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President Obama has taken the leap; let’s hope he finds some remaining Palestinian ground to land on. Given his new commitment, if he fails, I wonder if he is willing to lay blame where it duly resides for Israel’s continued rogue action—in Washington D.C.

The silent attitude of the U.S. means that the plans laid out for Turkey constitute the priority right now. After every crisis with Israel, Turkey gains more and more trust in the area. Following the latest crisis, Al Akhbar , a newspaper in Lebanon, defined Erdogan as a padishah (Ottoman sultan )and stated that only Turkey can make Israel understand. But despite all these developments, strategically important areas still do not trust Turkey

The brutality of Operation Cast Lead shocked some of Israel’s most devoted supporters, and divided the pro-Israel camp. Even as it was happening, some of the most shocking accounts of IDF conduct were emerging. These included sealing off a neighbourhood, bombing and shelling it, blocking medical and humanitarian entry, and knowingly leaving children to slowly die next to their already deceased relatives. They included the targeting of hospitals and ambulances, and the repeated targeting of schools

I think there should definitely be an investigation into the war crimes committed by Israel in Gaza. That’s without question, and it would be unthinkable not to have an investigation if this was any other state than Israel. Look at what happened in the aftermath of NATO’s attack on Serbia and the atrocities in Kosovo. The perpetrators of the attacks were hunted down and put on trial, and the search still continues for those responsible

This isn’t the first time an international organization accusing Israel of wrongdoing over water. In the spring, the World Bank produced another study, conducted on behalf of the Palestinian Authority, that accused Israel of retarding Palestinians’ development of the water resources they share with Israel, while also admonishing the Palestinians for less than stellar water management and conservation. This report faced similar recriminations from the Israeli government, charging the World Bank with taking the Palestinians’ side

In 1979, Kathleen and Bill Christison retired from the CIA, where they worked as analysts. Ever since then, they’ve had an unorthodox retirement, to say the least. With only a couple relatively brief interludes, they’ve dedicated what could have been years of relaxation to fighting perhaps the most uphill battle imaginable: trying to bring the plight of the Palestinians to the public eye. The newest addition to the Christison canon is Palestine in Pieces: Graphic Perspectives on the Israeli Occupation, published in August by Pluto Press. During this decade the Christisons have made a habit of visiting Palestine at least once per year; they returned from their most recent trip earlier this month. Since the couple warned against the potentially endless nature of a conversation over the phone, I elected to send them a few questions via email, which they were gracious enough to answer

In that case, considering the already strained relations between the two “allied” nations, the question becomes, is the Turkish government interested in enlarging the rift between the two countries? And if so, what would this say about the future of the Middle East?

Jonathan Cook is a British journalist based in Nazareth, the largest Arab city in Israel. His latest book, Disappearing Palestine: Israel’s Experiments in Human Despair, was published by Zed Books in October of last year. Jonathan was kind enough to take the time to answer the below questions, many of which surfaced after recently spending some time in Palestine myself

A few days ago some friends and I took a tour of the hills south of the city of Hebron in the West Bank. The tour was given by Breaking the Silence, a group of former Israeli soldiers who speak about the conscienceless things that they did to Palestinians in the name of “security” during their time in the military. I suspect that many of them view this project as some sort of repentance for their sins, and I also suspect that to some of them, it will never be enough

In September 1982, a month after Israel’s demolition of the PLO had been consecrated, the IDF sealed off the Sabra and Shatila refugee camp. On Thursday 16 September 1982, truckloads of Phalangist and Haddad troops entered the camp from behind IDF lines. The Phalangists selected for the attack were drawn from the most extreme elements of the militia, while the Haddad troops were more or less direct auxiliaries of the Israeli army. They killed and killed for days. At night, they killed by they light of flares, methodically massacring the inhabitants, scooping them up with bulldozers and burying them under the rubble. Those bodies which could not be buried were taken away in trucks

Evictions in Sheikh Jarrah and other Palestinian areas are part of a bid to turn East Jerusalem into a unified Jewish Jerusalem

The only lasting option for peace, I feel, is one state for two peoples. Two states for two peoples, the current mantra, won’t work. It puts an impossible burden on Israel and won’t leave the Palestinians with anything approaching what we consider sovereignty. The only lasting solution, I feel, is a single state. Indeed, under occupation, Israel and the West Bank and The Gaza Strip have already been a single state since 1967, when Israel’s occupation of Palestinian Territory began. It is much easier to go forward on the path both peoples are on today