Nabil Shaath was a close adviser to Arafat particularly in the tumultuous 1998-1993 period when the PLO was buffeted by events and bad choices. Shaath praised Secretary Baker, President Bush and Yitzhak Rabin, and was pleased that Palestinians were participating in the Madrid Conference. He hoped for an end to the conflict with Israel in 1992, based on land for peace but held out for the right of Palestinian return for that to happen. In 2023 he is a foreign policy adviser to Mahmoud Abbas.
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Lyndon Johnson’s Five Principles of Peace, 1967
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Prime Minister Eshkol Statement to Knesset After June 1967 War
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“The Six-Day War,” In-Depth Causes and Effects, Israel Government Year Book, 1967-68
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President Nasser Addresses Egyptian National Assembly, May 1967
Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser asserts that the conflict with Israel is not over access to the Gulf of Aqaba but the very existence of Israel; Egypt’s foes are Britain and the United States, which support Israel.
Ambassador Gideon Rafael Addresses U.N. Security Council, June 1967
The Israeli ambassador to the United Nations delivers a detailed outline of events that will lead to war two days later.
Moshe Dayan Recounts 1941 Allied Invasion of Syria
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The CIA report details Iran’s aggressive foreign policy of promoting Islam as a radical platform for governance, noting also the new regime’s vigorous anti-U.S. outlook. Viewing Iran exclusively as an asset in the Cold War and not comprehending the potential power of political Islam developing with Iran proved to be one of the greatest oversights in U.S. Middle East foreign policy in the last 100 years.
#158 Contemporary Readings, April 2026
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