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Donald Macintyre: American jewry and Israel's interests

Thu, 22 Oct 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to Washington, is by all accounts an urbane and sophisticated man. The author of a highly praised history of the Six-Day War, he was born in New Jersey, has taught at both Yale and Harvard, and certainly understands the US. It's therefore tempting to wonder what he feels in deepest privacy about the fact that what may yet may prove one of the Benjamin Netanyahu government's more far reaching diplomatic snubs, barring a last minute change of heart, is about to be committed in his name.

Donald Macintyre: Revelation may galvanise Security Council

Fri, 25 Sep 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Israel will regard the latest revelations about the Iranian enrichment plant as a handsome vindication of its view that Tehran has been persistently cheating the world on the scale of its nuclear ambitions.

Donald Macintyre: Will Israel finally bend to America's pressure for peace?

Thu, 23 Jul 2009 23:00:01 GMT

The Americans are coming. Though Iran will doubtless be a prominent item on their agenda, the galère of US officials due in Jerusalem early next week hardly suggests a waning of presidential interest in an Israeli-Palestinian solution. Defence Secretary Robert Gates, Middle East Envoy George Mitchell, National Security Adviser Jim Jones, and the National Security Council's Dennis Ross, for better or worse, embody some of Washington's most high octane experience of the conflict. The opening chapter of Barack Obama's efforts on the Middle East is nearing a crucial stage.

Donald Macintyre: Netanyahu's moment of decision

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

For a politician who prides himself on the persuasive powers of his words, Benjamin Netanyahu has been notably reticent since his election victory in February.

Donald Macintyre: The view from Gaza - 'This was a speech we are not used to hearing'

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 23:00:01 GMT

At the very moment President Obama was denouncing Palestinian violence, the live al-Jazeera transmission in Gaza City's al Waha café was rendered briefly inaudible by heavy static – assumed by all present to be caused, as it usually is, by overhead Israeli surveillance drones.

Donald Macintyre: 'I want the wall to come down. The right to return can come later'

Wed, 13 May 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Though better than the view of the slabs of concrete that make up the military barrier facing their apartment, the view through the side window on to the UN schoolyard had never seemed that special to Suad Abu Aker. Until yesterday. It afforded such an ideal vantage point from which to watch the Pope speak that the 48-year-old Muslim woman invited her Christian friend Gloria Elias over to witness the spectacle. "I love them," a delighted Mrs Elias said of her neighbours. "They are good friends."

Donald Macintyre: Obama can steer Israel to peace

Sat, 04 Apr 2009 23:00:01 GMT

Any lingering hopes abroad – and there were some – that Avigdor Lieberman, who replaced Tzipi Livni as Israel's foreign minister last week, was suddenly going to be transformed from nationalist demagogue to peace-seeking statesman were cruelly dispelled when he spoke on Wednesday, brutally rejecting the Israeli-Palestinian negotiating process that started at Annapolis well over a year ago.

Donald Macintyre: What hopes now for peace in the Middle East?

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 00:00:01 GMT

The stark headline on yesterday's New York Times read "Israel faces isolation as new leader gets ready". The report referred to the backlash against the recent offensive in Gaza. But a bigger theme was Israeli concern at overseas reaction to the imminent premiership of a man for whom a two-state solution is not a priority – not to mention his appointment of a nationalist demagogue, Avigdor Lieberman, as Foreign Minister.

Donald Macintyre: It will be close, but Israel has lurched to the right

Sun, 08 Feb 2009 20:08:44 GMT

Can the centre hold? The immediate question at the heart of tomorrow's Israeli election, is whether Tzipi Livni can wrest the prize away from the reborn right-wing Likud under a man widely judged to have failed when he left office as Prime Minister a decade ago.

Donald Macintyre: So what will it take for Israel to stop fighting?

Wed, 07 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT

It remains to be seen whether the civilian carnage which culminated in the attack on a UN school yesterday will bring the end of the war any closer – or dent the determination of those in Israel who would like to press on with it until Hamas is not only damaged but removed from its control of Gaza. Certainly a relatively incoherent international community has been slow in producing a credible mechanism for ending it.

Donald Macintyre: Lessons of Lebanon return to haunt Israel

Thu, 01 Jan 2009 00:00:01 GMT

Although their proposals differ in detail, two of Israel's best-known writers, Amos Oz and David Grossman, have joined the calls for a ceasefire after several days of Israel's offensive.

Donald Macintyre: Who gets hurt most in this dispute? The ordinary people of Gaza

Wed, 05 Nov 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Clearly shocked by conditions in Gaza, Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, said yesterday: "I cannot believe that Israeli ordinary people understand what is being done in their name; they couldn't possibly support it if they did."

Donald Macintyre: This dispute is hurting the ordinary people of Gaza

Tue, 04 Nov 2008 17:41:44 GMT

Clearly shocked by conditions in Gaza, Mary Robinson, the former president of Ireland, said today: "I cannot believe that Israeli ordinary people understand what is being done in their name; they couldn't possibly support it if they did."

The truth about Brown and Mandelson

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:00:01 GMT

After the long forgotten Littleborough and Saddleworth by-election 13 years ago, Phil Woolas, then the runner-up, but now a minister, paid a memorable if ambiguous tribute to Peter Mandelson, who had been his minder and campaign organiser. "He may be a bastard," he told a crowd of supporters after the count. "But he's our bastard."

Donald Macintyre: The truth about Brown and Mandelson

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Donald Macintyre: A constant – and candid – friend of Israel

Mon, 21 Jul 2008 23:00:01 GMT

Gordon Brown's first visit as Prime Minister to Israel and the occupied territories was always going to be overshadowed by the arrival in Jerusalem of Barack Obama tonight. There is no doubt which of the two men has the potential to be more important to the Middle East.

Donald Macintyre: To be in favour of peace is not anti-Israeli

Thu, 28 Feb 2008 00:00:01 GMT

It started with an internet campaign against Robert Malley. Malley, who worked on the Clinton team at the failed Camp David Israel-Palestinian peace talks in 2000, had fetched up in a long list of people who advise Barack Obama on foreign policy. Mr Malley, who now works for the International Crisis Group, is not on the Obama staff, or anywhere near it. But it still triggered a series of hostile comments apparently designed to undermine the candidate's credibility with Jewish voters. Most appeared in conservative blogs and websites, but according to Newsweek, attacks on Malley also surfaced in emails sent out by staffers on Hillary Clinton's campaign team.

Donald Macintyre: Olmert's real moment of truth has yet to come

Fri, 01 Feb 2008 00:00:01 GMT

Talking with a few foreign journalists 10 days before Wednesday's Winograd report on the 2006 Lebanon war, a senior member of Israel's cabinet suggested that the report would not unseat Prime Minister Ehud Olmert but that his negotiations with the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas might.