Yassir Arafat, longtime leader and Palestinian icon, is dead today. He was 75. The land he is to be buried in is no more closer to peace than it was during his tumultuous and controversial tenure as head of the Palestinian Authority.

Arafat was celebrated by many Palestinians. He was also called an “obstacle to peace” by his detractors in the Middle East and Washington.

Some now say Arafat’s death signals a fresh start in the foundering Middle East peace process. But do Israel, the new Palestinian leadership, and a re-elected George W. Bush have the drive for a new push to peace?

Guests:

Sa’id Ghazali, Boston Globe correspondent based in Ramallah

Justin Webb, Washington correspondent for the BBC

Robert Mnookin, Professor and chair of the Program on Negotiation at Harvard Law School. The Program on Negotiation held a two-day conference in October, “Past, Present, and Future of the Jewish West Bank and Gaza Settlements: The Internal Israeli Conflict.” He is co-author of “Beyond Winning: Negotiating to Create Value in Deals and Disputes.”

Fawaz Gerges, Professor, International Relations at Sarah Lawrence College. He is author of “The Islamists and the West: Ideology vs. Pragmatism.”

Ian Lustick, professor of political science at University of Pennsylvania. He is author of “Unsettled States Disputed Lands: Britain and Ireland, France and Algeria, Israel and the West Bank-Gaza” and “Right-Sizing the State: The Politics of Moving Borders.”