
In his speech in response to the Arab Spring, President Obama indicated that the United States will seek to avoid being trapped into false trade-offs between stability and supporting repressive regimes, describing a significant shift in U.S. policy toward the region.

President Obama needs to reengage in Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy by more clearly articulating U.S. positions on the key issues, thinking seriously about what incentives and disincentives the United States can offer both parties, and visiting the region as soon as possible.

The Arab Spring has initiated a wave of change that will affect every aspect of society in the Middle East, including the Israel-Palestinian conflict and Egypt's influence in the Middle East and North Africa.

The 2011 conference focused on new actors and new agendas, reflecting the need to develop cooperative responses to challenges being posed by changing technology, distributions of political power, interest in nuclear energy, and security conditions in key regions.

As revolutionary change sweeps across the Arab world, there is a distinct window of opportunity for the United States and Israel to push urgently for a lasting peace between Israel and Palestine.

The current protests in Tunisia and Egypt and the subsequent unrest in the region provide an incentive for Arab states to address political reform and the Arab-Israeli peace process in tandem.

A major change in the Egyptian government might affect Egypt’s policy toward Gaza and its role in the Arab League, but it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the Israeli-Palestinian peace process.

While the crisis in Egypt will have major implications across the Arab world, the peace process will not be significantly affected. The country that will be most crucial in charting a new path forward for the Israeli-Palestinian peace process is Saudi Arabia, not Egypt.

The EU, which has worked for decades on North Africa’s development, must step up its efforts to bolster the region’s private sector and dismantle its own agricultural protectionism.

A regional approach that pushes for peace between Israel and the entire Arab world will become unavoidable if a bilateral solution between Israel and Palestine is no longer possible.