Yet again, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came to the United Nations General Assembly with an uncompromising hardline message that doubles down on the Occupation and projects Israel to the world as an annexationist state.

Netanyahu will be returning to Israel following a bizarre US visit, which did not include a trip to Washington, and featured a high-profile meeting with billionaire Elon Musk at a California car factory. His brief meeting with the President of the United States, which President Biden depicted as “candid” – a diplomatic euphemism for a rough conversation – was held on the sidelines of UNGA, and did not provide any positive headlines.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

On the 30th anniversary of the Oslo Agreement, following are some personal observations and thoughts by Ori Nir, who at the time covered Oslo’s implementation for Israel’s Haaretz. 

By Ori Nir

As Israeli and PLO officials were secretly negotiating in Oslo over the future of the West Bank and Gaza Strip, talks between representatives of Israel, Syria, Jordan, and the Palestinians were taking place openly in Washington. 

The Washington Talks, as they were known at the time, were an exercise in futility. The Palestinian delegation could not include representatives of the PLO (It was illegal for Israelis to even meet with PLO officials). The first few rounds of talks between the Israeli and joint Jodanian-Palestinian delegation addressed the shape of the table. Literally. At one of the sessions on the Israeli-Syrian track, while the Syrian foreign minister laid out his government’s national narrative, a member of the Israeli delegation attempted to disrupt him by loudly tapping his teacup with a spoon. True story.

Produced by the Foundation for Middle East Peace in cooperation with Americans for Peace Now, where the Legislative Round-Up was conceived.

Yossi Alpher is an independent security analyst. He is the former director of the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies at Tel Aviv University, a former senior official with the Mossad, and a former IDF intelligence officer. Views and positions expressed here are those of the writer, and do not necessarily represent APN's views and policy positions.

Americans for Peace Now mourns the death of Mary Ann Stein, a longtime member and former co-chair of APN’s board of directors, a philanthropist and an iconic leader of the American Jewish community, advancing progressive causes both in Israel and the United States.

Americans for Peace Now (APN) strongly condemns the blatantly antisemitic remarks by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, which were published yesterday.