Riz Khan - Question of the Week - 10 Mar 08
This week we’re asking…what can Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas accomplish by resuming peace talks with Israel?
Inside Story - The backfired plan - 05 March 08
It has emerged that the Bush administration caught off-guard by the rise of Hamas, embarked on a secret plan to overthrow its democratically-elected government.
The magazine Vanity Fair reports in its April edition that President Bush and Condoleeza Rice, the US secretary of state, signed off on a plan for Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, to quash the Hamas authorities.
The plan involved Washington’s allies in the region channeling arms and cash to Fatah fighters, who would rise up against Hamas.
But the plan backfired spectacularly, with Hamas apparently anticipating the move and taking over in Gaza.
How and why did Washington fail in its aims? What were its true motives, and where will its policy on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict head now?
Sami Zeidan of Inside Story investigates.
Inside Story - Attack on Gaza - 02 March 08 - Pt. 2
Mahmoud Abbas, the Palestinian president, has suspended peace talks with Israel, demanding that it ends its offensive on Gaza.
Israel’s five-day offensive on the Gaza Strip has so far killed more than 100 Palestinians, many of them civilians.
Israel claims it is acting in self-defence in response to cross-border rocket attacks by Hamas.
But Israel has been strongly criticized by the European Union and United Nations, who have condemned its use of “excessive” and “disproportionate” force.
Inside Story, with presenter Sami Zeidan, examines the possible outcomes.
Al Jazeera analyses Bush’s checkpoint gaffe - 10 Jan 08
As George Bush, the US president, tours Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories Al Jazeera discusses the significance of his attempted joke regarding checkpoints in the West Bank.Rob Reynolds looks at Bush’s news conference with Mahmoud Abbas, his Palestinian counterpart, while Ayman Moyheldin examines the daily struggles that Palestinians face negotiating the checkpoints.
Primping Jerusalem ahead of Bush’s visit - 07 Jan 08
President Bush will arrive in the Middle East on Wednesday as part of his renewed effort for a peace agreement before he leaves office in a year’s time.Following talks with Ehud Olmert he’ll travel to the West Bank to meet Mahmoud Abbas. Mike Hanna reports on how the region is preparing for the visit.