Word: palestinians
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...terrorism. Guardsmen hold several key positions in the Supreme National Security Council, through which they are thought to control the levers of Iran's nuclear and missile programs. And an IRGC unit known as the Quds Force provides training and weapons to Hizballah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Palestinian territories and the Mahdi Army in Iraq. But some analysts think that growing commercial interests may have taken the edge off the guards' religious zealotry, which, if true, might make them open to dialogue one day. "They are pretty practical; they use ideology as a tool," says Mark Fowler of Persia...
...hand--they carry no weapon. But it can also ensure a measure of distance and convey an articulation of reserve, as if its participants are thinking, Thus far and no further. A handshake is not a hug. There was little obvious warmth when Israel's Benjamin Netanyahu and the Palestinian Authority's Mahmoud Abbas met, under the stern gaze of Barack Obama, at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York City. The history of their nations is littered with too many incompatible dreams, too much heartache, for that. But if Obama has his way, Netanyahu and Abbas will have...
...while they've been working diligently to free Shalit, Israeli politicians have also been wary of appearing too eager to negotiate for his return. The price Hamas has demanded for his release is high: 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, many of whom Israel considers to be dangerous terrorists. Hamas also wants Israel to lift its blockade of the territory before the next Palestinian elections, tentatively set for early next year. But Israel fears that giving in to the demands on the prisoners will encourage Hamas to capture more soldiers in the future. And as much as the Israeli public is clamoring...
...surprisingly, the pressure on Israeli politicians to rescue Shalit has been intense. Before he left office in March, Prime Minister Ehud Olmert attempted a last-minute push to gain Shalit's freedom by offering to release Palestinian prisoners in return for the soldier, but negotiations between the two sides failed. When Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu came into power, he appointed a new chief negotiator and brought in German mediators to help the Egyptians already on the case...
...release of the videotape Friday could signal that Hamas is ready to cut a deal. Though the group survived Israel's last incursion in January with its military infrastructure intact, it is under increasing pressure from Palestinians to show that its defiance of Israel has been worth the cost of Palestinian lives and the destruction of the Gaza Strip. And ironically, the release of Shalit, if it eventually happens, could increase pressure on Israel to talk seriously about the final status of a Palestinian state, a subject that until now the Netanyahu government has avoided. Dodging final status talks...