It was a foregone conclusion that the Geneva II conference was doomed to fail, no so much because Washington and Moscow do not see eye to eye on the terms of a solution, but rather because the facts on the ground do not lend support to a compromise between the two warring parties

Egypt has just ended its referendum on its new constitution, with over 84 per cent of the fewer than 50 per cent of citizens who voted in favour. The issue is not really the outcome of the vote, but rather the very idea of conducting a referendum on a constitution. Constitu

There are many fundamental issues that still divide Israel and the Palestinians, among which the extent of Israeli withdrawal from the West Bank, the future status of East Jerusalem, the Israeli demand to make the Jordan River its security border and the right of return