Israeli leaders have never had that choice.

Both Israeli and Palestinian leaders met with senior United States policy makers.

This proposal was received poorly by many of the Arab Israeli community leaders.

Obama s decision to address the Israeli people instead of their leaders is telling.

But the prospect of Arab democracy has now become a nightmare for Israeli leaders.

Palestinian and Israeli leaders will have to reconcile their differences and reach a diplomatic settlement.

Some Israeli right wing leaders like Menachem Begin, Shamir, and Netanyahu trumpet their settlement achievements.

In his blog post, Avraham Pechter, an Israeli lawyer and consultant, describes the problematic reactions from several Arab Israeli community leaders regarding the proposed national service

Throughout the campaign, Israeli leaders competed over who would deal more firmly (read violently) with the Palestinians.

For Israeli leaders, it was only a matter of time before Tel Aviv could and would be hit.

Netanyahu does not have to look very far for examples of bold and visionary Israeli leaders to follow.

The Committee is encouraged by the resumption of dialogue at the highest level between Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

Unfortunately, Israeli leaders are unable to summon the statesmanship required to manage the strategic readjustment occurring in the region.

Israel s current leaders, and a segment of Israeli society, are trapped in an idiosyncratic logic of fear and self centeredness.

The Israeli government and Palestinian political leaders are locked in a ruinous struggle, which merely aids extremists on both sides.

Violence dropped sharply in the Israeli Palestinian conflict, as actions by leaders on both sides generated new hopes for peace.

Such claims had, however, been contradicted by clear statements by Israeli leaders and measures taken on the ground, including the current rerouting of the fence, in line with the Israeli High Court's decision.

Of course, from Israeli leaders perspective, the status quo, with its absence of terror and missile strikes, is anything but negative.

To call the Israeli government clumsy is to miss the point. Israel has few illusions about Palestinians toppling their own leaders.

Israeli leaders must adjust their long term strategic thinking to the new Middle East that ultimately emerges from the current disarray.

Few prospects are more loathsome to the Israeli left, US President Barack Obama s administration, most European leaders, or many American Jews.

RAMALLAH Direct talks between Palestinian and Israeli leaders are the most obvious way to achieve peace in the Middle East conflict.

But the Palestinian and Israeli peoples, their leaders, and the international community must all respond to the challenges that will follow.

Before TV cameras and in the presence of the Palestinian Authority s senior leaders, he lambasted Iran s interference in the Israeli Palestinian conflict.

Yet it would be wrong to dwell excessively on current leaders weaknesses, for to do so presupposes that with different leaders at the helm, an Israeli Palestinian agreement could be reached through bilateral negotiations.

And some Israeli leaders Foreign Minister Avigdor Liberman, for example are convinced that joining NATO would act as a vital deterrent against Iran.

Recently, Israeli leaders have decided on unilateral actions without involving either the US or the Palestinians, with withdrawal from Gaza as the first step.

After they depart the scene, Palestinian leaders who were born under occupation and spent time in Israeli prisons will most likely fill the vacuum.

If the Palestinians, under Israeli occupation, can choose their own leaders, why can't the same happen in Cairo or Damascus, in Ryadh or Algiers?

He still heads the PLO, the only Palestinian entity recognized by Israel, and could deal with Israeli leaders under this umbrella, independent of Hamas control.

In this connection, on 28 October 2005, the Israeli Minister of Defense, Shaul Mofaz, declared to the largely circulated Israeli daily Yediot Ahronot that he doubted highly that a peace accord could be reached with the present generation of Palestinian leaders.

During the past year, we have witnessed the Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, the holding of a meeting between Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and, more recently, the conclusion of the agreement on the Gaza Egypt border crossing between Israel and Palestine.

The problem is that they have been talking to each other now for 17 years, under different Israeli and Palestinian leaders, and under two US Presidents.

Israeli forces regularly try to decapitate the violent opposition by killing Palestinian leaders, as if the problem were a few individuals rather than ongoing political stalemate.

Ever since Bill Clinton nearly succeeded in brokering a comprehensive settlement in 2000, the mantra among supporters of the Israeli Palestinian peace process has been that, while a solution exists, Israeli and Palestinian leaders who are willing to reach it do not.

Egyptian and Israeli leaders must recognize that the ongoing struggle to secure the Sinai Peninsula which the treaty established as a demilitarized zone is testing peace daily.

The Secretary General used the occasion of his visit to hold meetings with a range of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, including Prime Minister Sharon and President Abbas.

But Israeli leaders reacted purely negatively to the Arab upheavals. In their estimation, a complex regional environment has now become even more dangerous, making prudence even more urgent.

Holocaust Remembrance Day in Jerusalem this year again saw Israeli leaders competing with each other in feeding the gloom of the national psyche and public hysteria surrounding Iran s intentions.

This follows from Hamas leaders frequent statements since the 2008 Gaza war that they do not want to provoke another Israeli attack, which could cost them their governing position.

Couldn t President Bush just hold a conference call with the Middle Eastern leaders? I m sure between the American and Israeli governments, someone could afford a couple of web cams.

Many Circassians in Israel are employed in the Israeli security forces, including in the Israeli Border Police, the Israeli Defence Forces, the Israeli Police and the Israeli Prison Service.

NEW DELHI As Israeli planes and tanks exact a heavy toll on Gaza, India s leaders and strategic thinkers have been watching with an unusual degree of interest and some empathy.

But the Israeli Government and its leaders, at no small political and, sadly, personal risk, are determined to follow through on their commitment to implement that important and bold initiative.

Jeff Aronson, a senior researcher at the Washington based Foundation for Middle East Peace, concludes that Israeli leaders will continue to be able to fool their American counterparts on this issue.