Jake Walles is a nonresident senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Israeli-Palestinian issues, Tunisia, and counterterrorism.
Jake Walles is a nonresident senior fellow in the Middle East Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, where he focuses on Israeli-Palestinian issues, Tunisia, and counterterrorism. He was a foreign service officer with the U.S. Department of State for more than 35 years, serving as the U.S. ambassador to Tunisia from 2012 to 2015 and as consul general and chief of mission in Jerusalem from 2005 to 2009. Walles also served as senior adviser in the State Department’s Bureau of Counterterrorism from 2015 until his retirement in 2017.
During his long career at the State Department, Walles was actively involved in Middle East peace negotiations beginning with the Madrid Middle East Peace Conference in 1991 and continuing through the Obama administration. He was the recipient of the State Department’s Distinguished Honor Award in 2016 for his contributions to U.S. national security policy.
For the Palestinian Authority, a policy of self-isolation is the worst option of all.
Israel’s annexation of the West Bank could push it down a path that challenges its Jewish and democratic character.
It’s all bleak for the Palestinians, but there are some things they can do to improve their situation.
Tunisia’s political and economic model has to be changed if the population is to enjoy freedom and dignity.
Spot analysis from Carnegie scholars on events relating to the Middle East and North Africa.
The Trump administration has made it difficult for a future president to alter U.S. policy toward Palestinians and Israelis.
Tunisia’s presidential runoff will be between two candidates whose views remain unclear.
A former U.S. ambassador to Tunisia describes what the late president meant for the country.
U.S. acquiescence to Israeli annexation of parts of the West Bank could make Washington’s peace efforts irrelevant.
In Ramallah, the Palestinian Authority has low regard for Donald Trump and is simply waiting for better times.
Sign up to receive Diwan in your inbox!
Stay connected to Diwan wtih the smartphone app for Android and iOS devices