More Talk

Diplomatic efforts to end the war in Gaza have intensified yet again, but I'd put my money on Israel stopping whenever she feels ready.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon is in the West Bank, Israeli Defense Minister Tzivi Lipni is in Washington, and new Arab leadership meetings are being held in Kuwait and Qatar.

Egyptian and Saudi Arabian officials declined the Doha, Qatar talks and are headed to Kuwait -- a sign of a major rift in the Arab world, say some.

The leadership in Doha recognizes Palestinian political factions Hamas, Islamic Jihad and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP), whereas Egypt, Saudi Arabia (both meeting in Kuwait) and Western nations have sidelined such factions in cease fire talks, seeking to delegitimize the groups. The former want to condemn Israel, show solidarity with Palestine and keep the US and the West out of the Middle East; the latter seek to find a so-called moderate solution and keep Iran -- Hamas' main sponsor -- out of their region.