News cameras caught an historic moment this week, Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas reaching across a table to shake hands. The two leaders agreed to a truce at a summit hosted by Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
The news came in the same week that foreign ministers from the Arab League gathered to talk about issuing their own condemnation of attacks on Israeli civilians. These events have many hoping that maybe, just maybe, there will be a break in the violence and reprisal that has gripped the region for so long.
This hour, we talk with an Egyptian human rights activist about the improvement in relations between Israelis and Palestinians and how it might be helped by encouraging freedom and democracy in neighboring states. Opening up the street.
Guests:
Saad Eddin Ibrahim, Sociologist and Pro-Democracy Activist, President of Idn Khaldun Center for Development Studies
Sanad Sahelia, a Ramallah-based reporter and photographer for Al-Quds Daily and for Reuters
David Horowitz, Editor-in-Chief for The Jerusalem Post.