A Palestinian youth throws a stone towards Israeli border police during clashes in Hebron
Frost Over the World

US-Israel relations: Interviews

Deterioration in the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the US involvement.

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In this episode: John Bolton, the former US ambassador to the United Nations, and Saeb Erekat, the chief Palestinian negotiator, talk to Hamish Macdonald who is sitting in for Sir David Frost about the future of the peace process between Palestine and Israel and the US role.

This episode of Frost over the World aired from Friday, March 19, 2010.

US-Israel relations

Relations between Israel and US have deteriorated after Israel announced a plan to build more homes for settlers in the West Bank during a visit to Jerusalem by Joe Biden, the US vice president. Binyamin Netanyahu, the Israeli prime minister has apologised about the timing of the announcement – but has not retracted the plan. 

Barack Obama, the US president has insisted that there is no crisis in the Israel-US relationship, while Israel’s ambassador to the US says that the relationship is at its worst level for 35 years.

Abhisit Vejjajiva

The streets of Bangkok were awash with human blood this week after thousands of opposition protestors voluntarily donated blood – which was then hurled at government buildings in a protest at what they saw as the illegitimacy of the current government, and a demand for fresh elections. 

In the face of the protests, Abhisit Vejjajiva, the Thai prime minister has stood firm and refused the protestors demands. But if nothing else, the huge numbers of protestors confirmed that Thailand is a deeply divided country.

Ian McEwan

As authors go Ian McEwan is quite a rarity. Not only is he lauded by the critics, he is also popular. His books have sold in their millions around the world and many of his novels, most recently, Enduring Love and Atonement have been turned into Award winning films. 

Now Ian has a new book, Solar which humourously tackles the weighty issue of climate change.

 Julia Bacha and Vitit Muntarbhorn

In a Palestinian town near Ramallah a man unites Fatah, Hamas and Israelis in an unarmed movement to save his village from destruction. The town is Budrus and the man is Ayed Morrar, a Palestinian community organizer who used peaceful means to push the Israeli border fence away from his village.

Budrus is now an award winning documentary directed by Julia Bacha, a Brazilian filmmaker who has been focusing on the Middle East for the past few years.

This week, the man with the job of telling the United Nations what is going on in North Korea revealed that the country’s government runs a ‘State of fear’ with a record on human rights that ‘puts the country into a category of its own.’

Vitit Muntarbhorn is the UN Special Rapperteur who has been witnessing the human rights situation in North Korea for the past six years. But even he is not actually allowed in to see for himself.