Graham Allison and Shai Feldman write that while the Obama administration and the Netanyahu government were largely on the same page during the Gaza crisis, "much greater turbulence in their relations can be expected by the middle of next year when the issues associated with Iran’s nuclear project will likely reach another crescendo."

FOR three years Israel’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and his defense minister, Ehud Barak, seemed to be united in urging an early military attack on Iran’s nuclear facilities. But last week that alliance collapsed, with Mr. Netanyahu accusing Mr. Barak of having conspired with the Obama administration, in talks behind his back.

"It has been said that when it comes to the looming Iranian threat, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sees his role in Jewish history in Churchillian terms," writes Shai Feldman, "As Israel’s newly recycled prime minister, Netanyahu could make sure that the regime in Tehran, which he regarded as the modern-day Middle East parallel to Nazi Germany, would never obtain the capacity to obliterate the Jewish state."

Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak suggested recently that Israel's moment of decision on Iran would come not when it obtained nuclear weapons but, instead, how close Iran is to entering what he called "a zone of immunity." Barak's concern was that beyond this threshold it would no longer be possible to halt Iran's nuclear program.

The Obama administration should persuade the Arab states formally to reaffirm and revive the API. Given their domestic fragmentation, the Palestinians are limited in what they can provide Israel in exchange for the concessions it is being asked to make. By contrast, the promise of peace with the Arab world is a more enticing context, justifying Israeli down payments such as in settlement construction.

This document constitutes a first attempt by two experts — one Israeli, the other a Palestinian —to examine these assets and liabilities, these opportunities and constraints, and to evaluate the various options available to the next administration for solving or ameliorating the Palestinian- Israeli conflict.

"...What will be the future role of Hamas's militants? Will outside pressures to disarm these militants lead, instead, to their incorporation within the PA's security services? Under the Oslo agreements, the PA's security services were to number up to 18,000. In recent years, Palestinian police and military personnel have reached about 58,000. If these numbers were to mushroom further by incorporating the approximately 5,000 Hamas militants into the services, how would the PA be able to pay the salaries of so many people? And if they don't, how would the PA avoid Iraq-like consequences of releasing thousands of men trained in the use of weapons to an economy suffering chronic unemployment?"

Track-II talks in the Middle East -- unofficial discussions among Israeli and Arab scholars, journalists, and former government and military officials -- have been going on since soon after the 1967 Six Day War and have often paved the way for official negotiations. This book, a unique collaboration of Israeli and Palestinian authors, traces the history of these unofficial meetings, focusing on those that took place in the 1990s beginning just after the Gulf War.

Although Israel and its Arab neighbors have taken many steps toward peace in recent years, the Middle East remains an uncertain and volatile region. Stretching from Morocco to Iran, the area has seen numerous international and internal conflicts in recent decades. Understanding the dynamics of these conflicts requires detailed information on the military capabilities of the region's countries.

The political dimensions of the Arab-Israeli relationship have changed dramatically in recent years. Israel and its Arab neighbors have made remarkable progress toward resolving long-standing conflicts. In Nuclear Weapons and Arms Control in the Middle East, Shai Feldman considers whether these political breakthroughs have set the stage for agreements on controlling nuclear weapons in the region. He presents a richly detailed overview of the current situation and lays out an agenda for future efforts to reduce the risk of nuclear war in the Middle East.