But foremost, I do not subscribe to the view that Islamic culture and democracy cannot be reconciled.

Several experts on the Middle East concur that the Middle East cannot be democratized

The US and the European Union needs to help in the translation of the demand for democracy into a political will.

Invariably, also a Palestinian state should live side by side with Israel within recognized and secure borders and the security and prosperity of the Palestinian people must be guaranteed

We are against the majority tyrannizing the minority. But we are definitely against the minority tyrannizing the majority.

I went back in British history. Some 204 people died there after a mine collapsed in 1838. In 1866, 361 miners died in Britain. In an explosion in 1894, 290 people died there.

Everyone should unconditionally accept that Israel is an indispensable element of the Middle Eastern mosaic.