The Middle East Situation

The hijacking of the Italian cruise ship, and the subsequent interception by US warplanes of an Egyptian aircraft carrying the hijackers, may have repercussions for US-Egyptian relations, for the PLO's position, and for the broader question of peace efforts. It came at a moment when those efforts, spearheaded by moderate Arab states, had virtually stalled, and when Egypt's relations with Israel, for that and other reasons, had deteriorated considerably....