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17/05/2013

Conflicts Forum’s Weekly Comment

This 'Weekly Comment' is produced most Fridays by Conflicts Forum with links to key articles published in the regional and international media during the past week.

/ Conflicts Forum

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10 – 17 May 2013 This week has seen the further political consolidation of the strategic military shift begun by the Israeli attacks on Syria.  Netayahu –

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Summary

Challenging perspectives on Islamism and politics in the Middle East

Conflicts Forum aims to shift Western opinion towards a deeper, less compartmentalised understanding of Islam and the Middle East.
By examining problems in terms of differences of thinking, language and intellectual and metaphysical traditions, we attempt to frame differences as more than simple struggles for power. Although not a particular focus of our work, reconciliation is sometimes an outcome of what we do.
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25/01/2011 Article

Misunderstanding Israeli Motives

Once Israel’s purpose is understood to be Zionist, the advantages and disadvantages of a Palestinian state coming into existence take on a very different balance.

/ Alastair Crooke

Tags: Democracy, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Media, Palestinians

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Article posted on english.aljazeera.net Al Jazeera’s release of The Palestine Papers helps to make clear why there is no Palestinian state. It illuminates a key

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19/01/2011 Article

Building a Police State in Palestine

A police state is what is being assiduously constructed in Palestine, disguised as state-building and good governance.

/ Aisling Byrne

Tags: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Palestinians

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Article posted on www.foreignpolicy.com “If we are building a police state – what are we actually doing here?” So asked a European diplomat responding to

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14/01/2011 Article

Iran, the US, and the Balance of Power in the Middle East

If there is no security for Iranians, in their eyes there will be no security for Iran’s antagonists in the region.

/ Seyed Mohammad Marandi

Tags: Iran, Middle East, Obama administration, War in Iraq, War on terrorism

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The Islamic Republic of Iran’s interest in a stable Middle East is arguably greater than that of the United States—after all this is Iran’s neighborhood.

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13/01/2011 Article

Why the Demise of the Middle East ‘Peace Process’ may be a Good Thing

Recognizing that a two-state solution is no longer on the cards opens the way for other paths that don’t depend on Western mediation.

/ Alastair Crooke

Tags: Diplomacy, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mediation, Middle East, Palestinians

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Article posted on The Christian Science Monitor Recognizing that a two-state solution is no longer in the cards opens the way for other paths that

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20/12/2010 Article

The Expiration of the ‘Peace Process’: Where now for the Middle East?

A ‘peace process’ that took Israel’s self-definition of its security needs has reached exhaustion.

/ Alastair Crooke

Tags: Gaza, Israel, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Occupied Territories, Palestinians, West Bank

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Article posted on www.foreignpolicy.com A ‘peace process’ that, from its inception, took Israel’s self-definition of its own security needs as the sole determinate of the

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13/12/2010 Article

Tourists in Washington: Anatomy of a European Mideast Failure

Europe subordinated itself to the US principle that Israel's self-definition of its security needs should determine any negotiated solution.

/ Alastair Crooke

Tags: Europe, Gaza, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Middle East, Obama administration, Occupied Territories, Palestinians, West Bank

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Article posted on www.foreignpolicy.com The ‘weakness’ of Europe – and also that of the US – in the Middle East is not essentially one of

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