WXXI: Can Palestinians' New Prime Minister Bring Peace? (2003-09-09)

Yasser Arafat has named his close ally Ahmad Qurei to be the new Palestinian Prime Minister. The US and Israel won't deal with Arafat himself, but Qurei says he won't take the new job if his boss is isolated, and he wants indications of support from the US and the European Union. Meantime, the violence continues with a deadly bombing today near Tel Aviv, on the heels of Israeli efforts to kill the leaders of militant groups. Is Arafat calling the shots once again? Will Israel relax its hard line? Does President Bush's road map have a chance of stopping the violence? We examine the prospects for any meaningful steps toward peace in the Middle East with American, Israeli and Palestinian journalists.

Steven Weisman is chief diplomatic correspondent for the New York Times, based in Washington, DC. A Palestinian-born resident of Jerusalem, Joharah Baker is editor of the Palestine Report Online, a publication of the Jerusalem Media and Communications Center that includes public opinion polling and monitoring and translations of the Arabic press. Saul Singer is editorial page editor of the Jerusalem Post, a conservative newspaper, and the author of Confronting Jihad: Israel's Struggle and the World after 9/11. Akiva Eldar is a political columnist and editorial writer for Ha'aretz, an Israeli daily newspaper with a liberal outlook. © Copyright 2012, KCRW