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Col. Moammar Gadhafi was killed this morning in his birthplace of Sirte as forces of the National Transitional Council swept the city, according to the leader of the Tripoli military council. The reports have not been confirmed outside of the NTC. Martin Indyk, former U.S ambassador to Israel, and director of the Foreign Policy Institute at the Brookings Institution, comments on how Gadhafi's reported death will shake up international relations in the region.

A deal brokered by Egypt between Israel and Hamas to free a thousand Palestinian prisoners in exchange for the release of an Israeli soldier, Staff Sergeant Gilad Shalit finds all sides benefiting politically. Shalit has been held captive for more than 5 years — making him a powerful symbol of national anguish for Israelis. Not all the details of the deal have been released, but a Hamas spokesmen claims that among the Palestinian prisoners to be released is Marwan Barghouti. Barghouti is a Fatah leader widely viewed as a potential successor to President Mahmoud Abbas.

In a major departure from the policy of the Mubarak regime, Egypt's official news agency has announced that, as of Saturday, May 28, 2011, the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza will be permanently opened. The border's periodic openings and closings over the decades have reflected tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Territories — and an agreement between Israel and the Mubarak regime.

President Obama and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel shared their visions of peace at a long meeting in Washington on Friday, but their differences remain stark. Coming up, Martin Indyk, former United States Ambassador to Israel and director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institute, shares his thoughts.

Saudi Arabia has played a behind-the-scenes role in fighting the revolutions sweeping through the Middle East this spring, propping up unstable neighbors like the Sunni minority government in Bahrain. But King Abdullah’s government is also fragile; and after watching the U.S. government turn against former allies like Hosni Mubarak, the king is concerned that he might not have American support for long. Martin Indyk, former U.S. Ambassador to Israel and Director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institution, believes that President Obama needs to renew his relationship with Saudi Arabia – and guide King Abdullah toward a more open government. 

The biggest leak of confidential documents in the history of the Middle East reveal that Palestinian negotiators secretly told Israel it could keep swathes of occupied East Jerusalem. Thousands of pages of confidential Palestinian records of negotiations with Israel and the U.S. have been published by the Guardian and Al Jazeera. The Guardian’s Middle East editor Ian Black says the documents show a weak and desperate Palestinian side offering a string of concessions that will shock Palestinians and the wider Arab world.The former United States Ambassador to Israel and director of Foreign Policy at the Brookings Institute, Martin Indyk, disagrees.

Thirty years ago today Egypt and Israel brokered a historic peace treaty, ending three decades of war. When Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin shook hands with Egypt’s president Anwar el-Sadat on the White House lawn, it marked a new era for the Middle East. But has the peace deal fallen short of its initial expectations? Joining us to mark this moment, and to assess Middle-East peace in the 21st century is Martin Indyk. He’s the former U.S. ambassador to Israel and Assistant Secretary of State for Near East Affairs during the Clinton administration. He’s currently the director of the Saban Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution. He has a new book out; it’s called Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East.

Here's clip that looks back on the historic peace accords. This movie is part of an exhibition that is taking place in the Menachem Begin Heritage Center in Jerusalem.

Martin Indyk, two-time ambassador to Israel, director of the Brookings Institute's the Saban Center for Middle East Policy and author of the new book Innocent Abroad: An Intimate Account of American Peace Diplomacy in the Middle East, talks about the new book.