The events of the past 10 months have transformed the nature of the Middle East conflict yet again. The transformation began when Israel’s prime minister, Ariel Sharon, withdrew from Gaza. That courageous step resettled 10,000 citizens of Israel whose presence in Gaza for 30 years had been encouraged by their own government. Four months later, Sharon suffered a catastrophic stroke that eliminated him as the prime minister, and as the last political vestige of the founding generation of Israel. In the meantime, Palestinians elected Hamas, an international terrorist organization with ties to Iran, as the ruling party of the Palestinian Authority. Iran’s radical Islamic regime announced its intention to wipe Israel off the map and continues its endeavor for nuclear weapons. Not only has Iran been isolated internationally because of its nuclear ambitions, but Hamas has lost almost all international support for the Palestinians’ political dreams. Two months ago, Israelis elected Ehud Olmert to replace Sharon and in an unprecedented speech to both houses of Congress, he announced his policy of realignment and intention for Israel to withdraw from 90 percent of the West Bank. Only in the Middle East could this stunning array of events happen […]