Karel Valansi'nin kaleminden...

Since the press leak during the Zurick meeting we are discussing the Turkish-Israeli reconciliation. I wanted to ask Shai Cohen, the Consul General of Israel in Istanbul, about the latest developments in the region as well as the reasons and outcomes of these negotiations. I want to thank him especially as I know he does not talk to any journalists right now and accepted my request Karel Valansi Since the press leak during the Zurich meeting, we are discussing the reasons and possible outcomes of Turkish-Israeli reconciliation. In what stage are the negotiations? The Zurich meeting has anchored three Turkish conditions which are the apology, the compensation and the Gaza issue. According to some reports in the media, which I cannot confirm, there are Israeli conditions which is the condition of withdrawal of lawsuits that have to do with the Mavi Marmara incident. The condition that is already met by Israel more than two years ago is the apology. Regarding the compensatio...

David Ha'ivri One of the important points of discussion during any Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiation is the settlements in the West Bank. Most of the time settlements are perceived as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. But what the people living in the settlements think? We discussed the subject with one of them. David Ha’ivri is a consultant for public relations and social media. He is the founder and former director of the Shomron Liaison Office. He and his wife Mollie live in the Jewish settlement of Kfar Tapuach in Shomron with their eight children. One of the important points of discussion during any Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiation is the settlements in the West Bank. Most of the time settlements are perceived as an obstacle to peace with the Palestinians. But what the people living in the settlements think? We discussed the subject with one of them. David Ha’ivri is a consultant for public relations and social media. He is the founder and former dir...

For the newly re-elected US President Barack Obama the plan was clear; to be the president that ended all the wars, withdrawing most of the American soldiers from the Middle East. Like in his first presidency, he targeted to expand America's military in the Asia Pacific as a top priority, and he declared the intention to shift America’s focus from the Middle East. To achieve this, he needed to solve the one problem that according to him is the mother of all problems; the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Obama wanted to focus on the peace process between Israel and Palestinians, and Secretary of State John Kerry was eager to take full responsibility for the job. At the time, Obama’s tension with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu became a known fact. Analysis on the future of American-Israeli relations had started circulating already. Obama preferred to be in the shadow in this matter and he left the spotlight to his secretary of state. Kerry was determined to resolve the c...