US President Barack Obama is meeting Palestinian officials on the second day of his Middle-East tour.

US President Barack Obama travels to Israel today in his first visit to the country as President.

Britain and France are spearheading a new peace proposal for the Middle East that could put the Israel’s leaders on the defensive by pushing them to resolve the conflict with the Palestinians within a year, Israeli officials reportedly said on Sunday.

John Deverell CBE, writing exclusively for CMEC, criticses the British absentention in the UN General Assembly vote on Palestinian statehood, and outlines the steps Britain should take to promote peace in the region.

Tamirace Fakhoury writes exclusively for CMEC on the factors at the heart of the Arab world that are paramount in our assessment of the situation today, and examines possible courses of action for the international community.

In the New York Times, Jodi Rudoren and Mark Lander comment on the Israeli reaction to the succesful bid by Palestine last week to have their status upgraded at the UN.

On 29 November 2012, the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade the status of the Palestinians to that of a “non-member observer state”.

Foreign Secretary William Hague suggested that the UK is set to abstain in a key vote on whether the Palestinians should get upgraded diplomatic status at the United Nations.

Yousef Munayyer, director of the Jerusalem Fund, writes for the New York Times on the failure of the United States in the Palestinian territories.

Avraham Sela and Oren Barak, writing exclusively for CMEC, examine how to break the cycle of violence between Israel and Hamas. Comparing Israel’s current military operation with ‘Cast Lead’, they argue that although Israeli personel have changed, their attitude towards Gaza remains the same. In order to truly reduce outbreaks of violence, “Israel should strive for the establishment of a stable government on the other side of its borders.”