefers the situation
of neither big war with the Arab States nor a just and
comprehensive peace. This is the best result for Israel as it
can survive and be a leading power in the region, because it is
obvious that peace will neutralize its military power, restrict
its options and limit the role of her aggressive policy in the
region.
The chances of success for
Obama’s initiative are examined. The Arabs refuse to be dragged
into further concessions while Israel continues to build illegal
settlements, continues its occupation, fails to respond to
Obama’s initiative and to implement fully the Arab initiative.
The article highlights two
possible results of the failure in the current efforts to reach
a just and comprehensive peace with the two states solution. One
of them is to push Arabs to withdraw peace initiative in order
to have more options and to present Israel with new
developments, which could lead also to more violence in the
region. A war might occur in the region if the initiative fails.
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Abstract : Iran and Turkey
Exchange of Interests or Balance of Roles?
With the arrival of the Turks in
Central Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries, the Turkish and
Iranian civilisations met, leading to an overlap of relations
and interests for hundreds of years. Nowadays, the "zero
problems with neighbours" slogan raised 6 years ago by the
engineer of Turkish foreign policy, Professor Ahmed Davud Uglu,
did not manage to eliminate the mutual suspicions between the
two countries. The long years of dispute between Turkey and most
of its neighbours have come to an end because the leadership of
the AKP party decided to start a new era of relations. There
have been enduring problems with Ankara associated with borders,
religion and history, leading to many wars and crises.
Turkish-Iranian relations seem to
be the only exception. In spite of centuries of neighbourhood
between the two most significant civilizations and regional
powers of the Middle East, and in spite of several problems
between them, they have so far avoided a major military
confrontation. They have adopted a carrot-and-stick policy in
their relations, allowing them to work out their problems and
move forward in protecting their interests and follow a policy
of moderation and balance.
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Abstract :
The Arab Dimension of the Palestinian Right of Return
Apart from the several dimensions
of the right of return for Palestinians whether scattered
throughout the world or refugees, and the integrated dimensions
of both the absence or prohibition of practice of this right,
the Arab dimension of the right of return represents one of the
elements of the struggle for its realization, as the pan-Arab
aspect of the Palestinian cause is the very same of that of the
Palestinian right of return.
Although the Arab League, the
Arab summits and the public Arab conferences continue to stress
the right of return as well as a solution to the refugee issue,
a number of developments have changed the Arab attitude towards
the problem. At first, it was a decisive stance favouring the
return of refugees. Then, it started to look for a 'just'
solution for the refugee issue. The Arabs were also obliged to
address the issue as an Arab, Palestinian problem, irrespective
of the commitments of the international community and Israel,
which led the right of return to be ignored in other peace
tracks aimed at solving the Arab-Israeli conflict. Therefore,
talking about the Arab dimension of the right of return
necessarily emphasises the significance of the Arab stance and
policies, highlighting the responsibilities laid by the refugee
issue on the shoulders of the governments and peoples of the
Arab nation.
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Abstract : The Pan-Arab Dimension of the Palestinian Right of Return
On 16 June 2009, in its
headquarters in Amman, The Middle East Studies Centre held a
seminar entitled "Obama's Reconciliatory Message and What Is
Required by the Arabs". Three main topics were examined: "The
Message of Reconciliation in Obama's Speech: Foundations,
Results and How the Arabs Should Deal with It"; "The Obstacles
to Obama's Reconciliatory Message and How the Arabs Should Deal
with Them": and "The Arab World's Expectations from the New US
Administration and the Features of the Arab Strategy to Achieve
Them". The seminar concluded with a general discussion of the
evaluation of the Arab attitude and their vision that can make
use of the shift in the US discourse.
The participants agreed that the
US president Barack Obama – after his latest speech to the Arabs
and Muslims in the University of Cairo on 4 June 2009 – was
expecting Arab and Islamic initiatives to push him to rebuild
strong relations between the US and the Arab, Islamic world.
This is likely to serve some of the Arabs' and Muslims'
interests as well as assist in solving their problems at all
levels, most importantly the Israeli occupation.
They also agreed on the
obligation of the influential Arab systems and powers to present
a unified Arab vision in a bid to invest the reconciliatory tone
in Obama's speech. We cannot – as Arabs and Muslims – expect
from the new US administration any assistance, solutions or
response to our demands without us organising ourselves and
agreeing on one single vision.
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Abstract :
The State of Jerusalem Report
January-March 2009
Department of Information at the Jerusalem International Establishment
The State of Jerusalem Report
issued by the Department of Information at the Jerusalem
International Establishment presents accurate data about the
situation of the city in order to anticipate the following
stage, enabling the decision-makers and those in power to take
correct practical position and decisions.
The report discusses the
development of the confrontation in Jerusalem on the religious,
cultural and demographic levels, in addition to the reality of
the organisations working in the city and the main sponsors.
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Abstract :
The Fateh Conference and the Future of the Palestinian Cause: Reality and Expectations
Irrespective of the content
and approach, the Sixth General Conference of the Fateh Movement
represents a significant negative turn for the national
struggle. It anticipates other steps in light of the preceding
indications that necessitated the organising of the conference
in the settings of time and place.
It was inevitable to hold the
conference at that time, but not on the former Palestinian
president Yasser Arafat's birthday as the current president of
the Palestinian Authority Mahmoud Abbas asserted – which is only
a superficial reason. Rather, it was held to preceed the US
initiative for a final political settlement to the Palestinian
issue. The project was supposed to be referred to by the US
president in his speech in the opening session of the present
year's term of the United Nations General Assembly in September
2009.
Therefore, the conference was
required to meet American-Israeli demands on the eve of the
President Barack Obama's speech.
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