BU Now » Palestinian state

U.S. urges Mideast peace talks

Dick Taffe — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 19:49:19 +0000

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has asked the Israeli prime minister and Palestinian president to resume peace talks which have been on hold for two years. She said direct negotiations will begin in Washington on Sept. 2. Journalism Professor Bob Zelnick, former ABC News foreign correspondent and author of “Israeli Unilateralism: Beyond Gaza,” says in a Politico commentary that after a recent extended fact-finding visit he found the Palestinians ready to deal.

“While maintaining no stated goal of ‘liberating’ Gaza, the new Palestinian leadership believes that a deal with Israel which establishes an independent Palestinian state will be hard for Hamas to oppose. Do I believe that a deal will be reached within the one-year time-limit the parties have set for themselves? Yes.”

Contact Bob Zelnick, 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu

Top Israeli aid badmouth’s peace talks

Dick Taffe — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 21:46:31 +0000

Uzi Arad (r.), Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s national security adviser, says the outlook is bleak for U.S.-mediated Middle East peace talks. International relations and anthropology Professor Augustus Richard Norton, author of “Hezbollah: A Short History,” says the former Mossad agent’s comments offer a window into the strategic calculations of the Israeli government, calculations which continue to confound U.S. policy goals.

“Uzi Arad’s presence in the Israeli government illustrates an underlying contempt for U.S. interests.”

Contact Augustus Richard Norton, 617-353-7808, arn@bu.edu

Bibi and Barack have first face-to-face

Dick Taffe — Mon, 18 May 2009 16:00:40 +0000

Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu is expected to put a priority on Iran’s nuclear ambitions when he meets today with President Obama, an indication that Palestinian statehood, backed by the U.S. but not endorsed by Netanyahu, can wait. College of Communication Professor Robert Zelnick, a former long-time ABC News correspondent in the Middle East, can offer some perspective on where this might be heading.

“The Palestinian statehood question is a red herring. The two real issues are: How is Iran to be prevented from producing nuclear weapons? And, how is Hamas to be dealt with in relationship to the peace process? On these matters there may be real differences of approach.”

Contact Robert Zelnick, 617-353-5007, bzelnick@bu.edu