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Obama and Netanyahu divided over the 1967 borders

The 1967 proposal has frequently been used in the last few years by the American diplomatic corps when referring to a potential solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It was first publicly suggested in 2010, during a visit in Bahrain when Secretary of State Hillary Clinton let slip that "we believe that the 1967 borders, with swaps, should be the focus of the negotiations over borders." At that time however the Obama’s administration believed that it was possible to reconcile t...

Obama Speech: Views from the Middle East

Obama's speech was of broad scope, with the US leader tackling different issues in different countries while using this as an opportunity to give the US response to the Middle East uprisings and regime changes. He pledged international economic support for countries undergoing democratic change, notably Egypt and Tunisia and warned Syria's President Bashar al-Assad to lead transition in his country, or to "get out of the way".

Obama Middle East speech: an outline of the main key points

US President Barack Obama’s discourse, yesterday marked a “new chapter" in diplomacy after the Arab Spring uprisings, the leader explained. Talking from the state department, shifting from a military to a diplomatic emphasis, Mr Obama insisted on the interrelated nature of the US-Middle East relationship: “ though these countries may be a great distance from our shores, we know that our own future is bound to this region by the forces of economics and security; history and faith”, he said.

The rest and the West: The Middle East through a distorting prism?

In comparison to other regions in the world, the Middle East attracts a relatively large part of US foreign policy time and has often presented it with its most enduring challenges. In the last decades, protecting the US interests within the region has become a complicated tasks as America has had to deal with the rise of Iran as a regional and influential power in the region and its illegal nuclear activities, the toppling of Saddam Hussein and his regime, invade Afghanistan, try to fight...

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a history of failed peace talks Part II

The conflict has gone on for over a hundred years and it is 44 years since the Middle East war of June 1967, over this time there have been many peace plans and many negotiations. If some of these have been successful, including those between Egypt and Israel and Israel and Jordan, a settlement has still not been reached in the core conflict. Looking back at a history of negotiations, the results derived from the different signed treaties are more confusing than encouraging. With the recent appe...

Israeli-Palestinian conflict: a history of failed peace talks Part I

Following conflict that is more than a hundred years old, and 44 years since the Middle East war of June 1967, there have been many peace plans and many negotiations.If some of these have been successful, including those between Egypt and Israel and Israel and Jordan, a settlement has still not been reached in the core conflict. Looking back at a history of negotiations, the results derived from the different signed treaties are more confusing than encouraging.

The Arab spring, Palestine, Israel and Jerusalem as symbol of divisions

US president Barack Obama has just called Israelis and Palestinians to go back to the negotiating table, but with past peace processes seen as fragile and not very efficient, the several Israeli-Palestinian talks and deals have become renowned for their longevity and chronic inability to find a way to end the conflict.

Obama: Israeli and Palestinian peace talks "more vital than ever"

As talks between Israel and Palestine have been frozen since last year because of a dispute over settlements, Barack Obama said the US and Jordan both wanted Israelis and Palestinians to go back to the negotiating table, adding that it was "more vital than ever" for Israelis and Palestinians to restart negotiations on a peace deal.

Qaddafi, the Illegitimate Target - and he's the easy one!

At the Arab Summit in Doha, Qatar, on Monday, 28 March, 2009, Libyan leader, Colonel Muammar Qaddafi grabbed a microphone as the conference was about to begin and denounced King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia as a "British product and American ally."

Strained to breaking point? Saudi Arabia's intervention in Bahrain could break the camel's back

Forget Britain's "Special Relationship" with America, largely a mirage of the Foreign Office and its existence unknown to most Americans. Even as World War II was ending, the cracks in the relationship between Britain and the United States were becoming ever more obvious to contemporaries and for more recent generations can be studied by reading books, both military and political, such as Armageddon and Nemesis by Max Hastings.

Bunzl share price up as FY profits rise

Shares in Bunzl were up on the FTSE 100 in afternoon trading after the outsourcing firm reported a rise in revenue and pre-tax profit in the year ended 31 December 2010.

Israel to loosen blockade on Gaza Strip

The Israeli government has said that it will loosen the land blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, in a move that is aimed at allowing more civilian goods into the area, while maintaining an embargo on weapons.