On Wednesday 26 July 2006, in response to recent developments in the Middle East, the IISS held a discussion meeting with a panel of three experts in their respective fields. Sufyan Abu Zayda, Former Minister for Prisoners' Affairs, Palestinian Authority, Nomi Bar-Yaacov, Foreign Policy Advisor on Middle Eastern Affairs and Mamoun Fandy, IISS Senior Fellow for Gulf Security, will brief on and discuss the current crisis. A summary of this panel discussion is available at the bottom of the page.
The current crisis is a unique one. It is the first war in the Middle East between a movement and a state. It raises new questions for Article 51 of the UN charter that gives states the right to self defence when confronted with an "armed attack" by another state. But what if the attack was not armed and what if the attacker is non-state? How can we arrive at a ceasefire between a state and a non-state entity? To address these difficult questions, IISS has put together a panel of distinguished experts who will address both the legal and political issues associated with the various aspects of the crisis.
Dr. Bar-Yaacov will discuss what can realistically be achieved in this war, the costs and benefits to the warring parties and a possible way out, which could help pave the way to the resumption of a meaningful peace process. Dr. Sufyan Abu Zayda, former Cabinet Minster with the Palestinian Authority, will discuss the way out. He is a practitioner who has negotiated with Israel over issues of prisoner exchange in the past and he is well versed in the most intricate details of such a difficult process. Dr. Fandy will address the reasons behind the Saudi, Egyptian and Jordanian position towards Hezbollah. He will also discuss the role of Syria—is it part of the problem or part of the solution?
Dr Patrick Cronin, IISS Director of Studies, will act as moderator.
The meeting will take place at the IISS, Arundel House, 13-15 Arundel Street, WC2R 3DX on the 5th Floor. The meeting will start at 2pm and is scheduled to finish at 3.30pm.
Please RSVP to Caitlin Brannan at
brannan@iiss.org or by telephone 020 7395 9119.