Program archives

Four recent events have renewed optimism around the world about breaking the deadlock caused by four years of Israeli-Palestinian violence: the death of Yasir Arafat; the election of Mahmoud Abbas as Arafat's successor; the formation of a moderate coalition government in Jerusalem to carry out Israeli disengagement from Gaza; and the reelection of George W. Bush to a second term. What should the Bush Administration be doing to take advantage of the changed landscape in the Middle East in order to restart Israeli-Palestinian negotiations? What should the Palestinians and Israelis be doing -- or not doing -- to restart and sustain the process. Many believe that resolving the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the key to dealing with the broader problems of the Middle East and of radicalism in the region.

Edward Abington currently is Senior Associate at Bannerman and Associates where he provides counsel to the Palestinian National Authority on their relations with Washington. He was in Gaza for the Palestinian elections in January. Prior to leaving the Department of State in 1999, Mr. Abington had a distinguished thirty year career in the Foreign Service, serving in Washington as well as US Embassies in Damascus, Tunis, Tel Aviv, and Islamabad. Mr. Abington was in Jerusalem from 1993-1997 as the American Consul General where he was the senior American representative dealing with President Arafat and other members of the Palestinian National Authority. Abington helped negotiate various Israeli-Palestinian agreements implementing the 1993 Oslo Agreement. His forthright statements on Israeli and Palestinian policies on occasion landed him in hot water with his superiors in Washington, including a rebuke from Secretary Albright for statements to the press criticizing Israeli settlement policies.