The Israel Factor: Jerusalem and the crisis in the Middle East

This meeting, open to the press, offered the chance to analyze how the growth of Islamic fundamentalism risks endangering Israel’s very existence. The Middle East question, which might also be viewed as an Arab-Persian question, puts Israel at the center of all the region’s complex dynamics. This debate presented various points of view on the future of the Jewish state and on the relationship between Israel and Europe. Particular attention was paid to the situation in which Jerusalem and the Holy Sites find themselves as well as the state of affairs between Israel and the Vatican. Naturally, the Palestine issue was central to discussion, as was the Syrian-Lebanese front, the UNIFIL mission and the chances of negotiations with Syria.