The critical moment
Does the presence of Antony Zinni and Dick Cheney in the region give cause for hope? Perhaps, writes Ibrahim Nafie

What Price Oslo?
Due weight given to decades of Palestinian suffering, to the enormous human costs of Israel's destructive policies: this, writes Edward Said, is the only possible framework for negotiations

Countdown to the summit
Mohamed Sid-Ahmed discusses some of the difficult problems on the agenda of the forthcoming Beirut summit

The minimum requirements
There can be no negotiations without Israel first committing itself to the rule of international law, writes Mustafa Barghouthi

Theory on demand
'The clash of civilisations' is a case of social science doing what it does best -- obfuscation, writes M Shahid Alam

Editorial:
Enough is enough

Close up
No cause for optimism
By Salama Ahmed Salama

Soapbox:
Where racism rules
By Magdi Mehanna

Naguib Mahfouz
Successful resistance

This week: Yasser Arafat