All Blog Posts from World Watch

On Monday, Damascus-based Hamas poured cold water on any imminent deal for the release of an Israeli soldier captured more than three years ago, saying it was still premature to trumpet a happy ending.

Talk of a possible deal has moved to center stage with Israeli media saying that a Hamas delegation was heading to Cairo to discuss the latest list of prisoners Israel is prepared to release in a swap for Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit. Israeli President Shimon Peres heightened speculation after his talks with his Egyptian counterpart Hosni Mubarak in Cairo on Sunday, when he spoke of "real progress" in the negotiations.

"The brouhaha in the media talking about being close to reach an agreement on prisoner exchange deal is purely Israeli leaks designed to influence the feelings of our children, prisoners and their families and to try to pressure and influence on the process of indirect negotiations carried out through the German intermediary," a Hamas statement said. "Hamas will continue its efforts through the competent authority to overcome the obstacles set by the Israeli enemy in the way of completion of exchange … Although we hope to reach an honorable deal for our people as soon as possible, would like to emphasize that it is premature to talk about specific results … or close a deal."

Israeli newspapers said Hamas representatives had already crossed into Egypt from Gaza to meet the German mediator to debate a possible deal for the release of Shalit, captured by Hamas in a 2006 raid near the Israel-Gaza border. The militants tunneled into Israel and attacked an Israeli army outpost, killing two other soldiers.

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Turkey's president has sought to allay Western fears that his country — NATO's only majority-Muslim member — is shifting its affinity from Washington and Europe toward Iran.

Increasing closeness between Turkish leaders and Iran, and Turkey's quest for better ties in the broader Muslim world, have fueled concerns in the West that this key U.S. ally is moving gradually to the East.

But Turkey's president used a speech Monday at the opening of an Islamic nations' summit in Istanbul to try and ease worried Western minds.

President Abdullah Gul told the Organization for the Islamic Conference's Committee for Economic and Commercial Cooperation (COMCEC) that Turkey's foreign policy maneuvers in the West and in the East are "complementary to each other, not contradictory."

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Leaders from 48 Islamic states met Monday in Turkey to begin an economic summit which may see its stated purpose overshadowed by some controversial guests, and the decades-old quest for peace in the Middle East.

The one-day gathering drew Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who is engaged in a standoff with the West over Tehran's nuclear program, Afghan President Hamid Karzai, on his first trip abroad since being controversially re-elected, and Palestinian Prime Minister Salam Fayyad.

Gul told attendees that the Arab-Israeli conflict is the basis of all conflicts in the Middle East, stressing the need to find a final solution to this issue and end the Israeli occupation of the occupied Syrian Golan Heights.

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Israel has unexpectedly released two Syrian men who spent 25 years in Israeli jails, the longest terms ever served by Syrians in custody of the Jewish state, Syria's state-run news agency reported Friday.

Bisher Suleiman Ahmad Maqt, 44, was freed suddenly despite having 12 years left to serve on his sentence. Also released was Assem Mahmud Ahmed Wali, who had two years left.

It was not clear yet why the men were released and whether the move was connected with an expected prisoner exchange between Israel and the Islamic fundamentalist movement Hamas, which is holding captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit inside the Gaza Strip.

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This story was filed by CBS News' George Baghdadi in Damascus.

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Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and Saudi King Abdullah Bin Abdullaziz vowed Thursday after two days of ground-breaking talks in Damascus to open a new chapter in bilateral relations after years of enmity.

The Saudi king's two-day visit to Damascus was the first of its kind since 2005, and the sweetening in the relationship could have significant repercussions for the region.

Washington is hoping to engage Syria in a new round of peace talks with Israel. The Obama administration and its Arab allies hope to diminish the influence of Iranian-backed groups Hezbollah and Hamas in regional affairs. Syria wields significant influence over these militant organizations, which are classified by Washington as terrorist groups.

The changing dynamic could also help to stabilize Iraq, which borders both countries, and to end a political stalemate in Lebanon — where both Riyadh and Damascus have great influence, but have for years been on opposite sides of the fence.

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Watching the new administration try to get a grip on a century of ill will in the Middle East reminds me of a disconcerting feeling I had on the campaign trail listening to then-candidate Barack Obama say the following to the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC) back in June of 2008:

"Any agreement with the Palestinian people must preserve Israel's identity as a Jewish state, with secure, recognized, defensible borders. And Jerusalem will remain the capital of Israel and must remain undivided."

The line was greeted with rapturous applause from the audience, made up of the most ardent supporters of Israel in the country. And it was delivered by a man trying to overcome their suspicion of him. But it was a line sure to trouble many others outside the hall, Jews and Arabs alike, who believe territorial compromise is the only way to an enduring peace in the Middle East.

Left: President Barack Obama meets with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, left, and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, in New York, Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2009, on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

The Palestinians regard the heavily Arab portion of Jerusalem as their capital-in-waiting. But more important, decades of American foreign policy have regarded that part of the city, as well as the West Bank and Golan Heights as territory illegally occupied by Israel; territory that will be part of any final agreement; territory that – as long as it remains occupied – presents an obstacle to peace.

What Obama said that day more than a year ago was disconcerting because he did not seem to realize how inflammatory his words were. Indeed, within days he backtracked away from the statement, offending everybody and satisfying no one. But he should have known better. That he did not told me he was not well-versed in the nuances of Middle East policy and that, most probably, someone working for him who was on one side of the dispute had inserted the language in the belief Obama would not see it for what it was.

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This story was filed by CSB Radio News correspondent Robert Berger in Jerusalem.

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Former Arkansas Governor and presidential hopeful Mike Huckabee is on a solidarity visit to Israel.

Huckabee visited disputed Jewish communities in East Jerusalem and blasted the Obama administration for demanding a freeze on Israeli settlement expansion.

"How would the government of the United States feel if Prime Minister Netanyahu began to dictate which people could live in the Bronx, which ones could live in Manhattan, which ones could live in Queens, and say, you know, we only allow certain people to live in these neighborhoods," said the Republican, who now hosts his own show on the Fox News Channel.

Washington sees the settlements as an obstacle to peace, and the Obama administration has exerted increasing pressure on President Benjamin Netanyahu to stop expansion, but Huckabee said Jews should be allowed to build in their own land.

Most Israeli settlements exist inside Palestinian territory, however, with the exception of East Jerusalem, which is squarely under Israeli
control though home to many Israelis of Arab descent.

Palestinian leaders hope the capital of a future Palestinian state will be in Jerusalem.

Meanwhile, the pressure coming from Washington does seem to be having some results.

Israeli officials say they have quietly frozen new building projects in the West Bank in response to U.S. pressure.

The Obama administration has demanded a complete freeze on settlement expansion.

Israel hopes a compromise involving a halt to new projects will help heal the rift between the two countries, but current building projects are continuing and Israel won't halt any construction in disputed East Jerusalem.

Israel's Defense Minister Ehud Barak says that Israel should accept a plan the United States is expected to release sometime within the next weeks.

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George Mitchell, the Obama administration's Middle East envoy, hoped on Sunday his new round of talks in Damascus with Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad — their second in a month — would breathe new life into the faltering peace process, Washington's ultimate goal in the Middle East.

"I have just completed a very candid and positive conservation with President al-Assad," Mitchell said, reports CBS News' George Baghdadi in Damascus. "I discussed with him the prospects for moving forward on our goal of comprehensive peace in the region and improved bilateral relations between Syria and the United States."

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Writing from Damascus, CBS News' George Baghdadi reports that George Mitchell, the Obama administration's Middle East envoy, arrived in the Syrian capital Saturday night to encourage Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad to support America's new broad-based, comprehensive peace drive in the Middle East.

It will be Mitchell's second visit to Syria since mid-June, as President Obama seeks to re-engage Damascus — a key regional player — to try and breathe new life into the faltering peace process. Mitchell has made five previous visits to the region.

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